(Versión española AQUÍ)
His Eminence Polycarp (civil name: Panagiotis Stavropoulos), was born on the 15th of October 1963 in Lepanto (Aetolia, Greece), where he completed his primary and secondary studies. He graduated with honours at the Theological Faculty of Athens University (1986), did his military service as a Theologian NCO (1986-1988) and later, thanks to an ecclesiastical grant, did a two-year postgraduate course at the Church History Department of the Pontifical Oriental Institute of the Gregorian University of Rome (1988-1990).
He was ordained a Deacon on the 15th of January 1990 in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George in Constantinople by his mentor, the Metropolitan of Chalcedon (and now Ecumenical Patriarch) Bartholomew. The next day, the 16th of January, he was ordained a Priest in the same Church by the Metropolitan of Lepanto and Saint Blaise (now Metropolitan of Mantinea and Cynuria) Alexander, having been elevated to the rank of Archimandrite on that same day by the same Hierarch who ordained him a Deacon. He served as chaplain of the historic and illustrious Brotherhood of Saint Nicholas and the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George in Venice (1990-2007) and as Vicar General of the then recently established Archdiocese of Italy and Malta (1992-2007), being especially responsible for its organisation, consolidation and development in the whole of the Italian Peninsula and its islands and Malta. At the same time he was Rector of the following Parishes founded by himself: Padua (1990-2007), Ferrara (1990-1999), Parma (1994-1999) and Perugia (1992-2003). He acted as Abbot of the Monasteries of the Venerable John the Harvester in Calabria (1994-1997) and of the Venerable Greek Nuns in Venice (1992-2007) and Vice president of the Metropolitan Council and all the Commissions of the Archdiocese. In the year 1998 he took the position of Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne. He represented the Mother Church at several missions, meetings and congresses, and on five occasions he was part of the Patriarchal Representation at the Patronal Feast of the Church of Rome.
On the 30th of April 2007, at the proposal of His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, he was unanimously elected by the Holy Synod as second Metropolitan of Spain and Portugal, thus succeeding the first Metropolitan, His Eminence Epiphanius, who had been moved for health reasons to the Archdiocese of Brioula. His ordination to the Episcopate took place on the 6th of May 2007, Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George, and was officiated by His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch and the members of the Holy Synod. On the 16th of June 2007 he was enthroned in the Holy Cathedral Church of Saints Andrew and Demetrius in Madrid.
On the 14th of January 2021 His Eminence Polycarp was elected Metropolitan of Italy by the Holy Synod
of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Metropolitan Polycarp gives lectures and speeches, writes articles and, besides Greek -his mother tongue-, knows Italian, French and Spanish.
