Bishop Iakovos (Antonopoulos)

Bishop Iakovos (Antonopoulos) (1977-____)

Iakovos may be spelt Jakob, Jacob, James.

Early life of Dimitrios Antonopoulos

On 6 March, 1977, Dimitrios Antonopoulos was born in Athens, Greece.

Dimitrios was raised as an Orthodox Christian, and he grew up in the bosom of the Orthodox Church of Greece.

He completed his primary and secondary education in Athens and in Kalamata (in the Peleponessus peninsula).

Higher education

As soon as he had completed the gymnasium-level courses, at 18 years of age, Dimitrios travelled to the University of Berlin (“Freie Universität zu Berlin") in Berlin, Germany.

There, he studied in the Faculty of Philosophy, in the Department of German Philology. He studied Linguistics and Modern Greek Philology, and German philology. He also took courses in Modern Greek studies and language. He graduated with a Master's Degree (Magister Artium) with a grade of "very good".

Afterwards, he studied Theology at the Holy Cross Theological Seminary in Brookline, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He graduated with the Master of Divinity degree (with honours).

He next began postgraduate studies at the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He studied in the Department of Pastoral and Social Theology, in the inter-institutional postgraduate programme "Greece : Ecclesiastical History and Culture". He submitted a postgraduate thesis, and for it he received a grade of "excellent".

Upon his return to Greece from Europe, he entered the Agarathos Monastery of the Theotokos at Sgourokefali in the Heraklion region of Crete.

Agarathos Monastery, Heraklion

Although the Island of Crete is politically part of Greece, the Church of Crete belongs to the Church of Constantinople.

Monastic tonsure, 2005

In 2005 Dimitrios Antonopoulos was tonsured to be a monk in the Holy Monastery of Agarathos, Archdiocese of Heraklion, Crete, by Bishop Eugenios (Antonopoulos) of Knossos, Crete (he was a Vicar-Bishop of the Archdiocese of Heraklion). At this time, he was given the name Dimitrios.

Diaconal ordination, 2006

In 2006, Monk Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in the Holy Monastery of Agarathos by Bishop Eugenios (Antonopoulos) of Knossos, Crete.

Diaconal service

Hierodeacon Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) fulfilled his diaconal and monastic obediences in the monastery.

Presbyteral ordination, 2008

In 2008, Hierodeacon Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in the Holy Monastery of Agarathos by Bishop Eugenios (Antonopoulos) of Knossos, Crete.

Pastoral service

Hieromonk Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) served in accordance with the blessing.

In 2010, in the Holy Monastery of Agarathos, at the suggestion of Archbishop Irinaeos (Athanasiadis) of Crete, Patriarch Theodoros II (Horeftakis) of Alexandria elevated Hieromonk Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) to the dignity of archimandrite.

At the same time, Archbishop Irenaeos (Athanasiadis) blessed Archimandrite Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) to serve as a spiritual father in the diocese (which means that he could hear confessions).

Archimandrite Dimitrios (Antonopoulos)

Transfer to Canada, 2010

In 2010, Archimandrite Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) was transferred to Canada, and to the Metropolis of Toronto.

Archimandrite Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) was assigned by Metropolitan Sotirios (Athanassoulas) to serve as pastor in the Holy Temple of Saint Nicholas in Toronto, Ontario.

Archimandrite Dimitrios (Antonopoulos)

He was next assigned to serve as the pastor in the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Temple in Montréal, Québec. During the time of his pastoral responsibility, Archimandrite Dimitrios supervised the complete renovation of the Temple in this parish.

Evangelismos/Annunciation Church

After this, he was transferred to serve in the Temple of Saint George in Montréal. Here again, he supervised the renovation of the Temple in that parish.

Saint George Church

In the course of his pastoral labours, Archimandrite Dimitrios organised fundraising activities and events in order to gather the necessary funds for the completion of the renovations, and for the support of other important charitable causes. He did this with success and transparency.

In addition, he has organised catechism classes and gatherings for young people and adults.

From 2018, he was blessed to lead the programmes for the care of the youth throughout the Holy Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada. He organised and co-ordinated annual youth assemblies at the provincial and federal level in the context of the clergy assemblies, and other meetings and activities.

He was also assigned to serve as a member of the Archdiocesan Council.

