Biography of His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of New Jersey 

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His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of New Jersey was born Christos Ziliaskopoulos in 1970 in Reutlingen, Germany, and was raised in both Germany and Greece. During his young adulthood, he spent several formative years in the monastic life on Mount Athos, an experience that profoundly shaped his vocation and lifelong devotion to Christ and His Church. 

He was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in 1997 and to the Holy Priesthood in 1998 by His Eminence Metropolitan Augoustinos of Germany. In 1999, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew elevated him to the rank of Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne. 

For more than twenty years, His Eminence served the Church in Germany in extensive parish, pastoral, and administrative ministry, including as Hierarchical Vicar of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Germany for the states of Hessen and Rhineland-Palatinate. He also represented the Ecumenical Patriarchate in ecumenical theological dialogues and was active in Christian and interfaith initiatives. Among his pastoral accomplishments were the establishment of the first Orthodox chapel at Frankfurt International Airport, a 24-hour Orthodox crisis hotline, and the first Greek Orthodox youth camp in Germany. He also oversaw significant parish building and restoration projects. 

In 2017, he relocated to Toronto, Canada, at the invitation of His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios of Canada, where he served as Dean of the Patriarchal Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy and as Office Director of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada. 

In 2019, His Eminence came to the United States to offer his ministry to the Sacred Archdiocese of America and Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, where he initially served as Chaplain. In 2021, he was appointed Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod and Spiritual Advisor of the National Philoptochos Society and was subsequently entrusted with the direction of the Archdiocesan Department of Religious Education. 

 

On May 19, 2021, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elected him Bishop of Nazianzos. He was ordained to the Holy Episcopacy on June 5, 2021, at Holy Cross Chapel in Brookline, Massachusetts, with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presiding. In the years that followed, he continued his extensive service to the Sacred Archdiocese while also serving as Archiepiscopal Vicar of the Hellenic Orthodox Community of Astoria.  

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Metropolitan Athenagoras has an extensive academic background. He holds degrees in German Language and Orthodox Theology, including a Master of Theology and a Doctorate in Orthodox Theology from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His studies have also included pedagogy, German literature, Roman Catholic and Protestant theology, Judaism, Islamic studies, and comparative religion. His scholarly and ecclesiastical work has been particularly engaged with Orthodox theology, religious education, ecumenical dialogue, and interfaith relations. 

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Source: The Orthodox Observer