According to the Acts of the Apostles (17:16–34), after the sermon, a number of people became followers of Paul, thus forming the kernel of the Church in Athens.

[3] Despite the occasional appointment of its bishop as papal vicar—chiefly in an attempt to shore up Rome's position in the area—Athens itself remained firmly subordinated to Corinth during the early Byzantine period.

[4] Due to the influence of Empress Irene of Athens, the see was raised to the rank of a metropolis sometime after 765, but this was short-lived and was reversed after the protests of the Metropolitan of Corinth.

The original suffragans of Athens were, in order: Euripus, Dauleia, Koroneia, Andros, Oreos, Skyros, Karystos, Porthmos, Aulon, and Syros.

[8] Based on a 1209 letter by Pope Innocent III, the list of suffragans under Latin rule only slightly changed: Euripus (Egripontis), Thermopylae (Cermopilensem, seat in Bodonitsa), Dauleia (Davaliensem), Aulon (Abelonensem), Oreos (Zorconensem), Karystos (Caristiensem), Koroneia (Coroniacensem), Andros (Andrensem), Megara (Megarensem), Skyros (Squirensem), and Kea (Cheensem), although most of these sees were vacant.

The Orthodox clergy were consecrated by passing bishops, but were forced to acknowledge the authority of the Latin Archbishop in order to exercise their office.

With little military might of their own, and surrounded by potential rivals and enemies, the Acciaioli cultivated a policy of conciliation towards the overwhelmingly Orthodox local Greek population.

To that end, they adopted Greek as the official language of their chancery, and allowed an Orthodox metropolitan, Dorotheus, to resume residence in their capital.