Metropolis of Rhodes

The Metropolis of Rhodes (Greek: Ιερά Μητρόπολις Ρόδου) is the Greek Orthodox metropolitan see covering the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese island group in Greece. It belongs to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The foundation of the Christian community of Rhodes is traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul, as the island is mentioned (Acts 21) during the latter's third missionary journey. Paul's companion Silas is also held to have preached and performed miracles on the island.

The exact date of the establishment of an episcopal see in Rhodes is unknown, although tradition mentions Prochorus as the first bishop in the 1st century AD. Euphranor is attested as a bishop during the 2nd century, while bishop Photinus is mentioned in the late 3rd century. During the First Ecumenical Council in 325, Rhodes was represented by bishop Euphrosynus. In Late Antiquity, Rhodes became the capital of the Roman province of the Islands, encompassing most of the Aegean Islands. Consequently, it was raised to a metropolitan see, probably some time in the late 4th or early 5th century, with a number of suffragan sees in the other islands of the province.

In the earliest of the Notitiae Episcopatuum dating to the early 5th century, Rhodes ranked 26th among the sees under the Patriarchate of Constantinople, falling to 28th place after the Fourth Ecumenical Council in 451, to 33rd in the mid-6th century, and rising to 30th in the early 9th century. In Late Antiquity and until the early 9th century, the metropolis of Rhodes counted 11 suffragan sees. In the mid-9th century, the foundation of two new sees, in Nisyros and Astypalaia, raised the number of suffragans to 13, but in the early 10th century the number briefly fell to 10, after the two new sees were disbanded and Andros came under the Metropolitan of Athens. Soon, however, the two sees were re-established, and the see of Ikaria added, bringing the number back to 13, and, after the 970s, to 14, with the addition of the bishopric of Tracheia. Eventually, the metropolis counted 15 suffragan sees, with the addition of the bishops of Linos and Apameia. The metropolis held the 38th rank from the 10th to the early 12th century, before falling to the 45th from the late 13th until the early 14th century.

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