The Repose of the Most Reverend Chrysostomos, Metropolitan Emeritus of Etna

Details
Created on Saturday, 23 February 2019 19:55

 

On Saturday, February 3, 2019 (O.S.), the Most Reverend Chrysostomos, Metropolitan Emeritus of Etna, reposed in the Lord, from complications of a long bout with heart disease.

 

His funeral service and burial took place on Tuesday morning, February 6 (O.S.), at the Saint Gregory Palamas Monastery in Etna, California, according to the Monastic Typikon, which was in accordance with his wishes. The Most Reverend Auxentios, Bishop of Etna and Portland, presided over the service, and the Abbot of the Monastery, Hegumen Akakios, and the clergy of his Brotherhood took part, along with a small number of the departed Hierarch’s spiritual children.

 

The Most Reverend Chrysostomos, Metropolitan Emeritus of Etna (in the world, A.E.J. González de Iturriaga Alexopoulos), was born in California in the year 1943.

 

He was an academic, with degrees in history, Orthodox studies, and psychology from the University of California, the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, and Princeton University.  He taught at various universities including Princeton, the University of California at Riverside, and Ashland University. He held a special appointment at the Theological Institute of Uppsala University in Sweden and served as a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Divinity School, Oxford University, and the University of Washington. He also was a Fulbright Scholar during the academic year 2000–2001, teaching at three institutions in Romania.

 

Together with Bishop Auxentios, he was the co-founder of the Saint Gregory Palamas Monastery in Etna, California, and he authored many books and articles in various scholarly journals and magazines. He served as Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Traditional Orthodox Studies in Etna and as a Professor at the Saint Photios Orthodox Theological Seminary in the same city.

 

He was ordained a Deacon and then a Priest in 1976 by the Most Reverend Akakios, Metropolitan of Montréal of the Church of the G.O.C. He was consecrated a Bishop on January 8, 1986 (O.S.), with the title of “Bishop of Oreoi,” by the Most Reverend Cyprian, Metropolitan of Oropos and Phyle (+2013). He was enthroned as Bishop of Etna in May of 1989, and in October of 1995 was awarded the title of “Archbishop.”
 
On March 5, 2014 (O.S.), he was elected by the Holy Synod of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece as Metropolitan of the Metropolis of Etna, California. On September 5, 2014 (O.S.), his petition to be numbered among the retired Hierarchs of the Holy Synod, for serious health reasons, was accepted, taking effect on December 19, 2014 (O.S.).

 

May the Lord place his soul among the righteous! May his memory be eternal!

 

Translated from the Greek original, with minor revisions.

 

Orthodox Awareness

The Message of Patriarch Theodore of Alexandra Upon the Feast of Ramadan

The “Father of Fathers, the Thirteenth Apostle and the Judge of the World (as his pheme states), Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, Theodore sent a message to the Muslims of Egypt upon the feast of Ramadan. It is as follows:

“The most sacred month of the Islamic calendar, the chief month of personal worship and great awareness of the Divine for every faithful Muslim ends today with the festive, joyous season of Eid al-Fitr. Read more...

Missions

Saint John of Kronstadt - Bunnell, Florida

St. John of Kronstadt Orthodox Church began as a mission parish in the year 2000, in a home chapel in Palm Coast, FL – a small town on Florida’s northeast coast located between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. After two years, it became necessary to have services in area community centers, rented for Sundays and other Holy Days. Read more...

Youth

2023 Youth Conference

Please join us for the 2023 youth conference in Chicago, IL! To learn more, visit the home page or visit the conference website.

Ask A Priest

Is the GOC Insular?

Q. In considering becoming part of the GOC in America, I am getting warnings from various circles that the attitude of GOC people is that of being “walled off,” “arrogant,” “judgmental,” and “in your face” toward those not in the Genuine Orthodox Church, with accusations such as “World Orthodox” priests are “not even Christians” and the like. Could you give me your personal, realistic assessment of this dynamic and possibly refer me to an official statement on how GOC members should and do relate to and communicate with those in “World Orthodoxy”? Read more...