The Spanish and Portuguese metropolis ( Greek Μητρόπολη σπανίας και ορτογαλλαα , Spanish. Santa Metrópolis de España y Portuga ) is the diocese of the Constantinople Patriarchate with its center in Madrid , covering the region of Spain and Portugal .
| Spanish and Portuguese Metropolis Greek Μητρόπολη Ισπανίας και ορτογαλίας isp. Santa Metrópolis de España y Portuga | |
|---|---|
| Constantinople Orthodox Church | |
 Cathedral of Saints Andrew and Dimitri | |
| General information | |
| A country |  Spain ,  Portugal |
| Diocesan Center | Madrid |
| Control | |
| Ruling bishop | Metropolitan of Spain and Portuguese, Ipertim and Exarch of the Mediterranean Polycarp (Stavropoulos) (since May 6, 2007 ) |
| Cathedral Church | St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Madrid |
Diocesan Center - Madrid . Cathedral - St. Andrew's Cathedral
The ruling bishop is Metropolitan Polycarp (Stavropoulos) (since May 6, 2007).
Content
History
In 1949, the Greek parish was officially formed. Due to the lack of a temple, services were performed in a private apartment. The parish consisted of Greeks and Slavs. The total number of Greeks in Spain and Portugal has always remained low due to the lack of Greek emigration to these countries. Since the 1920s, Spain and Portugal have been under the jurisdiction of the Thyatira and British archdioceses , and then the Gallic metropolis. In 1970, a site was bought in Madrid, and the St. Andrew’s Cathedral was built in 1970–1973 [1] . Archpriest Dimitry Tsiamparlis, who headed the Greek community of the Spanish capital since 1967, played a major role in its construction.
In 2003, a separate Spanish and Portuguese metropolis was established in Spain and Portugal. According to her first head, Metropolitan Epiphanius (Perialas) , the creation of a metropolis embody the “wise decision of our Patriarchate of Constantinople” and was really necessary: the question of the pastoral care for growing orthodox emigration, mainly from Romania and Ukraine, persisted on the agenda . In addition, it was required, at least in part, to facilitate the work of the manager of the Gallic metropolis in France, for which regular visits to Spain were very difficult. In addition, taking into account the "growing flow of Ukrainian Uniates, it was necessary to demonstrate the real presence of Orthodoxy on the Iberian Peninsula" [2] . According to Archpriest Andrei Kordochkin, a cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church : “When the diocese was established in Spain by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, it was clear that there were so few Greeks in Spain that the structure“ for growth ”was created at the expense of Ukrainians - first priests of the“ Kyiv Patriarchate ”, and then - at the expense of anybody " [3] .
As Sergei Mudrov noted in 2008, “Romanians prefer to unite into Orthodox communities under the omofor of the Romanian Patriarch, the Russians are more inclined to the Moscow Patriarchate, the Serbs to the Serbian. Thus, the Metropolis of the Pyrenees becomes, rather, Ukrainian than Greek. There are very few Greeks in Spain, they are practically absent in many regions of the country ” [2] .
Current position
Metropolis was officially recognized by the state of Spain. Sacraments performed: baptisms, weddings, funerals - are officially registered.
Metropolitans
- Epiphanius (Perialas) (May 4, 2003 - April 30, 2007)
- Polycarp (Stavropoulos) (since May 6, 2007)