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Metropolita Gennadios Zervos
Archbishop of Italy and Malta
Church Greek Orthodox Church
Archdiocese Italy and Malta
Appointed 26 August 1996
Enthroned 1996
Predecessor Archbishop Spyridon of America
Orders
Ordination 28 April 1963
Consecration 1979
Personal details
Born (1937-07-08)8 July 1937
Kremasti, Rhodes, Kingdom of Italy
Died 16 October 2020(2020-10-16) (aged 83)
Venice
Nationality Greek, Italian
Previous post Bishop of Krateia (1970-1996)

Metropolitan Gennadios was an important leader in the Greek Orthodox Church. He was born Tsampikos Zervos on July 8, 1937, in Rhodes. Later, he became known as Gennadios. He served as the metropolitan bishop for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy. This area included Italy, Malta, and San Marino. He passed away on October 16, 2020, in Venice.

Biography

Early Life and Ordination

Gennadios was born in the Dodecanese Islands, which were part of Italy at the time. He began his journey in the church at a young age. On April 16, 1960, he became a deacon. A deacon is a helper to a priest in the church.

He was then ordained as a priest on April 28, 1963. This meant he could lead church services. He took the name Gennadios when he became a deacon.

Church Service in Italy

Gennadios spent many years serving the church in Italy. From November 26, 1970, he was a bishop in Krateia. His main office was in Naples. He also taught at different universities in Italy. For his work, he received a special award from the Italian Republic. This award was called the Commander of the Italian Republic medal.

For a long time, he was the main representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in Italy. The Ecumenical Patriarch is a very important leader in the Orthodox Christian faith.

Becoming a Metropolitan

On August 26, 1996, Gennadios became the Metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta. This was a very significant role. He was the first Orthodox bishop in Italy since a major split in the church. This split, called the East–West Schism, happened in 1054.

On November 26, 1970, he was chosen to be a bishop. All the church leaders agreed with the idea from Patriarch Athenagoras.

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