Episcopal election, 2020

On 13 February, 2020, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul (Constantinople) elected Archimandrite Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) to become a bishop.

The ordination was delayed because of the governmental restrictions on gatherings and services after the arrival of the Covid-19 virus in Canada. Even at the time of the ordination, attendance by the Faithful was greatly limited.

Episcopal ordination, 2020

On 30 July, 2020, Archimandrite Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) was ordained to the Holy Episcopate at the Holy Temple of Saint George in Montreal, Quebec. He was ordained by Archbishop Sotirios (Athanassoulas) of Canada, who was assisted by Bishop Ioan-Casian (Tunaru), of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada, as well as by Bishop Bartholomew (Mostratos) and Bishop Athenagoras (Salmas) of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada.

Confession of Faith before ordination ; Presenting the Pastoral Staff after the ordination

Episcopal service

Change of name

At the time of the episcopal ordination, the name of Bishop Dimitrios (Antonopoulos) was changed to Iakovos (in honour of Archbishop Iakovos (Coucouzis), former Greek Orthodox Archbishop of North and South America).

Bishop Iakovos (Antonopoulos) was named Titular Bishop of Zenopolis in the former region of Isauria in Anatolia (now Turkey).

Bishop Iakovos was assigned to serve as Vicar-Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada.

– Bishop of Zenopolis 2020-____.

– Vicar-Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada 2020-____.

Three Vicar-Bishops for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada, 2020

Bishop Athenagoras ; Bishop Iakovos ; Archbishop Sotirios ; Bishop Bartholomew

Reflections

Bishop Iakovos (Antonopoulos) is able to speak Greek, English, French and German.

Archbishop Sotirios commented :

 I am delighted that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada has received three worthy Auxiliary Bishops. 
 We are determined to work as a family so that our Church in Canada can continue its spiritual and material
 progress.  I congratulate the three new Auxiliary Bishops.  I wholeheartedly wish them to live according 
 to God.  To work with all their souls.  To enjoy true happiness, which stems from accomplishing God’s will 
 and the satisfaction one receives from the fruits of one’s efforts.  I deeply regret that many faithful 
 could not attend the ordinations due to the measures taken as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.  
 
 I respectfully and gratefully thank His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy and 
 Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the tremendous love and support they have shown to our 
 Holy Archdiocese.  On bended knees do I bless, glorify and praise, and wholeheartedly thank the Thrice-Holy 
 God, who watches over the least of us and has gifted us three new Bishops.  I promise to work together and 
 in harmony with their Graces the new Bishops so that our Church in Canada can continue to progress in glory 
 to the Thrice-Holy, Trinitarian God.

'An Interview with the V. Rev. Archimandrite Demetrios Antonopoulos'

By Evagelos Sotiropoulos 14 January, 2012

E S : Hello, Father. Before we discuss our theme for today, I know you are relatively new to the Greek
Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto (Canada), so can you therefore tell us a little about yourself ?

A D : I was born in Athens and grew up both there and in Kalamata. I desired to study abroad and was
fortunate to go to Germany when I was 18 years old. There I focused on learning linguistics, German
philology and Modern Greek studies and language.

Upon my return to Greece, I went to the Agarathos Monastery in Heraklion, Crete. It was at this Monastery
(dedicated to the Most-holy Virgin Mary) where I was tonsured a monk, ordained a Deacon (2006) and a Priest
(2008) by Metropolitan Evgenios of Rethymnon and Avlopotamos.

(Actually, two recognised Saints have come out of the Agarathos Monastery : Meletios Pigas and
Cyril Loukaris.)

Finally, I have earned a Master of Divinity from Holy Cross in Boston and, as you know, now serve as the
parish priest at St. Nicholas in Toronto.

E S : It is customary among many to set personal goals for the New Year. How should we as Orthodox
Christians approach the tradition of setting such resolutions ?

A D : When I lived in Germany I knew people who every January would want to change something for the better
or stop doing something harmful, like smoking. If you examine New Year’s resolutions, you will see that
people commit to them out of a desire of developing themselves towards good. However beneficial this
tendency may be, though, it does not mirror the Orthodox life.

