Nektarios Dovas

Nektarios Dovas (Greek: Νεκτάριος Ντόβας; secular name Dimitrios Dovas; born 20 January 1953) is a Metropolitan bishop of the Church of Greece. He has served as Metropolitan of Corfu, Paxoi and the Diapontian Islands since 2002.

Early life and education Dimitrios Dovas was born on 20 January 1953, in the city of Volos, Greece. He undertook theological studies at the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School of Athens, graduating in 1973. In 1986, Nektarios advanced in his ecclesiastical career, elected as Hegumen of the Ano Xenia Monastery, where he was tonsured as a monastic. the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece convened to elect a successor. On 11 October 2002, Archimandrite Nektarios was elected with 51 votes in his favour, against 16 votes for Archimandrite Timotheos Anthis (now Metropolitan of Thessaliotis) and Fanariofersala) and an additional 8 votes for Archimandrite Ignatios Riganas.

Nektarios was ordained to the Episcopate in a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens two days after his election, officiated by Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens. A month later, on 23 November 2002, he was formally enthroned as Metropolitan of Corfu, Paxoi and the Diapontian Islands at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Panagia Spilaiotissa.

Governance As Metropolitan of Corfu, Metropolitan Nektarios' spiritual administration centers around the preservation of the relics of Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker. He is regularly involved in the organisation of international pilgrimages with the relics of the saint, with striking occurrences including a visit to the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2026, and previous pilgrimage tours to the United States of America (in 2017), Cyprus, Romania, Serbia, and around Greece.

Philanthropic initiatives Metropolitan Nektarios has maintained a strong, active voice in social issues and called for philanthropic action throughout society. In 2019, he made a call for social solidarity among Orthodox Christians throughout Greece and the world, stressing that "nothing is immune to the spiritual and moral degradation of society." This came as the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece debated the issue of recognising the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, urging hierarchs to postpone their decision to prevent further geopolitical turmoil.

Through the administration of the Metropolis of Corfu, Metropolitan Nektarios has organised and instituted several charitable activities, including food distribution, blood banks, student housing, chronic illness foundations and educational initiatives and services. In June 2026, following scandalous discussion regarding the raise of state salaries for hierarchs of the Church of Greece, Metropolitan Nektarios wrote a letter proposing to his fellow hierarchs to forgo their salaries, emphasising that "the bishop does not exist in the Church to claim personal rewards, but to serve the people of God, to function, to teach, to comfort, to support, to unite, to bear together with his people the burden of life."

However, despite this synodal declaration of recognition, Metropolitan Nektarios remains to occupy a unique position within the Church of Greece. Unlike other hierarchs, who near-immediately severed all interaction with the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Nektarios maintains that the Church of Greece never severed communion with the Russian Orthodox Church,

COVID-19 opinions Particularly throughout COVID-19, Metropolitan Nektarios has been known to frequently clash with Greek government secular policies. During lockdowns, he publicly urged Orthodox Christians to bypass state restrictions to partake in Holy Communion, claiming that the present situation was a "rehearsal for a global dictatorship."

Same-sex marriage Following the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Greece, Metropolitan of Corfu released a public statement condemning local politicians who approved the legislation, showing public outrage and condemning the politicians to excommunication and exclusion from the Church.