The name Rhodes is mentioned in the New Testament ( Acts 1 : 1), on Paul's return to Jerusalem, during the third apostolic tour. Paul is considered the founder of the Church of Rhodes, while according to tradition, Apostle Silas, a fellow-citizen of Apostle Paul, preached and performed miracles in Rhodes.
It is not known when Rhodes became a Bishopric. According to tradition, the first Bishop mentioned in the 1st century was Prochoros. In the 2nd century Bishop Euphranor was mentioned, and in the second half of the 3rd century, at the time of the martyrdom of the Holy Martyrs Clement and Agathangelos, Bishop Photinos. Bishop Euphrosynos took part in the 1st Ecumenical Synod.
As regards ecclesiastical geography, the Diocese of Rhodes was promoted to a Metropolis around the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th century, because in the oldest known “order of primacy” it is listed as 26th among the Metropolises of the Ecumenical Throne.
During the period up to the conquest of Rhodes by the Knights of St. John, the Metropolis of Rhodes flourished. The following Bishops participated in the Ecumenical Synods: Hellanikos or Hellanodikos in the 3rd, Theodosios in the 5th, Isidoros in the 6th, and Leon in the 7th Synod.
During the period of the Knights' Rule, the Metropolis of Rhodes entered a critical period. The Metropolitan of Rhodes was expelled and a Latin Archbishop was installed in his place.
A slight change in the situation occurred in the mid -15th century due to the fall of Constantinople and the threat of a Turkish invasion, when the Latins allowed even the installation of an Orthodox Metropolitan.
In 1522, Rhodes was conquered by the Turks. The first Metropolitan installed was Efthymios, who was later hanged as the leading instigator of a revolutionary movement.
In 1912, Rhodes, like the rest of the Dodecanese, fell under Italian occupation.
After the incorporation of the Dodecanese into Greece, the Holy Metropolis of Rhodes entered the modern period of its history. In 2004, the islands of Symi, Chalki, Tilos and Kastellorizo were detached from it, forming the Holy Metropolis of Symi, while Nisyros was annexed to the Holy Metropolis of Kos.
The Holy Metropolis has remarkable experience, spanning more than a decade, in the preservation and maintenance of movable and immovable monuments and in the establishment of a management network, which in its full development will include twelve museums and seven important visitable monuments, scattered throughout the island.
At the same time, a Museum Department operates within the Cultural Foundation of the Metropolis. The goal of the Metropolis and the Museum Department in particular is to manage and develop a strategy for the preservation, promotion and development of the cultural heritage assets belonging to the church, within the administrative boundaries of the Holy Metropolis of Rhodes.
