His Grace Bishop Joachim of Amissos Announces Retirement Plans

Hellenic College Holy Cross (HCHC) today announces the pending retirement of  His Grace Bishop Joachim (Cotsonis) of Amissos effective July 1. Since 1997, His Grace has served the school as the Director of the Archbishop Iakovos Library and Learning Resource Center. He plans to continue serving the Church upon his return to Washington, D.C., where he was raised.

“In addition to the many years of service on the Holy Cross faculty, His Grace has provided guidance on academic matters to students and faculty members alike,” said Interim President Rev. Fr. Michael Lambakis. “As part of his stewardship of his office, he sought to help students deepen their academic knowledge without seeking recognition. But his accomplishments are worthy of accolades and commendation.

“And His Grace’s exceptional gifts,  building upon decades of his academic experience and knowledge of resources, brought the library to new heights under his Directorship.”

Bishop Joachim (baptismal name John) is the son of Alexander and Demetra Cotsonis (of blessed memory), grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC and was raised at St. Sophia Cathedral where he attended Sunday School and was an altar boy. While attending the University of Maryland, he was an active member of Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF). After graduating from Maryland, His Grace completed his Master of Divinity at HCHC, his MA and PhD at Penn State University and his MLIS at Simmons College.

In December 1979, His Grace was ordained to the Diaconate and Holy Priesthood in quick  succession – on Dec. 9 and Dec. 23. He was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite in May 1998 and ordained to the holy episcopacy in December 2019. As a priest, Bishop Joachim served parishes in Corona, NY; Clarksburg, WV; Altoona, PA and State College, PA.

Bishop Joachim is one of two leading scholars in North America on the religious imagery of Byzantine lead seals. His numerous articles published in scholarly journals have been republished as a two-volume set in the prestigious Variorum Collected Studies series of Routledge publishers entitled, The Religious Figural Imagery of Byzantine lead Seals, I & II.

Additionally, Dumbarton Oaks, the Harvard Center for Byzantine Studies, has published Bishop Joachim’s volume of his full-length study and analysis of the anonymous seals with bilateral sacred images from their collection, Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 7: Anonymous, with Bilateral Religious Imagery. He is the author of the book, Byzantine Figural Processional Crosses, which is now regarded as the standard work on the subject.

Bishop Joachim was also the consultant for the iconographic program of the Greek Orthodox Shrine of Saint Nicholas at Ground Zero, World Trade Center and recently the prestigious Scala Arts Publishers have published his volume, Saint Nicholas National Shrine at the World Trade Center: The Iconographic Program, a comprehensive overview of the history and construction of the Shrine accompanied by a detailed analysis of all images of the iconographic program.

During his tenure as the Director of the Archbishop Iakovos Library, he brought the catalogue system into the 21st century and increased the holdings of the library which currently stands as the most extensive collection of Orthodox theology in the Western Hemisphere. In addition, he helped establish an endowment to provide new publications for the library while also focusing on access to digital academic journals. Moreover, during his tenure he continued participating as a guest lecturer for the Graduate Summer Program in Byzantine Coins and Seals at Dumbarton Oaks.