Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada, formerly known as the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto (Canada), is an archdiocese of the Eastern Orthodox Church based in Canada. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The present Archbishop and Exarch of All Canada is Sotirios Athanassoulas. Its jurisdiction covers members of the Greek Orthodox community living in Canada. Archbishop Sotirios was born in Arta, Epirus in Greece. The headquarters of the archdiocese is in the East York district of Toronto. History At the beginning of the 20th century there were approximately 300 Canadians of Greek descent. The first community was established in Montreal in 1906. This was followed in 1909 by the community of "St. George" in Toronto. Other early communities were established in Winnipeg (1912) and in Thunder Bay (1918). As these communities began forming parishes, the Greek believers looked the Church of Greece for priests. Responding to the calls from the New World, in 1908, the Patriarchate in Constantinople issued a decree giving episcopal oversight of the Americas to the Church of Greece. In 1922, Meletius, now Patriarch of Constantinople, revoked the decree of 1908, and formally organized the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and