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B. Analytical Biographical Note: Ecclesiastical Activity and Theological Research

Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and St Vlassios, secular name George Vlachos, son of Sotirios and Eftychia, was born in Ioannina in 1945 and studied at the Theological School of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. He received his elementary education in his home city and continued his high-school studies in Agrinio, graduating from the Papastrateio High School in that city. During this period he met, and formed a spiritual link with, his future Elder, Archimandrite Kallinikos (Poulos), Protosyngellos of the Metropolis of Aitolia and Akarnania, and later Metropolitan of Edessa, Pella and Almopia.

Following examinations, he gained admission to the Philosophical School of the University of Ioannina and the Theological School of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. He chose to study at the Theological School of Thessaloniki.

 

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A' . Biographical Summary

Ναυπάκτου Ἱερόθεος, 2023Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and St Vlassios (secular name George Vlachos) was born in Ioannina in 1945 and studied at the Theological School of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki.
 
He was ordained Deacon (1971) and Priest (1972) by Metropolitan Kallinikos of Edessa, Pella and Almopia, now included in the calendar of saints of the Orthodox Church.
 
He was transferred as Diocesan Preacher to the Metropolis of Thiva and Levadia by the decision of the then Metropolitan Hieronymus, now Archbishop of Athens and All Greece (February 1987). Subsequently he was transferred to the Holy Archdiocese of Athens (October 1987), by the decision of the then Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Archbishop Seraphim, with whom he collaborated closely (1987-1995), and he was also appointed Director for Youth.
 
He was elected, ordained and enthroned as Metropolitan of the Holy Metropolis of Nafpaktos and St Vlassios in 1995. Since then he has lived and worked in Nafpaktos.
 

1. Studies

  • Degree from the Theological School of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki with first class honours (1964-1968)
  • He took part:
    • In research into manuscripts in the libraries of the Holy Monasteries on the Holy Mountain (1966)
    • In the critical edition of the works of St Gregory Palamas, under Professor Panagiotis Christou (1966-1968)

2. Ecclesiastical and Administrative Work

  • Diocesan Preacher of the Holy Metropolis of Edessa, Pella and Almopia (1969-1987), of the Holy Metropolis of Thiva and Levadia (1987),  of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens (1987-1995)
  • Director for Youth of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens (1989-1995)
  • Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and St Vlassios (1995 to date),  Election: 19 July 1995, Ordination: 20 July 1995, Enthronement: 10 September 1995
  • Member of the Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece for five periods of one year (1996-1997, 2002-2003, 2009-2010, 2015-2016, 2024-2025)
  • Member of many Synodical Committees
  • Press Spokesman for the Hierarchy and the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece for many years
  • Spokesman of the Church of Greece in the media during the period of the Covid-19 Pandemic (April 2020)
  • President of the Primary Synodical Court  (2024-2025)
  • President of the Supreme Service Council of Ecclesiastical Employees
  • Representative of the Church of Greece on many state bodies
  • Chairman of ten Charitable Foundations in Nafpaktos (1995 to date)
  • Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Papacharalambos Public Library in Nafpaktos (1995 to date)

3. Teaching Activity

  • Teacher on the Special Training Seminar of the Diocese of Edessa, Pella and Almopia (1970-1974 and 1986)
  • Director-Speaker at Seminars for Catechists in the Holy Archbishopric of Athens (1988-1995)
  • Visiting Professor at the Balamand Theological School ‘St John of Damascus’ in Northern Lebanon, Course on Greek Language (1988-1989), Course on Christian Ethics (1989-1990), Course on Bioethics (2000-2001)
  • Professor on the Doctoral Program of Orthodox Studies of the Antiochian House of Studies (AHOS), La Verne, California, USA (2016 to date), Courses on 1. Philosophical and Patristic Theology, 2. Pastoral Theology and Asceticism

4. Academic Distinctions 

  • Award from the Academy of Athens for the book The Person in the Orthodox Tradition (1996)
  • Honorary Doctorate from Theological School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens – Department of Social Theology (2008)
  • Honorary Doctorate from the School of Health Sciences of the University of Ioannina – Department of Medicine (2016)

5. Presentations – Lectures

  • Made presentations thirteen times in the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece (1999, 2000, 2000 extraordinary session, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020)
  • Lectures in Universities and Higher Education Institutions: University of Athens; University Ecclesiastical Academy of Vella, Ioannina; Theological Academy of Moscow; Theological School of Alba Iulia, Romania; University of Seattle; Pacific Lutheran University of Tacoma; Holy Cross, Boston; University of Venice; Theological School of Tbilisi, Georgia; Theological School of Iasi, Romania, and elsewhere.
  • Speaker at more than 500 Academic Conferences (international and Greek) and Seminars.

6. Radio and Television Broadcasts

  • ‘The Fathers in the Modern World’ (1989-1995) – weekly half-hour broadcast, Radio Station of the Church of Greece 
  • ‘Theology in our Life’ (2010 to date) – weekly half-hour broadcast, Radio Station of the Church of Greece 
  • ‘Theology of Facts’ (2016 to date) – weekly half-hour programme, Lychnos Television Channel of the Holy Metropolis of Patras
  • ‘Anthology of Theology’ (2019 to date) – weekly hour-long broadcast, Radio Station of the Church of the Holy Metropolis of Piraeus

7. Activity as a Writer

• Books: 126
The range of subjects covered by the books can be divided into six categories:
  1. Dogmatic – Theological
  2. Religious – Ecclesiastical
  3. Neptic – Psychotherapeutic
  4. Hagiological – Biographical
  5. Historical – Social
  6. Yearbook Series: short texts complete in themselves published for each year
• Reprints: 60
• Publications in collective and dedicatory volumes and in periodicals: 55
Total: 241

8. Translations of his Books

To date thirty-three titles of the author’s books have been translated (100 translated books) into twenty-seven languages: English, Arabic, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Serbian, Hungarian, Romanian, Swahili, Chinese, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Dutch, Albanian, Italian, Finnish, Georgian, Urdu, Korean, Estonian, Indonesian, Portuguese, Polish, Slovak, Latvian, Lithuanian.
He is placed “among the top four most translated Greek writers overall.”

9. Citations by Others

To date 750 academic works and dissertations have been identified in which his work is cited.

10. Honorary Distinctions

  • Honorary Member of the Society of Nafpaktian Studies (2013)
  • Honorary Citizen of the city of Edessa (2016)
  • Honorary Member of the Society for Epirotic Studies (2018)
  • Honorary Citizen of the city of Agrinio (2024)
  • Honorary President of the Local Branch (Nafpaktos) of the Greek Red Cross (2024)
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