Anthony Gergiannakis, 69; Leader in Greek Orthodox Faith
LA Times
Metropolitan Anthony Gergiannakis, spiritual leader of Greek Orthodox Christians in California and six other Western states, died Saturday of cancer. He was 69.
A resident of San Francisco, he had been hospitalized for several weeks at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento where he died, according to Father Paul Schroeder, chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco.
Metropolitan Anthony, as he was widely known, became the first bishop of the newly created Metropolis, or diocese, in 1979 and was named metropolitan, a title similar to that of a Roman Catholic cardinal, in 1997. During his 25 years in church leadership in California, he increased the number of parishes from 47 to 68. Currently there are about 250,000 Greek Orthodox in the San Francisco Metropolis and some 2.5 million nationwide, Schroeder said.
