On this day (july 21.), on the feast of the Holy Great Martyr Procopius, in 1968, the blessed Metropolitan Amphilochius was ordained to the rank of hieromonk in the Cathedral Church of the Metropolis of Kefalonia, dedicated to the Annunciation, in the city of Argostoli, Kefalonia.
On this occasion, we would like to remind you of the conversation that Archpriest Nikola Pejović, editor-in-chief of Radio Svetigore, conducted with Metropolitan Amphilochius on July 21, 2018. The Metropolitan speaks about his ordination, his encounter with Greece, his pastoral experience, his first parish, his encounters with the great Greek fathers and preachers of that time, later recognized as Holy Elders, his acquaintances with people like Alexander Solzhenitsyn…

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Bless! What were your impressions of your encounter with Orthodox Greece in the 1960s?

May God bless you with the prayers of St. Great Martyr Procopius. Well, I am simply amazed that 50 years have passed since that day and that act. I was previously ordained a deacon in the Monastery of St. Gerasimos of Cephalonia, a great saint and enlightener, on the eve of the feast of St. Procopius in Argostoli, a small town in Cephalonia. I was ordained by Metropolitan Procopius, who played a significant role in my life. At that time, in 1966, I came from Rome (Italy) to Greece and was on the cross. I must say, I did not want to return to communist Yugoslavia, but then I even threw away my Yugoslav passport and received a blasé-passé – an emigrant passport, thanks to Metropolitan Procopius. There was his school friend Zoe Chronopoulos, who was our great benefactor and friend, and later she was a nun – abbess of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Attica. She first met the former Bishop of Zahumlje and Herzegovina, Athanasius, who was there before me. She came to the Russian Church where he served, confessed to him and heard about Father Justin through him. After that, she went to the Cellars every year, secretly. She would go to Vienna and then return to Belgrade, where they would wait for her in the evening and drive her to the Cellars. And one year, she became a nun there and was given the name Justina, after Father Justin. She always brought us letters from Father Justin. Secretly, no one even knew about it. She studied with Prokopije, and later she was a professor of religious studies at the gymnasium for decades. And so, through him, I met Metropolitan Prokopios. He supported me and helped me as much as possible before the state authorities, because he was a military chaplain and spiritual director in his time. So, thanks to that, I also reached Kefalonia. There I was enrolled as a monk, when he secretly tonsured me.

https://mitropolija.com/2025/07/21/na-danasnji-dan-prije-57-godina-rukopolozen-blazenopocivsi-mitropolit-amfilohije/