His Eminence Elder Metropolitan Demetrios (Kommatas) of Princes’ Islands, Primate and Exarch of Propontis receives the title of doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens

His Eminence Elder Metropolitan Demetrios (Kommatas) of Princes’ Islands, Primate and Exarch of Propontis, was awarded the title of doctor honoris causa of the Department of Theology. The awarding ceremony took place on Thursday, 29 May 2025, at 19:00, at the Great Hall of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

In attendance at the ceremony were His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece; His Eminence Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia—representing His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I; the Deputy Ministers of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports, Mr Nikolaos Papaioannou—representing the Government—and Mr Kostas Vlasis; the former Deputy Prime Minister of the Greek Government, Mr Evaggelos Venizelos; the Members of Parliament Manos Konsolas, Zetta Makri, and Maximos Charakopoulos; the Shadow Secretary of State for Development and Investment at PASOK-Movement for Change—representing the Leader of the Opposition—Professor Konstantinos Gatsios; the Great Benefactor and doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens, Mr Athanasios Martinos; Members of the Academy of Athens; the Greek Consul General in Istanbul, Ambassador Konstantinos Koutras; Bishops and Priests; the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Development Bank and former Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr George Zavvos; the Archon Grand Logothetis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Mr Theodore Angelopoulos; Emeritus Professors; Members of the University’s Administration Council; the Vice-Rector for Administrative Affairs, Student Welfare, and Lifelong Learning, Professor Christos Karagiannis; Deans of Schools; Chairs of Departments; Members of the University Senate; and numerous members of faculty.

Addressing the honouree was the Rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Professor Gerasimos Siasos.

Immediately afterwards, Professor at the Department of Theology of the NKUA’s School of Theology, His Eminence Chrysostomos, Metropolitan of Messinia, presented the work and personality of the honouree.

This was followed by the awarding ceremony.

-The Chair of the Department of Theology of the NKUA’s School of Theology, Professor Dimitrios Moschos, read the Department’s Resolution, the Award, and the Honorary Diploma.

– Next, the Dean of the School of Theology, Professor Emmanouil Karageorgoudis, presented the honouree with the University’s epitoge.

The ceremony closed with His Eminence Elder Metropolitan Demetrios (Kommatas) of Princes’ Islands, Primate and Exarch of Propontis, delivering a speech entitled ‘Aspects of the Sleepless Ministry of the Great Church of Christ’.

In his address to the honouree, the Rector of the University of Athens, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, said, among other things, the following: ‘The decision by the University Senate expresses profound respect for an eminent Hierarch, born from the very heart of the Mother Church of Constantinople, who has devoted over four decades of uninterrupted ministry to the Ecumenical Throne, Orthodoxy, and the Greek diaspora.

The honouree was born in the Constantinopolitan district of Tatavla in 1952. A graduate of the Great School of the Genos and among the last students to attend the Halki Seminary before its closure in 1971, he completed his studies at the Department of Pastoral Theology of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1975 and then went on to further his theological education at Oak Hill College in London, UK.

His Eminence has forged his ecclesiastical path alongside the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Phanar, and the Greek Orthodox community of Istanbul. He was ordained a deacon in 1974 and a year later joined the Patriarchal Court.

In 1990, he was unanimously elected Metropolitan of Sevasteia and undertook a senior role as Director of the Private Patriarchal Office, working closely with His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. Actively involved in Synodal bodies and Church missions, he has been a tireless servant of unity, ministry, and the institutional witness of the Throne.

In 2018, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate unanimously elected him Metropolitan of Princes’ Islands and, following the commendation of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, bestowed upon him the honorary title of Elder of the Ecumenical Throne.

At his enthronement, the Ecumenical Patriarch spoke movingly, acknowledging him as the Prelate who “provides a God-pleasing pastoral ministry and is now crowned with the dignity and honour of an Elder”.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece have long-standing, unbreakable ties with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. This bond is not merely historical—it is rather vibrant and spiritual. And today, in your person, through your conferment as honorary doctor, the University of Athens, the oldest and largest Institution of Higher Education in Greece, honours the Phanar and, together with it, the ideals that Bartholomew I, Patriarch of the Genos and doctor honoris causa of all of our Schools and Departments, upholds high as a shining beacon’.

Photos: Dimitris Konstantinidis