Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity

He earned a Bachelors degree in Pre-Theology from Hellenic College in Brookline, MA, in 1981, a Masters Degree in Theology from Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline, MA in 1985 as well as a Master Degree in Pastoral Counseling from Holy Names College in Oakland, CA in 2000.

Fr. Ari and Presbytera Debbie Schanhals were married on June 21, 1987 in Memphis, TN. She is a nurse practitioner, and they have two children, William and his wife Julianne and a daughter, Dionna.

On May 18, 1988 he was ordained to the Diaconate and on June 12, 1988 to the Priesthood by Bishop Anthony of San Francisco, of Blessed memory, in Oakland, CA. On December 24, 2006 he was elevated by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit to the rank of Protopresbyter.

Fr. Ari has served the following parishes:Youth Director Annunciation Parish Memphis, TN, Pastor OF SS Markella and Demetrios Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, Ascension Cathedral in Oakland, CA as the Associate Pastor and Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Toledo, OH.

Fr. Ari’s hobbies include decorating for Christmas and being a certified storm chaser. He wanted to be a meteorologist but it took too much math, thus God had other plans for him. He also has worked at various radio stations as an announcer in Memphis, TN, Oakland, CA, Ft. Walton Beach Florida, San Francisco, CA and Toledo, OH.

Father Ari believes that we are here on this earth to serve God and humanity with love and if we want to make God laugh tell Him your plans.

Anthimos Panagiotopoulos was born on December 25, 1943, in Patras, Greece. His parents were Spyridon and Angeliki Panagiotopoulos. In 1963, Anthimos was tonsured as a monk of Vatopedion Monastery. He graduated from the Anthonias Ecclesiastical Academy in 1964. Upon his ordinationto the diaconate in late 1965, he served as archdeacon of the Metropolis of Patras, but later moved to Athens to enroll in the School of Theology of the University of Athens (from which he received a degree in 1973). While enrolled at the university, he served concurrently as deacon to the Athenian churches of St. Panteleimon and St. Spyridon.

Deacon Anthimos returned to Patras upon his ordination to the priesthood on August 27, 1972. He became a member of the Gerokomion Monastery of the Virgin Mary, while serving the church of St. Sophia in Patras. Shortly after receiving his degree from the University of Athens, he applied to the Doctor of Ministry program at Boston University's School of Theology. He was accepted and moved to Boston, where he served as proistamenos of the church of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Burlington, Vermont. Fr. Anthimos received his doctoral degree in 1977 and returned to Patras, where he was appointed Hegumen of the Gerokomion Monastery. He was shortly summoned back to America, however, to become Dean of the Cathedral of Ss. Constantine and Helen in Brooklyn, New York. The following year, he was transferred to Astoria to serve as dean of the combined communities of St. Demetrios and Ss. Catherine and George.

On April 7, 1987, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elected Fr. Anthimos as titular bishop of Troas. At his consecration on May 17 of that year, he was appointed as chorepiscopos (village bishop) of Astoria. (Although this is a former office in Orthodox canon law, in this case the term seems to have been more intended to describe the scope of his responsibilities with respect to the Astoria community.) In 1989, his duties were expanded to include oversight of parishes throughout Queens, Long Island, southern Connecticut, and upstate New York. He was also named as director of the Hellenic Cultural Center, an institution of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America based in Astoria.

On January 1, 1997, Bishop Alexios was designated as Archepiscopal Vicar for the Diocese of Atlanta, following the death of Bishop Philip. In 1999, Bishop Alexios was elected as the new bishop of the Diocese. At the end of 2002, the Diocese of Atlanta was elevated, along with the other dioceses of the American Archdiocese, to the status of Metropolis, and Bishop Alexios was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan.

Description text goes hereIn 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 a doctoral dissertation at the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki under the title: “Severus of Antioch and the Council of Chalcedon,” proclaiming him a Doctorate of Theology with highest distinction. In 2004, he was invited to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston, where he taught as a visiting professor for one semester.

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 Theological School of Thessaloniki and was unanimously elected Assistant Professor of Symbolics, Inter-Orthodox Relations and the Ecumenical Movement. The dissertations are entitled: “The Synaxis’s of the Hierarchy of the Ecumenical Throne (1951-2004)” and “Luther’s Ninety-five Thesis. Historical and Theological aspects. Text - Translation – Commentary.”

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 Chalki. 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 a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches since 1996.