His Eminence Archbishop Seraphim
His Eminence, Seraphim was born
in Galataria, Paphos, Cyprus, on the 2nd of February 1961.
At 12 years old he was accepted
as a lay-brother at the monastery of Kykkos, Cyprus.
After four years, having obtained
a scholarship, he was sent to the Pan-Cypriot High School as a boarder
and then to the Lyceum of Kykkos from which he graduated in 1982
with honours.
While at school he was a member
of the Pan-Cypriot college, a committee member of the student newspaper
and he became chairman of the Unesco student branch, presenting their
annual reports. During this period he served as an assistant to his
mentor and Spiritual Father of the nation's head, Makarios, the monk
Chrysostomos
On the 8th of September
1983 he was ordained a Deacon by his Eminence, the Archbishop of
Cyprus, Chrysostomos. That same year, while a boarder at the Monastery
at Kykkos, he enrolled at the National, Kapodistrian, Theological
School at the University of Athens where he graduated in 1987. At
this time, with the blessing of his Eminence, the Archbishop of Athens,
Seraphim, he served as a Deacon at the Holy Archbishopric of Athens
which included the Churches of St. Irene Eolou and St. George of
Karitsi.
He returned to the Church of the
Confession, where his mentor and Spiritual Father the Abbot of Kykkos,
Nikiforos, at the invitation of the Church Committee, appointed him
to the position of treasurer.
In 1988, with the help of the Abbot,
together with the decision of his Eminence the Archbishop of Cyprus,
Chrysotomos, he obtained a bursary to study English in Great Britain
where he studied Patrology at Christchurch in Cantebury also reading
Theology and obtained his degree. With the blessing of the Bishop
of Diocletian, under the supervision of the professor of Orthodox
Theology at the University of Oxford, Kallistos Ware he became a
post-graduate member of the faculty of Theoloy at Durham university.
Under the guidance of His Eminence professor Draga -Patrology, a
professor of Theology at the Holy Cross Collge of America, he did
his Masters in the science of Patrology. The text presented was on
Athanasios the Great.
On August 15th in 1991
he was ordained a priest at the Holy Church of Kykkos by his Eminence
the Archbishop of Cyprus. On the recommendation of the Abott Chrysostomos,
he prepared himself for the position of Archimandrite.
With the blessing of the Archbishop
of Thyatiron and Great Britian, Gregorios, he served as the head
of the Greek Schools of the Hellenic Communities of St. Anthony in
Newcastle-upon Thyme, Ascension and Holy Trinity in Stokto -on- Tees
and Middlesbourgh. At the same time, he was the representative to
his Grace Archbishop Theatiron of Great Britain, he took responsibility
of the youth group of the Orthodox in Northern England and he remained
a permanent member in the department of mission of the British Consul
of Christian Churches in Glascow.
Because of his position, he represented His Grace Gregory at the synod of Anglican
Council of Churches at York where
the Ordination of women in the Church was discussed. The Ordination
of Deaconesses especially with regard to mission work, was discussed
at the Council of Churches held in Dublin, Scotland. His Eminence
Seraphim remained in Great Britain for four years and while there,
he was elected
a member to the Presidency of post-graduate studies at Durham.
In 1993 he became a member of the
department of post-graduate studies specializing in the study of
Theology at Athens University and lectured on the different heretical
approaches to Christianity from the texts of Athanasios the Great.
Under the auspices of Professor
Stylianos Papadopoulos. he to lectured for six months, at the department
of Theology on Patristic Studies at Athens University and at the
same time, while involved with different post-graduate seminaries,
he participated in viable International studies at Patriological
Seminars which produced valuable studies with scientific results
which were published in Ecclesiastical magazines. With the blessing
His Eminence the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Seraphim, he
was appointed Parish Priest at the Holy Church of Agios Anargiros
of Attikis where he presented Bible Studies, Youth Groups, the study
of valuable Greek Church documents was undertaken.
In 1995 he was elected by the world
Council of Youth Groups as a member of the Central Council of Western
Europe ( Ecumenical Patriarchate of Cyprus, Greece and Albania).
For a year he gave a weekly talks on the radio with regard to mission
work.
In 1996 he was ordained as a Father
Confessor and he often represented his Eminence Seraphim at different
meetings especially any of those concerning the situation in Cyprus.
During his stay in Athens he was elected as vice-chairman of information
of the Pan Hellenic Committee concerned with the problem of Cyprus
and became editor of the only Cypriot newspaper in Greece the Prosfigiko
Vima.
In 1994 with the blessing of his
Eminence Seraphim and Pavlos of Scandinavia, he accompanied a group
of Greek professors of medicine to Ireland to an international medical
seminar concerning the presentation of the Divine Liturgy to Orthodox
Missions in the more isolated areas of the world.
From 1991 he worked closely with
mission work in 22 Eastern, Western and Central African countries,
working together with the Patriarch and Pope of Alexandria and all
Africa Petros VII. In the past he worked as parish priest in the
Cathedral of St. George in Cape of Good Hope under his Grace Pavlos.
In 1997 he served in Zimbabwe and
was also appointed as a permanent head representative of the Orthodox
Mission of Africa. He was given the responsibility of assistant lecturer
at the school of the studies Orthodox Apologetic Patrology .
On September 23rd 1997, at the
suggestion of the Patriarch of Alexandria it was suggested at a seminary
to ordain him Bishop of Kenya, in Alexandria at the Partiarchiako
Church of St. Savva.. He was ordained Archbishop by his Beatitude
Petros VII of Alexandria and all Africa. He was appointed lecturer
to the ecclesiastical school of "Archbishop of Cyprus Makarios" With
his new position his main duties concern Mission. He has to be in
attendance at any Partiarchical meeting or any meetings which concern
any other faith since he is a permanent member in charge of any meetings
or dialogue between Roman Catholics, Anglican , Uniates of Pan- African
Churches and Islam.
From Sept 1998 with the blessing
of His Beatitude Petro VII, he assumed the position of Patriarchal
member of the mission of Bokomba of Tansania . In the year 2000,
he was given the responsibility of the durastriction of Dar-es-Salam
and environs.
In 2001, at the invitation of His
Beatitude Petros VII, he was elected unanimously by the Holy Synod
as Archbishop of the Mertropolis of Johannesburg and Pretoria.
His Eminence's Nameday is on the 2nd of
January in memory of St. Seraphim of Sarov
