Patras, Greece, February 22, 2023
Photo: skai.gr
One of the most respected hierarchs of the Church of Greece reposed in the Lord last night after a long battle with illness.
His Eminence Metropolitan Germanos, who headed the Metropolis of Ilia for 41 years, reposed last night in a private clinic in Patras at the age of 91, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
The Metropolitan had just retired last fall. He served his last Liturgy as head of the Metropolis on October 3—the anniversary of his consecration to the episcopate.
He is known for the rich social and charitable work of the Metropolis under his reign, including nursing homes, shelters, orphanages, boarding schools, camps, a school of Byzantine music and hagiography, and much more.
He is also known for greatly increasing the educational level of the clergy in his diocese.
Met. Germanos himself was also the author of numerous works on a variety of topics, including superstitions, Orthodox anthropology, iconography, Orthodox worship, and much more.
His funeral will be served tomorrow at the Church of St. Nicholas in Pyrgos.
May his memory be eternal!
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Met. Germanos was born in Kardamas of Ilia on February 24, 1932. He studied in an ecclesiastical school in Corinth, and in 1958, he graduated from the Theological School of the University of Athens.
After serving in the Greek army and air force, he was tonsured as a monk at the Holy Monastery of Panagia Skafidias on November 8, 1960, receiving the name Germanos. He was ordained to the diaconate on November 20, and to the priesthood on December 6.
After serving 20 years as a priest and preacher, he was consecrated as Metropolitan of Ilia on October 3, 1981.
On September 7, 2022, he was awarded the Golden Cross of the Apostle Paul, the highest honorary distinction of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.
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