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Published
by the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America,
December 25, 2004
Greek Orthodox Metropolitan
Anthony of San Francisco Dies Following
Short Illness |
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December 25, 2004
New York, NY - His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony,
spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis
of San Francisco, died today, December 25, 2004,
following a short illness. Metropolitan Anthony
was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma, a rare form
of cancer, in November. He was 69 years old.
In announcing the passing of Metropolitan Anthony
of San Francisco, His Eminence Archbishop
Demetrios of America, Primate of the Greek
Orthodox Church in America, deeply moved, issued
the following statement:
“Today, at the evening of Christmas day, a very
prominent and beloved Hierarch of our Church in
America, Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco,
was called by Jesus Christ our Lord to leave this
perishable world, and meet Him, and be forever
with Him in the company of the saints and the
righteous. His life epitomizes the statement by
St. Paul the Apostle, ‘If we live we live to the
Lord, and if we die we die to the Lord’ (Rom.
14:8).
Deeply saddened by the sudden separation, we are
comforted by the certainty that our beloved
brother is with God, leaving behind a precious
legacy of a total dedication to Christ and His
Church, an amazing episcopal work, a remarkably
strong love for the people, a burning passion for
Orthodoxy, and a joy for multidimensional
ministry. We are sure that now the Holy Metropolis
of San Francisco has a permanent, strong
ambassador to God in the person of her departed
Hierarch and we fervently pray for the repose of
his soul among the great saints and pastors of the
triumphant Church in heaven.”
According to Father Paul Schroeder, Chancellor of
the Metropolis of San Francisco, a Trisagion
(Prayer) Service will be held at the Annunciation
Cathedral, San Francisco on Tuesday, December 28
and the Divine Liturgy and the funeral service
will take place on Wednesday, December 29 at the
Ascension Cathedral, Oakland, CA.
Archbishop Demetrios will preside over the Divine
Liturgy and funeral service at the Cathedral. In
both services, members of the Holy Eparchial Synod
will concelebrate with the Archbishop, assisted by
clergy of the Metropolis.
Metropolitan Anthony was enthroned as the first
bishop of the newly-created Diocese of San
Francisco on June 7, 1979. He served as the Bishop
and later Metropolitan of San Francisco for over
twenty-five years, overseeing the western states
of California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon,
Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Metropolitan Anthony was born March 2, 1935 in the
village of Avgeniki on the island of Crete,
Greece, the third of six children, growing up
during the brutally difficult years of the Nazi
occupation. He attended the ecclesiastical school
of Chania, Crete; following graduation he entered
the internationally renowned Halki Theological
School of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople, receiving his degree in Orthodox
Theology in 1960. He was ordained a deacon on July
27, 1958, and a priest on September 29, 1960.
After his ordination to the priesthood, he came to
the United States to pursue graduate studies and
serve the Church in this country. While serving as
a parish priest, he earned a Masters of Divinity
at Yale University and pursued doctoral studies in
Contemporary Church History at the University of
Chicago, and in Russian and Balkan History at the
University of Wisconsin. In 1974, he was appointed
Dean of the St. George Cathedral in Montreal,
Canada, where he remained until his elevation to
the episcopacy on May 21, 1978. As titular Bishop
of Amissos, he served the Eighth Archdiocesan
District in Denver, Colorado, until his election
as Bishop of San Francisco in 1979.
During that time, he was responsible for a
tremendous expansion of ministries and programs,
an unparalleled period of vitality and renewal.
His tenure saw the founding of over twenty new
parishes and missions in the Metropolis of San
Francisco, as well as the establishment of three
monasteries. He was the founder of St. Nicholas
Ranch, the Greek Orthodox Conference and Retreat
Center located in the Sierra Nevada foothills. He
was also the driving force behind the construction
of the Monastery of the Theotokos the Life-Giving
Spring on the premises of St. Nicholas Ranch.
Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco developed
the annual Metropolis Folk Dance Festival into the
largest exhibition of authentic Greek folk dance,
costume, and music in the world. Together with the
Metropolis Philoptochos, he created the Bishop
Anthony Student Aid Endowment Fund, a
multi-million dollar scholarship account providing
funding for seminarians and students from the
Metropolis to attend Hellenic College and Holy
Cross School of Theology in Brookline,
Massachusetts. He served as a member of the Holy
Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese of America. He
proved a source of inspiration for countless
thousands, not only Greek Orthodox faithful, but
also religious and civic figures who recognized in
him a great leader and a true man of faith.
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