Iakovos of Chicago

Who is Iakovos of Chicago?

Metropolitan Iakovos (Garmatis) of Chicago was elected to the episcopacy of the Greek Orthodox Church by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1969. He was enthroned by Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America on May 1, 1979, as the Bishop of Chicago at the Annunciation Cathedral. In November 1997, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elected Bishop Iakovos of Chicago to the active Metropolitanate of Chicago and Exarch of Ionias. In this capacity, he serves the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago as its Presiding Hierarch.

Beginning his higher education in Athens, Greece, and continuing his studies and service in the Boston area, Metropolitan Iakovos was appointed Archdiocesan Vicar of the Diocese of Detroit by Archbishop Iakovos in February 1968. One year later, he was elevated to the rank of Bishop by the Holy See of Constantinople. He was consecrated Bishop of Apameia on Christmas Day of 1969, and appointed to the Diocese of Detroit as Bishop of that district.

In 1971 he was appointed President of Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, while remaining as administrative overseer of the Diocese of Detroit. He simultaneously served as the Bishop of the New England area during his five-year tenure as President of Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of Theology.