Germanos (Liamadis) of Constantia

His Grace, the Right Reverend Bishop Germanos (Liamadis) of Constantia (1883-1965) was an auxiliary bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate serving in the United States. He served primarily as an assistant to the Archbishop of America, Iakovos, with specific responsibility for the First Archdiocesan District, an area roughly analogous to the present-day Dioceses of New York and New Jersey.
== Life ==
The future bishop was born in Kreminion, a village near Kozani in Macedonia. Born Leonidas Constantinou Liamadis, he moved to Constantinople in 1897, when he was about fourteen years of age. He enrolled in the Zographion High School, but transferred to the Theological School of Halki, from which he graduated in 1908. Shortly prior to this, he was ordained to the diaconate.
Deacon Germanos' first assignment was as Archdeacon to the Metropolitan of Preveza. Following the death of the Metropolitan two years later, he was appointed protosyngellos of the Metropolis of Saranta Ecclesia in Thrace. When the Metropolitan was transferred to the Metropolis of Xanthe in 1910, he took Germanos as protosyngellos and preacher-at-large. Within a few years, Germanos was ordained to the priesthood and elevated to the office of archimandrite.
At the onset of the Second Balkan War, he was captured by the Bulgarians and held as a prisoner of war. He was released at the conclusion of the war and returned to Xanthe, where he resumed his prior duties. In 1924 he emigrated to the United States, where he was appointed proistamenos of the church of St. George in Schenectady, New York and served from 1924 to 1936. Later he also served parishes in Endicott, New York (1936-1942) and Youngstown, Ohio (1942-1951.) In 1952, Fr. Germanos was appointed Professor of Religion and Chaplain for St. Basil Academy in Garrison, New York.
In 1955, Germanos was elected as bishop of Constantia. He was consecrated to the episcopacy at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on Palm Sunday of 1955. In addition to his responsibilities for the First Archdiocesan District, he served as director of St. Basil's Academy. He chose to retire from active ministry in 1962.
Bishop Germanos died on March 13, 1965. He is buried at St. Michael's Cemetery in Astoria, New York.
== Sources ==
*"Bishop Germanos of Greek Church: Ex-Aide of Iakovos, Primate to the Americas, Dies at 81", The New York Times, March 15, 1965.
*"His Grace Germanos, Bishop of Constantia: A Biographical Note." Program Album. Seventeenth Biennial Ecclesiastical Clergy-Laity Congress and Philoptohos Conference of the Greek Archdiocese of North and South America. Denver, 1964.
Category:Bishops
Category:Theological School of Halki Graduates