Archbishop of Naxos
Archbishop Josif Printezis was born in Ermoupoli, Syros, on 6 February 1970. He is the son of Antonios and Maria. He has 4 siblings, Anna, Nikolaos, Anargyros and Flora. He lived in Vissa and Poseidonia, where he completed primary school. He attended the First Gymnasium and the First Lyceum of Syros. At the age of 17 he left to study at the Seminary of Saint John the Evangelist in Boston, United States. In 1991 he graduated with honors from the College after submitting his thesis on Plato's Maieutics, and in 1995 he obtained his master's degree in Theology with a specialization in Canon Law. In the same year he was ordained a priest and served in the parishes of Pagos until 1999 and Danakos until 2016. He was appointed by His Excellency Bishop Frangiskos Papamanolis as Secretary of the Diocese of Syros until 2006. He was involved in Youth Pastoral Care and the preparation of couples for marriage, and was a member of the Synodal Committee for Divine Worship. From 1999 to 2004 he served as parish priest in the Parish of Saint George of Ano Syros, from 2004 to 2016 in the Parish of Vari, from 2014 to 2016 in the Parish of Vissa, and from 2016 to the present in the parishes of the Cathedral Church of Saint George and of Saint Sebastian. Since 1997 he has been a judge at the Second Instance Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Greece, and since 2001 he has been a religious teacher in the public schools, having taught in primary school, gymnasium, EPAL and general lyceum. Since 2014 he has been a member of the Synodal Committee for the Family and the Protection of Life, and since 2019 he has been president of the Synodal Committee for Divine Worship.