BIOGRAPHY Hierotheos, Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Saint Vlassios

(March 2021)

Hierotheos, Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and St. Vlassios, of the Church of Greece (1995- to date)

Born in Ioannina (Greece) in 1945.

EDUCATION:

Bachelor of Arts, Theological School of the University of Thessaloniki, magna cum laude (1968).

While at the University, he participated in research into manuscripts in the libraries of monasteries on the Holy Mountain.

While at the University, he participated in the critical edition of the works of St Gregory Palamas, under the guidance of Professor Panagiotis Christou.

TEACHING:

Director of the fast-track Seminary of the Diocese of Edessa, Pella and Almopia (1970-1973)

Director-Speaker at Seminars for Catechists of the Holy Archbishopric of Athens (1988-1995)

Visiting Professor at the Balamand Theological School in Lebanon, giving courses in:

         Ancient and Modern Greek (1988-1990)

         Ethics-Asceticism (1988-1990)

         Bioethics (2001)

Honorary Ph.D. Department of Social Theology of the Theological School of the National Capodistrian University of Athens (2008)

Honorary Ph.D. Department of Medicine of the School of Health Sciences of the University of Ioannina (2016).

Professor of Ascetic and Pastoral Theology on the Doctoral Program of Orthodox Studies at the Antiochian House of Studies in Pennsylvania, USA (teaching in 2017 and 2019).

Lectures given at Universities and Theological Schools in Greece and abroad:

University of Athens; University Ecclesiastical Academy of Vellas,  Ioannina; Moscow Theological Academy; Theological School of Alba Julia, Romania; University of Seattle, USA; Pacific Lutheran University of Tacoma, USA; Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Boston USA; University of Venice, Italy; Theological School of Tbilisi, Georgia; Theological School of Jassy, Romania.

Lecturer at Conferences:  500 international and Greek Conferences.

Presentation of topics at the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece, which convenes once a year. (13 presentations: 1999, 2000, 2000 extraordinary session, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016 extraordinary session, 2019 extraordinary session, 2020).

Radio broadcasts:

Weekly half-hour broadcasts on the Radio Station of the Church of Greece: The Fathers in the Modern World (1989-1995) and Theology in our Life (2010-to date).

Television programmes:

Weekly half-hour programme Theology of Events on the Lychnos Television Channel of the Holy Diocese of Patras (2015-to date).

ADMINISTRATION:

Director for Youth of the Archdiocese of Athens (1989-1995).

Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and St. Vlassios (1995-to date).

Member of the Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece (4 annual periods).

Chairman of 11 Charitable Institutions in the Province of Nafpaktos.

Sole Spokesman of the Church of Greece for all media on the Covid-19 pandemic (April 2020)

AUTHOR:

Studies – Books – Articles – Publications

Books: 113

Translated books: 95 into 25 foreign languages.

Total number of books, offprints and publications (excluding articles): 345

Academy of Athens Award for the book The Person in the Orthodox Tradition (1996).

Indicative book titles:

• A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain (24 reprints in Greek)
• Orthodox Psychotherapy: The Science of the Fathers (11 reprints in Greek)
• The Science of Spiritual Medicine: Orthodox Psychotherapy in Action (3 reprints in Greek)
• The Mind of the Orthodox Church (3 reprints in Greek)
• The Seer: The Life of the prophet Samuel and its relevance today (3 reprints in Greek)
• Orthodox and Western Way of Life (3 reprints in Greek)
• St Gregory Palamas as a Hagiorite (3 reprints in Greek)
• The Person in the Orthodox Tradition (Athens Academy Award) (4 reprints in Greek)
• Life after Death (9 reprints in Greek)
• The Feasts of the Lord (5 reprints in Greek)
• The Feasts of the Mother of God (2 reprints in Greek)
• Existential Psychology and Orthodox Psychotherapy (3 reprints in Greek)
• Bioethics and Biotheology (2 reprints in Greek)
• “I Know a Man in Christ”: Elder Sophrony, the Hesychast and Theologian (5 reprints in Greek)
• Old and New Rome (2 reprints in Greek)
• Empirical Dogmatics of the Orthodox Catholic Church, according to the Spoken Teaching of Fr John Romanides, vol. 1 (3 reprints in Greek) (Doctrine - Ethics - Revelation), and Empirical Dogmatics… vol. 2, (Holy Trinity - Creation - Fall - Incarnation -  Church - Life after Death) (2 reprints in Greek)
• Fr John Romanides, a Leading Dogmatic Theologian of the Orthodox Catholic Church
• Post-Patristic Theology and Ecclesiastical Patristic Experience (2 reprints in Greek)
• Theology of Events: The Link between Theology and History, Revelation and Experience
• Meeting of Heaven and Earth, on the Divine Liturgy, worship, the ecclesiastical arts, pastoral care, the Church’s regime and the Councils.
• St Paisios of the Holy Mountain as an Empirical Theologian (3 reprints in Greek)
• The Synodical and Hierarchical Regime of the Church in Relation to the Ukrainian Issue
• Patristic and Scholastic Theology in their context. Based on the oral teachings of Fr John Romanides

Books on which doctoral dissertations have been written:

The Person in the Orthodox Tradition

Orthodox Psychotherapy

Published Works by Metropolitan Hierotheos (2021 May, pdf)

Books by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos