His Eminence Daniel
Metropolitan of Accra, Most Honorable and Exarch of West Africa
Chairman

He was born in Zakynthos, Greece. He holds a Degree from the Technical Vocational School of Zakynthos, Department of Economics and Management, Department of Hotel Businesses (1997). After his school education, he attended courses at the School of Accountants, at the Higher Educational Institution of Messolonghi town (1998). After, he studied at the Higher Ecclesiastical School in Ioannina town (2004) and then at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Theology, from where he received the Degree in Pastoral and Social Theology (2010). He holds a Certificate of Education in the subject “Addictions Counseling”, from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (2011), also a Master Degree in Social Theology and Christian Culture (Th.M.), in the Faculty of Humanities from the Hellenic Open University (2023).

He served as a Missionary in the Holy Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa in its Provinces of Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Malawi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and as Chancellor of the Holy Metropolis of Zambia and Malawi (2016), in Egypt, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea.

He was seconded at the instigation of His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa to the ancient Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt.  Called to See of the Patriarchate in Alexandria, he served as Parish Priest of the Holy Cathedral Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Alexandria (2016) and from 18/1/2017 as Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod.

Proposed by His Beatitude and by canonical votes of the Holy Synod, he was elected on November 26, 2018, as Metropolitan of Aksum in Ethiopia. He was ordained Bishop by His Beatitude, at the Holy Monastery of Saint Savva of Alexandria, on December 5, 2018, and enthroned by His Beatitude on March 2, 2019, at the Cathedral of Saint Frumentios, Addis Ababa.

On February 15, 2024, he was elected as Metropolitan-Archbishop of Accra in Ghana. His enthroned took place on April 21, 2024, at the Holy Transfiguration of Christ Cathedral in Accra. The Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Accra in Ghana, under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa in Egypt, includes in its spiritual jurisdiction the countries of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali.

Email: archbishop.accra@gmail.com

Assoc. Professor Dr. Christos Karydis
Vice-Chairman 

Dr. Christos Karydis is an Associate Professor at the Ionian University- Department of Environment, Greece. Head of the Department of Environment (2023- 2026). Director of the MSc 'Preservation & Management of Cultural Heritage' at the Ionian University (2024-today). Director of ‘PreServe’ Laboratory of Preventive & Interventive Conservation at the Ionian University (2025-today). Director of the School of Iconography 'Fotis Kontoglou' established by the Holy Metropolis of Monemvasia & Sparta (2017- today). He is also teaching several postgraduate courses mainly at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Academic responsible and co-author for four (4) e-learning programs at the University of Athens. He completed his PostDoc in preventive conservation and history of ecclesiastical textiles with the collaboration of the Ormylia Diagnostic Art Centre and the Getty Institute (Los Angeles). He was conferred with the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the University of Lincoln, UK (Funded by the Holy Synod of Greek Church). He received his Master of Arts in Preventive Conservation from University of Northumbria and a Master of Art in the Orthodox Theology from the Greek Open University. After his first degree in Conservation from De Montfort University, UK he trained in textile conservation at the Textile Conservation Centre- University of Southampton, UK (one year, funded by the A.G Leventis Foundation). Before studying conservation, he trained as an icon painter in Greece. He has been working in Churches, sites, museums and monasteries at Mount Athos, Jerusalem, Constantinople, Colombia, Eritrea, Malaysia, Spain, UK and Greece. He has established and organize more than four (4) full conservation labs in Greece, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Mount Athos.

Email: c.karydis@ionio.gr

Assoc. Professor Dr. Dr. Vasiliki Mavroska
Director of Studies

Dr. Vasiliki Mavroska is an Associate Professor of Dogmatics in the Ecclesiastical Academy of Athens, Greece. She holds a Ph.D. of Theology at the Department of Pastoral and Social Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, as well as a second Ph.D. of Philosophy at the Institute of Art History of the Philosophical Faculty of the Goethe Universität of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Her Master´s Degree is on the field of Christian Archaeology and Art. She has received two Post Docs, one under the IKY Scholarship and the second one under the AUTh Scholarship. She speaks English and German, and partially French. She writes articles and she is active in scientific events in Greece and abroad. She is married with Spyros Spyropoulos and a mother of two young children.

Email: vasiliki.mavroska@gmail.com 

Professor Ilias Giarennis
Μember

Ilias Giarenis was born in Athens. He is a Byzantinist, Professor of Byzantine Intellectual History at Ionian University. He is also Member of the Board of Governance of the University.

He has written on the empire of Nicaea, on the empire of Trebizond, on the fragmented Byzantine World after 1204, on the Holy Face, and on the Byzantine author and clergyman Nikolaos Mesarites. His publications include: Establishment and Consolidation of the empire of Nicaea (Athens 2008); The Byzantine Scholar Nikolaos Mesarites: Texts and Studies (Athens 2022). He has co-edited the collective the volumes:  Bessarion from Trebizond of Pontos. A Scholar of the Byzantine and Western Renaissance in the 15th Century (Thessaloniki 2017), and Scholars and Scholarship in Byzantium (Thessaloniki 2019). He has also co-edited the honorary volume Books and Learning in the Byzantine World. Festschrift in Honour of Costas N. Constantinides (Berlin-Boston 2021).

He has taken part in many International Congresses, Colloquia and Conferences in Greece, Great Britain, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Croatia and Hungary. His current research interests include Byzantine scholarship and education, the world of manuscripts in Byzantium, and the reception of Byzantium in modern and contemporary Greece.

Εmail: yarenis@ionio.gr

Very Rev. Father Ireneaus Opoku Ayeh
Member

Email: danielopokuayeh@gmail.com and fririneos@yahoo.com