Bishop Gennadios (Chryssoulakis), head of the Diocese of Buenos Aires, which encompassed South and Central America, from his election in 1979 until retirement in 1997, died May 22 in Greece. He was born in Crete March 9, 1924 and attended the University of Thessaloniki School of Theology and also studied law at the university. During World War II, he actively participated in the struggle to liberate Greece and was imprisoned by the Germans until the war ended.

He was ordained in 1946 and later served as a chaplain in the Greek army and at several parishes in the Thessaloniki area. He was named as the priest of Assumption Church in Caracas, Venezuela in 1965, taught the Greek language and Orthodox faith and edited a monthly newspaper, “The Greek Light.” He also created the Greek Orthodox Missions Center in Caracas. He was consecrated a bishop on April 8, 1979 at Holy Trinity Cathedral in New York by Archbishop Iakovos, assisted by Bishops Silas of New Jersey, Anthimos of Boston, Timothy of Detroit , Anthony of San Francisco and Philotheos of Meloa. As Bishop of Buenos Aires, he had spiritual responsibility for more than 100,000 Greek Orthodox Christians. In addition to Greek and English, he was fluent in Spanish.