Athenagoras I of Constantinople
ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (1886–1972)
Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I (Greek: Αθηναγόρας Αʹ), born Aristocles Matthaiou Spyrou (Greek: Αριστοκλής Ματθαίου Σπύρου; 6 April 1886 (25 March) – 7 July 1972), was the 268th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from November 1948, until his death in July 1972, serving as the primus inter pares (first among equals) and spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christianity worldwide.
Prior to his election to the Ecumenical Throne, Athenagoras served as the Archbishop of North and South America (GOARCH) from 1930 to 1948, where he played a pivotal role in organizing the Greek Diaspora.
Biography
Athenagoras was born as Aristocles Matthew Spyrou on 6 April 1886 (25 March) in the village of Vasiliko, near Ioannina, Epirus (then in the Ottoman Empire). He has been described as having been of Aromanian, Albanian, or Greek descent. Athenagoras was the son of Matthew N. Spyrou, a doctor, and Helen V. Mokoros. Athenagoras devoted himself to religion at an early age because of the encouragement he received from his mother and a priest from his village. After completing his secondary education in 1906, he entered the Holy Trinity Theological School at Halki, near Constantinople, and was ordained a deacon in 1910.
Upon graduating, he was tonsured a monk, given the name Athenagoras, and ordained to the diaconate. He served as archdeacon of the Diocese of Pelagonia before becoming the secretary to Archbishop Meletius IV of Constantinople of Athens in 1919. While still a deacon, he was elected the Metropolis of Corfu in 1922 and straightway raised to the episcopacy.
“Athenagoras I of Constantinople” enters the record as ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (1886–1972). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Athenagoras, Constantinople and ecumenical can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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