Alexander George Demoglou

George Demoglou was born to Vasileios and Anastasia Demoglou in Nikomedeia (İzmit) in 1874. After a year of study at Chalcedon (Kadıköy), he enrolled in 1892 at the Theological School of Halki. He was ordained a deacon on Pascha 1895 by Metropolitan Ioakeim Efthyvoulis (of Chalcedon); seven years later, upon his graduation, George was ordained a priest, taking the name Alexander, and began his service in Kordelios. In 1907, Fr. Alexander was elected auxiliary bishop to Metropolitan Kyrillos of Adrianpole; the following year, he became auxiliary bishop to Metropolitan Joachim (Sgouros) of Xanthi. He served with the metropolitan there until 1910, at which point they moved to Thessaloniki. Metropolitan Joachim died in 1912, and Bishop Alexander moved to Constantinople, where he assisted the Patriarchate. His honorable service there earned him the appointment of patriarchal delegate in 1915, a position in which he liaised between the Patriarchate and monasteries. Bishop Alexander was much beloved and respected among hierarchs, clergy, and laity alike. He spent a year in Athens, where he was made auxiliary bishop to Metropolitan Meletios (Metaxakis). Metropolitan Meletios became Ecumenical Patriarch in 1921, and the following year, he formally organized the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOARCH). Bishop Alexander was made the first Greek Archbishop of America. His archbishopric came at a difficult point in Greek history, marked by Turkish aggression and power struggles between the Greek royalty and prime minister, which resulted in contentious political views and division among Greeks at home and abroad. Archbishop Alexander and Metropolitan Meletios were sympathetic to the Venizelists, drawing ire from pro-royalist Greeks. Ultimately, this led to his resignation from the archbishopric in 1930; he was succeeded by Athenagoras , then Metropolitan of Corfu, who led and supported unifying and reconciliatory efforts in GOARCH. Despite his controversial political views, Archbishop Alexander did promote education among Greek-Americans and improved ecumenical relations with other Christian denominations in the United States. Upon his resignation in America, Alexander was elected Metropolitan of Corfu, where he served for the remaining twelve years of his life. Near the end of his life, during the Axis occupation of Greece, Metropolitan Alexander saved 23 high schoolers from execution by the Italian forces. Metropolitan Alexander fell asleep in the Lord on August 1, 1942, in Corfu, and was interred at the Platytera Monastery. May his memory be eternal.