Short Biography of His Eminence, Metropolitan of Gjirokastra, Nathanail

Short Biography of His Eminence, Metropolitan of Gjirokastra, Nathanail

His Eminence, Metropolitan of Gjirokastra, Nathanail (secular name Konstantinos Stergiou), was born in 1957 in Taxiarches, Trikala, Greece.

At the age of 17, he entered the Monastery of Megisti Lavra on Mount Athos. In 1978, he graduated from the Athoniada School, and in the following year (1979), he was tonsured a monk at the same monastery, receiving the name Nathanail. He continued his studies at the Faculty of Theology of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, from which he graduated in 1982. That same year, he was ordained a deacon, and in 1987, he was ordained a hieromonk by Bishop of Rodostolou, Chrysostomos (Anagnostopoulos).

He lived as a monk on Mount Athos until 1991, when he responded to the call of Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania to participate in the missionary effort to reconstruct the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, which had been devastated by decades of atheistic persecution.

From 1991 to 2011, he served as a parish priest and preacher in the Holy Metropolis of Gjirokastra, as well as a professor at the Ecclesiastical School of the Holy Cross in Gjirokastra.

On January 19, 2012, by decision of the Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, and with the approval of the Albanian state authorities, he was elected Titular Bishop of Amantia. His episcopal ordination was conducted in Tirana by Archbishop Anastasios and the other members of the Holy Synod. He was entrusted with the management of monastic properties and served as an Assistant to the Archbishop.

On April 7, 2016, the Holy Synod elevated the Episcopate of Amantia to the rank of a Metropolis, and Nathanail was elevated to Metropolitan, also assuming the duties of the General Secretary of the Holy Synod.

His Eminence Nathanael was unanimously elected Metropolitan of Gjirokastër by the Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania on September 16, 2025, under the presidency of His Beatitude, Archbishop Joan. Until his election, Mr. Nathanael had served as Titular Metropolitan of Amantia since 2016, while for many years he also held the position of Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod and was responsible for the care of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Tirana. His enthronement took place at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Gjirokastër.

In addition to his native Greek, Metropolitan Nathanail also speaks Albanian.