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WELCOME TO
SAINT SOPHIA
HELLENIC ORTHODOX CHURCH
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Our mission is to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind – and our neighbors as ourselves.
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Priest
​Fr. Peter Kostakis​
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Ιn and through Jesus Christ and His Holy Orthodox Church, our lives are transformed through worship, Sacraments, metanoia,
service, learning, fellowship, and Christ-centered community.​
Church Hierarchs
Archbishop Elpidophoros
Spiritual Leader of the Greek Orthodox Church of America
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Spiritual Leader of the Greek Orthodox Church
Metropolitan Methodios
Spiritual Leader of the Metropolis of Boston
Archbishop Elpidophoros
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Eminence Methodios
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, born Dimitrios Ch. Archontonis, was born in Agioi Theodoroi, Imbros, on February 29, 1940. He attended the circular classes at the Primary School of his village, at the Zografeio Gymnasium-Lyceum of Constantinople and at the Central School of Imbros. He then studied at the Holy Theological School of Halki, the Institute of Oriental Studies in Rome (Gregorian University), the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey (Switzerland) and the University of Munich. He speaks seven languages. He was ordained Deacon in 1961, Priest in 1969 and Metropolitan of Philadelphia in 1973. In 1990 he was promoted to Metropolitan Elder of Chalcedon and on October 22, 1991 he was unanimously elected Ecumenical Patriarch. Between the years 1961-1963 he fulfilled his compulsory military service according to the laws. He served as Director of the Private Office of His immediate predecessor, Patriarch Demetrios, throughout His Patriarchate (1972-1991).
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Since his election as Ecumenical Patriarch, he has been working to strengthen pan-Orthodox unity and cooperation. For this purpose, he established the Synaxes of the Orthodox Primates and made many visits to them, as well as invited and welcomed them to His Holy See at the Phanar. He convened the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, which took place in Crete, in June 2016, and presided over its work. It also promotes ecumenical dialogue with other Christian Churches and Confessions by visiting their seats and participating in inter-Christian conferences and anniversary events.
During his Patriarchate, he was received by many heads of state and government, many of whom officially visited His All-Holiness at the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He was invited and gave speeches at the European Parliament (1994, 2008), the Council of Europe (2007), UNESCO, the Prague Forum 2000 (2019), the World Economic Forum in Davos (1999, 2020), etc. He has been awarded the highest honorary distinctions of many countries, including the Gold Medal of the American Congress, as well as the title of honorary doctorate from many University Institutions around the world.
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Since 2004, he has expanded the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, inviting the Hierarchs of the Throne outside Turkey to participate in it. He also convened many times Synaxes of the Hierarchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He also established regular pilgrimage visits to Cappadocia and other "extinguished lamps" in Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace, where after many decades sacred Services were performed, culminating in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the historic Holy Monastery of Panagia Soumela (15.8.2010), which continued until 2015. He visited most of the Provinces of the Throne throughout the world, blessing and strengthening the pastoral work carried out in them. Also, following His suggestion, new Holy Metropolises were founded by the Holy and Sacred Synod. On His initiative, the "Yearbook of the Ecumenical Patriarchate" was published, as early as the 90s, and the official informative magazine of the Mother Church, "Orthodoxy", was republished. Immediately after his election, he took care of the reopening of the Holy Theological School of Halki, which has remained "silent" since 1971, and for the achievement of this just purpose he continues his efforts unabated. At the same time, it has been working systematically, in the context of the interest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, since the time of Patriarch Demetrios, to raise the awareness of States and peoples with the aim of preserving Creation and protecting the natural environment, convening, among other things, Ecological Seminars in Halki and many International Symposia at sea in various parts of the world.
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) of America, Most Honorable Exarch of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, is the eighth Archbishop of America elected since the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in 1922. Archbishop Elpidophoros was born in 1967 in Bakirköy, Istanbul. He studied at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki — School of Pastoral and Social Theology, from which he graduated in 1991. In 1993, he finished his postgraduate studies at the Philosophical School of the University of Bonn, Germany, submitting a dissertation entitled, “The Brothers Nicholas and John Mesarites: Defenders of Orthodoxy in the Union Negotiations from 1204 to 1214 (in the historical and theological framework of the era).” He was ordained a Deacon in 1994 at the Patriarchal Cathedral and was thereafter appointed as the Codecographer of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
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In 1995, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod. From 1996-1997 he studied at the Theological School of St. John the Damascene in Balamand, Lebanon, where he improved his knowledge of the Arabic language. In 2001, he presented his doctoral dissertation at the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki under the title, “The Opposing Stance of Severus of Antioch at the Council of Chalcedon,” earning him a Doctorate of Theology with highest distinction. In 2004, he was invited to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA, where he taught as a visiting professor for one semester.
