Alexander Demoglou
Archbishop Alexander of America was the first Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America, from 1922–1930.
Born at Chalcedon in 1876, Alexander was ordained deacon in 1895 and priest in 1902. He received episcopal ordination in 1917 and went to North America in 1918.
In America, he served first initially as synodical vicar of the proto-archdiocese of North and South America, under the jurisdiction of Meletius of Athens.
Meletius Patriarch of Constantinople and one of his actions as Patriarch was to appoint Alexander as Archbishop for all of America.
Alexander served as Archbishop of America until 1930, at which time the then Patriarch moved him to be Archbishop of Corfu, where he continued to his death in 1942.
Alexander is credited as having saved 23 high school students from execution when the military commander of the Ionian Islands condemned them to death as a result of their involvement in actions against Mussolini.
Alexander was succeeded as Archbishop of America by Athenagoras who served until his election as Patriarch of Constantinople in 1948.
