His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrose-Aristotle Zographos

His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Korea and Exarch of Japan Ambrosios (Aristotelis Zographos) was born on March 15th, 1960 on the island of Aegina in Greece where he graduated from High School in 1978. In 1983 he received his degree from the School of Theology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. In 1985 he was ordained Deacon and in 1991 Presbyter. As a Deacon and Priest he served at the Holy Metropolis of Nicea – Piraeus as Personal Secretary at the late Metropolitan’s Office of Nicea Georgios Pavlides and as Youth Director. He also served at the Holy Metropolis of Monemvasia and Sparta. From 1988 to 1989 he worked at the renowned Library and Icon Gallery of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mt. Sinai in Egypt. From 1991 to 1993, through a scholarship by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, he studied at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston, USA where he received his Th.M in Patrology. From 1993 to 1996, under a scholarship from Princeton University, he did postgraduate studies at Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) as well as at Princeton University where he received his second Master’s Degree in Church History and Art History. During this time he also began work on his dissertation for his Doctorate Degree. During the years of his studies in the USA (1991-1996), he served in various Greek Orthodox parishes in New England and New Jersey as visiting Pastor at the Greek Orthodox Communities of St. Barbara, in Tom’s River, New Jersey and Holy Trinity Church in Bargaintown, New Jersey. On December 21st 1998 he was awarded a Doctorate Degree with distinction by the School of Theology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and on December 23rd of the same year he departed to Korea to begin serving the Orthodox Church in Korea as Dean of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Seoul and from 2004 as Chancellor of the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea. On December 21st 2006 he was elevated to the Episcopacy as Bishop of Zela by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He was elected as Metropolitan of Korea and Exarch of Japan on May 28th, 2008. Metropolitan Ambrosios participated in the Conference of the World Council of Churches on World Mission and Evangelism in Sao Paolo, Brazil (1997) as a member of the Patriarchal Delegation and in Athens (2005). In 1998 he participated in the Convention of Orthodox Theological Schools organized by “Syndesmos” in Belgrade, Serbia. Apart from his diakonia at the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea, he is also full Professor at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS). In addition he has also published the following major studies and books:

  • The Social Teachings of St. Gregory Palamas, Based on His 63 Homilies.
  • The Contribution of St. Basil the Great to the Formation of the Monastic Ideal.
  • “Iconography in the Liturgical Life of the Medieval Greek Church.”
  • “Educational Prerequisites and Theological Underscorings for the Development of Orthodox Christian Mission.”
  • “Orthodox Witness in the Korean Peninsula: A Historical Approach.”
  • “Indirect Influences of the Greek Language on the Korean Language.”

“St. Chrysostom’s Constitution for Christian Witness: Universal Principles and their Relevance for Korean Orthodox Identity.”

“A Monk’s Repose: The Icon of The Dormition of Saint Ephrem the Syrian and Contemporary Orthodox Monasticism.”

  • «Ψωμί ή μπαπ (=ρύζι); Σχέση αμφίρροπη. Ζωή, Λατρεία και Ευχαριστία στην Κορεατική Ορθοδοξία».

«Το πένθος στην ορθόδοξη παράδοση και στην Ιεραποστολή».

  • «Η Ορθόδοξη Ιεραποστολή μπροστά στις νέες προκλήσεις».
  • «Η Ορθοδοξία στα σχολικά εγχειρίδια της Ν. Κορέας».
  • Ο Γαβριήλ Θεσσαλονίκης και το αποδιδόμενο εις αυτόν ανέκδοτο Ομιλιάριο, Γραμματολογική, φιλολογική και θεολογική μελέτη.
  • Ομοιότητες στην εικονογραφία Χριστού και Βούδα.
  • «Η Ορθόδοξη Διασπορά στην Κορέα».

«Το χρυσοστόμειο καταστατικό για την διάδοση της χριστιανικής μαρτυρίας».

“정교회의 사순절 영적 여행 코스”.

“정교회 성화에서 아기 예수를 안고 있는 분으로서 또 하늘보다 더 넓으신 분으로서의 테오토코스”.

“성 요한 크리소스톰과 선교”, 성 요한 크리소스톰 콘스탄티노플 총대주교 안식 1600주년 기념 심포지엄 (407-2007).

“역사 교과서 내용의 수정에 대한 제의”.

“그리스도인의 죽음”.

에프렘 기도, 영적 정화를 위한 실천적 지침.

“일치를 위한 정교회와 로마가톨릭교회의 분투”.

“분열인가, 개혁인가? 동 서방 교회 대분열(1054)의 가장 주된 원인”.

비잔틴 성화, 영성 예술, 한국 정교회 출판사, vol.1-2.