Denver, July 31, 2023
Photo: parishlife.app
The long-time hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver fell and suffered a broken hip on July 23.
The clergy and faithful of the Metropolis were informed about Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver’s health in a letter from his Assistant Bishop Constantine of Sassima on July 25 that was to be read out after Liturgy in all parishes yesterday.
According to the letter, Met. Isaiah, 92, underwent surgery and is in good spirits.
Bp. Constantine writes:
With much hope always in the Physician of our Souls and Bodies, I wish to inform you that His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver fell at his residence on Sunday, July 23, and suffered a broken hip. He was taken to a local hospital here in Denver, where he underwent surgery on Monday, July 24. The surgeon was able to repair the break with a rod in the femur and the same for the hip. It was not a hip replacement.
I, along with Metropolis staff, and clergy from the region, have been visiting with His Eminence. He is in good spirits, always asking about the communities, and continual in prayer.
May God grant Met. Isaiah a full and speedy recovery!
***
Met. Isaiah’s biography from the site of the GOARCH Metropolis of Denver:
Metropolitan Isaiah is a native of New Hampshire, having been born in Portsmouth. He is one of four children born to Dennis and Mary (Kapsimalis) Chronopoulos who had emigrated to the United States from Olympia, Greece. After his primary and high school education, he served with distinction in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean conflict. In the autumn of 1954, he enrolled at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts. Upon his graduation in 1960, he attended the Ecumenical Patriarchate Seminary of Halki in Istanbul, Turkey for graduate studies.
On February 25, 1962, Metropolitan Isaiah was ordained a deacon by His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos at Saint Spyridon Church in San Diego, California, having been tonsured a monk on the previous day. He received his ordination to the holy priesthood from His Grace Bishop Demetrios of Olympos at Saint Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles, California, on March 18, 1962. His first assignment in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese was as assistant to the pastor at Holy Trinity Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. In December of 1964, he was assigned as pastor at Saint John the Baptist Church in Youngstown, Ohio. On November 30, 1969, he was raised to the office of Archimandrite by Archbishop Iakovos at the consecration services of the new church and community center in Youngstown.
Archbishop Iakovos reassigned the Metropolitan to Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of Theology as the Director of Student Life in August of 1971. Taking a leave of absence from his duties in February 1975, he enrolled as a graduate student at the School of Theology at the University of Thessaloniki, fulfilling requirements for the recognition of his master’s degree in theology. He returned to the United States in July of that year and continued in his capacity as dean of students.
In September 1976, he was given additional responsibilities at the college-seminary as the Dean of Administrative Affairs together with his position as Dean of Students. In October 1977, he assumed additional duties as the Interim Pastor at Saint Nicholas Church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Relinquishing all of these positions in March 1979, he was assigned as the Chancellor of the Diocese of Chicago under His Grace, Bishop Iakovos of Chicago.
Metropolitan Isaiah was elected to the rank of bishop by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul (Constantinople), Turkey, on April 10, 1986. He was consecrated a Bishop on May 25, 1986, at Holy Trinity Cathedral in New York City, and was given the title of Bishop of Aspendos, a former Christian city in southwestern Asia Minor. In September 1986, His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos assigned him as the Chancellor of the Archdiocese in New York. Bishop Isaiah continued to function in this capacity until June 23, 1992, when he was elected Bishop of the Diocese of Denver by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, taking the new title on June 24, 1992, at special ceremonies in the Archdiocesan Chapel. He was enthroned as Bishop of Denver on September 10, 1992, at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Denver, Colorado.
On November 24, 1997, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elevated him as Metropolitan of Proikonisos and Presiding Hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver. Metropolitan Isaiah was also appointed as President of Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology on July 1, 1997, by His Eminence Archbishop Spyridon of America. He accepted a one-year term which officially ended on August 14, 1998.
On December 20, 2002, the Ecumenical Patriarchate elevated the status of the Diocese to a Metropolis, and in 2003, elected Metropolitan Isaiah as Metropolitan of Denver.
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