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In March 2005, at the proposal of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, he was promoted by the Holy and Sacred Synod to the position of Chief Secretary and was ordained to the priesthood by the Ecumenical Patriarch in the Patriarchal Cathedral. In 2009, he submitted two dissertations to the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki — School of Pastoral and Social Theology and was unanimously elected Assistant Professor of Symbolics, Inter-Orthodox Relations and the Ecumenical Movement. The dissertations are entitled: “The Synaxes of the Hierarchy of the Ecumenical Throne (1951-2004)” and “Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses: Historical and Theological Aspects. Text – Translation – Commentary.” In 2018, he was elected full professor at the same university, a position he held until his election as Archbishop of America.
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In March 2011, he was elected Metropolitan of Bursa, and in August of the same year was appointed Abbot of the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of the Holy Trinity on the island of Halki. He has served as the Orthodox Secretary of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran World Federation and as a member of the Patriarchal delegations to the General Assemblies of the Conference of European Churches and the World Council of Churches. He was the Secretary of the Pan-Orthodox Synods in Sofia (1998), Istanbul (2005), Geneva (2006), and Istanbul (2008). He has been an active member of the World Council of Churches serving on its Central Committee and also serving on its Faith and Order Commission since 1996.
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On May 11, 2019, he was elected Archbishop of America by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and was enthroned at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City on June 22 of the same year.
His Eminence Methodios, Metropolitan of Boston, is the spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston which includes all of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont and the Connecticut towns of Danielson, New London and Norwich. The Metropolis, whose offices are located in Brookline, Massachusetts, consists of 62 parishes which minister to the needs of approximately 200,000 Greek Orthodox faithful. Metropolitan Methodios was enthroned as the Bishop of Boston on April 8, 1984, following his election to that post by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Phanar, Constantinople, Turkey. In July 1989 Bishop Methodios also assumed the Presidency of Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. He held that position till 1995. In 1997 the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elevated Bishop Methodios to the office of Metropolitan. A Hierarch of vision, Metropolitan Methodios inspired the faithful of the Metropolis of Boston to support him in the construction of a magnificent Center located at 162 Goddard Avenue in Brookline. Groundbreaking for this edifice took place on September 14, 1985. It was completed a year later, on September 14, 1986. From this Center, the focal point of the Metropolis in New England, many programs emanate which serve and enlighten the faithful and share Orthodoxy with the public-at-large.
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Metropolitan Methodios was born on November 19, 1946 in New York City, the third child of the late Stavroula and Vasilios Tournas. He graduated from the Greek Orthodox Cathedral Parochial School in New York City and the McBurney School in Manhattan. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Hellenic College in Brookline, MA in 1968 and the Bachelor of Divinity Degree from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in 1971. In 1972 he earned the Master of Sacred Theology from Boston University and in 1975 the University of Thessaloniki, Greece, awarded him Theological Accreditation upon completion of further studies there. Boston University awarded Metropolitan Methodios the Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree in May 1985. In June 1995 the American International College in Springfield, MA, awarded Metropolitan Methodios the Honorary Degree of Humane Letters. His Alma Mater, Hellenic College-Holy Cross, awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree on May 19, 2001.
Metropolitan Methodios served as a member of the National Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultations Board. As a member of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, an Organization devoted to the cause of worldwide religious freedom for all denominations, Metropolitan Methodios traveled to Hungary in 1981, and, in the fall of 1982 he was a member of a three-man religious delegation that visited the Soviet Union. A second visit to the Soviet Union was made in September of 1984. Metropolitan Methodios is a member of the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, served on the Executive Board of the National Council of Churches and is a member of the Massachusetts Commission on Christian Unity and the New England Consultation of Church Leaders. He is listed in Who is Who in Religion, is a member of the Commission of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas and serves on various other religious boards and organizations.
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In 2024, Metropolitan Methodios celebrated his 40th year as Bishop/Metropolitan of Boston.
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