The Holy Synod

The Holy Synod

The faithful of the True Orthodox Church of Greece are commonly known as "Matthewites," after Blessed Archbishop Matthew (+1950). The Matthewites must be distinguished from the State Church of Greece, which follows the New Calendar, and from the Greek Old Calendarists known as "Florinites" (after the former Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Florina), who derive their orders from the Church of Russia. There are also a number of other Old Calendarist groups that have no historical connection to the True Orthodox Church of Greece.
The President of the Holy Synod of the True Orthodox Church of Greece is His Beatitude Nicholas, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece. His Beatitude was consecrated to the episcopate in 1972, and was formerly the Metropolitan of Piraeus and the Islands. He was elected as Archbishop of Athens on 30 May (12 June, new style) 2003, succeeding the venerable Archbishop Andrew.
His Beatitude visited America in 2004. Xenia McDermott's photos of this historic visit can be viewed by clicking here.

His Beatitude Andrew, the Former Archbishop of Athens and President of Patras, was consecrated to the episcopate in 1948, and served for nearly a quarter century as Metropolitan of Patras. In 1972, following the repose of Archbishop Agathangel, he was elected Archbishop of Athens and All Greece. His Beatitude retired from the archbishopric in 2003 for reasons of health, and was appointed by the Holy Synod to head his former diocese. He is the longest-serving Orthodox bishop in the world today.

A photo from the 1950s.
Left to Right: Metropolitans Demetrios, Spyridon, Andrew, and Kallistos.

Left: Blessed Archbishop Matthew led the Church from 1937 to 1950.