Metropolitan

Ioannis Papadopoulos or Papamichael in 1898 entered the great Theological School of Halki, from which he graduated with honours in 1905, having been ordained deacon two years before. He taught for 2 years at the school of Artaki Kyzikos. In 1907 he entered the service of the Patriarchate. He was ordained Bishop and was given the Metropolis of Lampsakos – Dardanelles . During the First World War Dardanelles became a theatre of war conflicts. Irenaeus was forced to settle in Constantinople and became a synodos.

In 1922, during the Patriarchate of Meletios IV, he was transferred to the Metropolis of Elasonos until 1924. In 1925 he regained the title of Metropolitan of Dardanelles He left for France (Paris) for health reasons but at the same time he attended systematic courses in philosophy at the Sorbonne. The following year 1926 he was elected Metropolitan of Samos and Ikaria with annexation in 1931. He was a philosophical hierarch, dedicated to his flock. He was gifted with an extremely melodious voice in the performance of psalms and also a deep knowledge of Byzantine music, which is why he was extremely popular with the congregation. He left a rich philosophical and theological work (5 volumes).