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ΕΣΕΙΣ - July 31-August27, 1999

EYE ON THE GREEK WORLD

Patriarchate Elects New Archbishop of America

The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul unanimously elected Dimitrios of Vreshteni as the new Archbishop of America.

Earlier in the day the Synod had accepted the resignation submitted by the Archbishop of America Spyridon, who was elected to the post of the Metropolitan of Chaldea.

The new Archbishop of America, who comes from the Church of Greece, went to the Fanar, the Seat of the Orthodox Church in Istanbul for the ceremony.

Former Archbishop of America Spyridon earlier confirmed his resignation following along period of tension among the Orthodox faithful in the Archdiocese of America.

The Ecumenical Patriarch, Vartholomeos

In a laconic statement to the ANA, Mr. Spyridon said he hoped "the future decisions of the Mother Church will prove to be for the good of Orthodoxy and Hellenism of America."

He said he was grateful for having been given the opportunity to contribute "to this holy cause" from his position as Archbishop of America.

Mr. Spyridon declined to comment on the reasons for his resignation, but circles in the Greek-American community said the second change in just three years of the prelate holding the post could probably create further problems for the ethnic Greek community in America. The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul had for some time been receiving reports from Greek-American groups condemning Spyridon's handling of affairs and claiming that he was "allied" with a particular section of the ethnic Greek community.

Earlier this year, Mr. Spyridon attributed the tension to "defamation" by a small group of his "enemies."

The Ecumenical Patriarchate's Holy Synod unanimously elected Spyridon as Archbishop of America on July 30, 1996.

The Synod convened in Istanbul to name Mr. Spyridon's replacement.

On his part, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos said that the election of Mr. Dimitrios to the post "is an excellent choice and because of his spiritual, theological, practical and mental abilities it heralds a rebirth of the Greek-Orthodox Church of America, with the help of God."

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoris Niotis, responsible for issues concerning ex-patriate Greeks, called on Greeks in the United States to unite around their new church leader, thus securing the peace and the unity of Hellenism and Orthodoxy.

He added that "it is an autonomous and final decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and of the Holy Synod, which was arrived at following a responsible way of weighing all elements."

[ ΕΣΕΙΣ - Issue 266 - ΕΣΕΙΣ - July 31-August27, 1999 - p. 56 ]