This is because the change should be right now since we are at the risk of death every day. As one hymn
to the Holy Trinity states, 'The Judge [Christ] will come suddenly, and the deeds of each will be laid
bare'. Given this, the change we often seek may be late or indeed never come.

Regrettably, modern society is often dominated by consumerism and people are less concerned about the
correct way of living ; and, because of this, they find reasons to push change into the future,
including making New Year’s resolutions.

But as I just mentioned, it is vital that we continuously try to change our habits in a God-pleasing way.

E S : One habit I think many of us, including myself, need to examine is our going to Church since many times
we go out of a sense of duty (e.g., Christmas, Pascha, for a wedding or funeral). How do you suggest we
approach attending the Divine services and, briefly, why is this important ?

A D : I agree that it is a fact many people nowadays go to Church just for this reason. Our faithful need
to better recognise the real meaning and depth of the liturgical life of the Church since we often lack
knowledge about the beneficial role of the Church in our life.

Partaking in the liturgical life of the Church helps one prepare to participate in the Salvific plan of God.

Every Church service, but predominately the Divine Liturgy, encapsulates all of our theology. On the other
hand, however, not partaking in the liturgical life of the Church disrupts one’s voyage towards a saintly
life, that is, towards a life in union with Christ.

If we go to Church, read Holy books and try to imitate the lives of the Saints and, most of all, to follow
the life of Christ, (which takes place in the Mysteries of the Church and in the entire Creation), then the
need to make New Year’s resolutions, for example, will be non-existent because we will already be on the
correct road to change which offers the experience of the Mystery of Christ.

We must go to Church because this is the only way to have a real Christian life. As Saint Cyprian wrote,
‘A person cannot have God as his Father if he does not have the Church as his Mother’.

E S : This provides a good seguē to talk about repentance and confession. We know that the Holy Fathers –
and Mothers – of the Church stress the need for both. What advice would you give to someone who has never
been to confession and is perhaps thinking or wanting to go ?

A D : Let me begin by saying that in the Orthodox Church repentance and confession belong to the same
Sacrament.

This Sacrament has existed in the Church from the time of Christ. It was He who gave authority to His
Apostles to forgive sins : ‘“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven ;
if you retain the sins of any, they are retained”’ (John 20:22-23).

I should stress here the strong connection between confession and repentance because it is often observed
that while we may confess, we many times do not repent.

We should remember the Greek word ‘metanoia’, which means ‘change of mind’ or lifestyle towards God.
It is through the Sacrament of confession that one introduces himself – based on his/her own free will –
to God, allowing him/her to get known by Him.

By participating in this Sacrament we begin to work with God, leading us to restore our relationship with
Him through a process of synergy (or cooperation) between God and man. The Theanthropic synergy is an
essential characteristic of the Christian life. When man works together with God, God works together
with man (1 Cor 3:9). Nothing good happens in a Christian life without God’s Grace. When one offers his
free will and God His Grace, this cooperation between man and God builds a Christian personality.
Therefore, Christian virtue is based on synergy.

Confession prepares us for salvation which occurs through God’s Grace but which is also dependent on our
participation through our free will. If we start participating in this Sacrament, we will begin to figure
out the real meaning of God in our life, leading to an enhanced understanding of the Salvific mystery.

E S : Apart from going to Church and partaking in its Mysteries, what resolutions or changes can we make
in our daily routine to live a more Orthodox Christian and Christ-centred life ?

As I have mentioned, the participation of the faithful in the sacramental life of the Church is necessary
but it is not enough. After we depart from Church, we need to depart with Christ in our hearts since the
centre of our life should be Him.

While we receive His precious Body and His precious Blood in the Divine Liturgy, we should bear Him in
mind every day. How can we do this ? Through prayer, through forgiveness, by showing love to one another
and by keeping the name of Jesus Christ in our heart and in our mind.

We have to find reasons everyday to love and to remember God. If we remain silent and think about the
creation of the world, we will be better able to see and experience God. Moreover, if we have the sincere
desire to understand God, He will reveal Himself to us.

The working of the world is a kind of Divine Liturgy since all creation glorifies God. We are therefore
exposed everyday to God’s mercy and to His Grace – the only thing left for us to do is to be active
participants !

E S : Thank you very much, Father.

A D : Thank you. May God bless us always and keep us close to Him.