Nathanael Symeonides
{{short description|Greek Orthodox bishop}}
{{Infobox Bishop
| honorific_prefix = His Eminence
| name = Nathanael
| honorific-suffix = The Reverend
| bishop_of = Metropolitan of Chicago
| image = 200px
| caption = Metropolitan Nathanael in 2025
| archdiocese = America
| metropolis =
| see = Chicago
| enthroned = March 24, 2018
| ended = Incumbent
| predecessor = Metropolitan Iakovos (Garmatis)
| successor =
| ordination = 2003 (diaconate)
2010 (presbyter)
| consecration = February 7, 2018
| other_post =
| birth_name = Constantinos Symeonides
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1978|5|23}}
| birth_place = Thessaloniki, Greece
| death_date =
| death_place =
| buried =
| nationality =
| religion = Greek Orthodox
| residence =
| parents =
| spouse =
| children =
| occupation =
| profession =
| alma_mater = Hellenic College
Boston University
| signature =
}}
Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago, secular name Constantinos Symeonides ({{langx|el|Κωνσταντίνος Συμεωνίδης}}; born May 23, 1978) is the Metropolitan of Chicago since 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.goarch.org/-/his-eminence-metropolitan-nathanael-of-chicago|title=His Eminence Nathanael of Chicago|website=goarch.org|accessdate=8 January 2025}}
Biography
Nathanael was born in 1978 in Thessaloniki to Irene and Vasilios Symeonides. In 2003 he graduated from Hellenic College and became a deacon, and in 2010 he was ordained as a priest. In 2016 he served as the director of the Office of Inter-Orthodox for the Interfaith Relations at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in collaboration with the Council on Foreign Relations.{{cite web |title=Implications of the 2016 Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church {{!}} Council on Foreign Relations |url=https://www.cfr.org/conference-calls/implications-2016-holy-and-great-council-orthodox-church |website=www.cfr.org |access-date=4 February 2025 |language=en}} He was elected Metropolitan of Chicago in February 7, 2018, and was ordained a bishop on March 17, 2018 and enthroned March 24, 2018.
As bishop, Nathanael has called for more active engagement of the church with the youth.{{cite web|url=https://orthochristian.com/111801.html|title=New Greek metropolitan of Chicago calls for greater engagement with youth|website=orthochristian.com|accessdate=8 January 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://pappaspost.com/newly-enthroned-metropolitan-of-chicago-we-must-join-youth-marching-in-the-streets/|title=Newly Enthroned Metropolitan of Chicago: We Must Join Youth Marching in the Streets|website=pappaspost.com|date=24 March 2018 |accessdate=8 January 2025}} On September 7, 2024, two days before the one year anniversary of the opening of Chicago's first casino, Nathanael denounced legalized gambling, stating it "disrupts our brain, [and] degrades our dignity".{{cite web|url = https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2024/09/07/language-legalized-gambling-dangers-community-metropolitan-nathanael-greek-orthodox-church-op-ed|title = Let's stop using clever language to hide dangers of legalized gambling|website = Chicago Sun Times|date = 7 September 2024|accessdate = 16 January 2025|last = His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://orthodoxwiki.org/Nathanael_(Symeonides)_of_Chicago Orthowiki]
- [https://x.com/metnathanael Twitter]
{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|eo}}
{{succession box
| title = Metropolitan of Chicago
| before = Iakovos (Garmatis)
| after = Incumbent
| years = 2018 – Present}}
{{s-end}}
{{catimprove|date=February 2025}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symeonides, Nathanael}}
{{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub}}