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A BIOGRAPHY OF HIS EMINENCE SERAPHIM ARCHBISHOP OF JOHANNESBURG AND PRETORIA.
His Eminence, Seraphim was born in Galataria, Paphos, Cyprus, on the 2nd of February 1961. At 12 years old he was accepted as a lay-brother at the monastery of Kykkos, Cyprus. After four years, having obtained a scholarship, he was sent to the Pan-Cypriot High School as a boarder and then to the Lyceum of Kykkos from which he graduated in 1982 with honours. While at school he was a member of the Pan-Cypriot college, a committee member of the student newspaper and he became chairman of the Unesco student branch, presenting their annual reports. During this period he served as an assistant to his mentor and Spiritual Father of the nation's head, Makarios, the monk Chrysostomos On the 8th of September 1983 he was ordained a Deacon by his Eminence, the Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos. That same year, while a boarder at the Monastery at Kykkos, he enrolled at the National, Kapodistrian, Theological School at the University of Athens where he graduated in 1987. At this time, with the blessing of his Eminence, the Archbishop of Athens, Seraphim, he served as a Deacon at the Holy Archbishopric of Athens which included the Churches of St. Irene Eolou and St. George of Karitsi. He returned to the Church of the Confession, where his mentor and Spiritual Father the Abbot of Kykkos, Nikiforos, at the invitation of the Church Committee, appointed him to the position of treasurer. In 1988, with the help of the Abbot, together with the decision of his Eminence the Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysotomos, he obtained a bursary to study English in Great Britain where he studied Patrology at Christchurch in Cantebury also reading Theology and obtained his degree. With the blessing of the Bishop of Diocletian, under the supervision of the professor of Orthodox Theology at the University of Oxford, Kallistos Ware he became a post-graduate member of the faculty of Theoloy at Durham university. Under the guidance of His Eminence professor Draga -Patrology, a professor of Theology at the Holy Cross Collge of America, he did his Masters in the science of Patrology. The text presented was on Athanasios the Great. On August 15th in 1991 he was ordained a priest at the Holy Church of Kykkos by his Eminence the Archbishop of Cyprus. On the recommendation of the Abott Chrysostomos, he prepared himself for the position of Archimandrite. With the blessing of the Archbishop of Thyatiron and Great Britian, Gregorios, he served as the head of the Greek Schools of the Hellenic Communities of St. Anthony in Newcastle-upon Thyme, Ascension and Holy Trinity in Stokto -on- Tees and Middlesbourgh. At the same time, he was the representative to his Grace Archbishop Theatiron of Great Britain, he took responsibility of the youth group of the Orthodox in Northern England and he remained a permanent member in the department of mission of the British Consul of Christian Churches in Glascow. Because of his position, he represented His Grace Gregory at the synod of Anglican Council of Churches at York where the Ordination of women in the Church was discussed. The Ordination of Deaconesses especially with regard to mission work, was discussed at the Council of Churches held in Dublin, Scotland. His Eminence Seraphim remained in Great Britain for four years and while there, he was elected a member to the Presidency of post-graduate studies at Durham. In 1993 he became a member of the department of post-graduate studies specializing in the study of Theology at Athens University and lectured on the different heretical approaches to Christianity from the texts of Athanasios the Great. Under the auspices of Professor Stylianos Papadopoulos. he to lectured for six months, at the department of Theology on Patristic Studies at Athens University and at the same time, while involved with different post-graduate seminaries, he participated in viable International studies at Patriological Seminars which produced valuable studies with scientific results which were published in Ecclesiastical magazines. With the blessing His Eminence the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Seraphim, he was appointed Parish Priest at the Holy Church of Agios Anargiros of Attikis where he presented Bible Studies, Youth Groups, the study of valuable Greek Church documents was undertaken. In 1995 he was elected by the world Council of Youth Groups as a member of the Central Council of Western Europe ( Ecumenical Patriarchate of Cyprus, Greece and Albania). For a year he gave a weekly talks on the radio with regard to mission work. In 1996 he was ordained as a Father Confessor and he often represented his Eminence Seraphim at different meetings especially any of those concerning the situation in Cyprus. During his stay in Athens he was elected as vice-chairman of information of the Pan Hellenic Committee concerned with the problem of Cyprus and became editor of the only Cypriot newspaper in Greece the Prosfigiko Vima. In 1994 with the blessing of his Eminence Seraphim and Pavlos of Scandinavia, he accompanied a group of Greek professors of medicine to Ireland to an international medical seminar concerning the presentation of the Divine Liturgy to Orthodox Missions in the more isolated areas of the world. From 1991 he worked closely with mission work in 22 Eastern, Western and Central African countries, working together with the Patriarch and Pope of Alexandria and all Africa Petros VII. In the past he worked as parish priest in the Cathedral of St. George in Cape of Good Hope under his Grace Pavlos. In 1997 he served in Zimbabwe and was also appointed as a permanent head representative of the Orthodox Mission of Africa. He was given the responsibility of assistant lecturer at the school of the studies Orthodox Apologetic Patrology . On September 23rd 1997, at the suggestion of the Patriarch of Alexandria it was suggested at a seminary to ordain him Bishop of Kenya, in Alexandria at the Partiarchiako Church of St. Savva.. He was ordained Archbishop by his Beatitude Petros VII of Alexandria and all Africa. He was appointed lecturer to the ecclesiastical school of "Archbishop of Cyprus Makarios" With his new position his main duties concern Mission. He has to be in attendance at any Partiarchical meeting or any meetings which concern any other faith since he is a permanent member in charge of any meetings or dialogue between Roman Catholics, Anglican , Uniates of Pan- African Churches and Islam. From Sept 1998 with the blessing of His Beatitude Petro VII, he assumed the position of Patriarchal member of the mission of Bokomba of Tansania . In the year 2000, he was given the responsibility of the durastriction of Dar-es-Salam and environs. In 2001, at the invitation of His Beatitude Petros VII, he was elected unanimously by the Holy Synod as Archbishop of the Mertropolis of Johannesburg and Pretoria.
His Eminence's Nameday is on the 2nd of January in memory of St. Seraphim of Sarov
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