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PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE 26 JULY 1996
HIS BEATITUDE PARTHENIOS
Please find below the text of a tribute by Dr Konrad Raiser,
General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), to His
Beatitude Parthenios.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa,
Parthenios III, aged 76, died of a heart attack on 23 July during
a visit to Greece. The funeral will be held on 30 July at the
cathedral church of St Nicholas in Cairo, Egypt.
"His Beatitude Parthenios, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria
and All Africa, has been one of the outstanding Orthodox leaders
of the ecumenical movement. Already as Metropolitan of the
diocese of Tripoli, he served on the Central Committee of the
World Council of Churches since 1968 and became a trusted
interpreter of the Orthodox voice in the life of the World
Council. It was in recognition of his genuine ecumenical
commitment and his profound spiritual wisdom that he was invited
to present an address on the main theme of the World Council of
Churches' Assembly in Canberra in 1991, where he was subsequently
elected as a President of the World Council of Churches.
Continuing the dedicated efforts of his predecessor, His
Beatitude Nicolaos VI, he has facilitated the growth of the
African expression of Orthodoxy which has begun to widen and
enrich the ecumenical movement in Africa.
The passing away of His Beatitude Parthenios leaves a gap which
cannot easily be filled. His distinctive voice of wisdom and
ecumenical passion will continue to reverberate for a long time
to come. The World Council gives thanks to God for the life and
witness of this devoted servant of the Church. He has been a
blessing for many, and the World Council of Churches will always
honour his memory and the legacy he left."
Additional biographical notes:
Elected in February 1987, Parthenios III was the 113th partriarch
of the historical see of Alexandria.
He was born in Port Said, Egypt, to parents of Greek origin, and
attended primary and secondary school in Egypt. He graduated
from the Theological School of Halki, Istanbul, Turkey in 1939.
He did his post-graduate theological studies at Oxford University
and at the Sorbonne, Paris.
He took his monastic vows under the name of Parthenios in 1939
and was ordained deacon and later priest. He was appointed chief
secretary to the Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. From
1953 to 1959, he served as president of the Institute of Oriental
Studies of the Patriarchal Library of Alexandria and became a
permanent member of the Patriarchal publications.
In 1958 he was elected Metropolitan of Carthage in the diocese of
Tripoli, Libya, and became a permanent member of the Synod of the
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria.
In 1968, he was elected member of the Central Committee of the
World Council of Churches, and became a WCC president in 1991.
Contact: John Newbury WCC Press & Information Officer
(+41.22) 791.61.52 (Office);
369.37.26(Home)
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now
330, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually
all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a
member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The highest
governing body is the Assembly, which meets approximately every
seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in
Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary
Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.