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GreekNews - June 25, 2019

Archbishop Elpidophoros appoints Rev. Alex Karloutsos
Vicar General of the Archdiocese of America

New York.- (GreekNewsOnline)

A statement issued on Tuesday by the Press Office of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese announces that Archbishop Elpidophoros has appointed the Rev. Protopresbyter Alexander Karloutsos to be the Vicar General of the Holy Archdiocese of America. The office of Vicar General is an extraordinary office, one which is used only at the discretion of the Archbishop. The last Vicar General of the Archdiocese served under the late and blessed Archbishop Iakovos.

Speaking of the appointment, His Eminence said:
“Father Alex, as he is known to all, has served our Holy Archdiocese and Ecumenical Patriarchate with distinction for over forty years. His service as Vicar General recognizes his unique abilities and role to advance the mission of the Church. I look forward to his continuing fruitful ministry to our Church.”

This was the first decision of the new Archbishop of America, since his resumed officially his duties on Monday, June 24, following his enthronement on Saturday. The appointment of Father Alex was strongly suggested to the Archbishop by big donors of our Church, who said that in order for Rev. Karloutsos to do better his job in raising funds for St Nicholas, he needs to have a title that shows he acts on behalf of the Archbishop . Until now he was a member of the Committee for St. Nicholas Shrine and spiritual advisor for Faith Endowment and the Order of the Archons.

One of the early supporters of Archbishop Elpidophoros told the “Greek News”:
“I don’t like it at all”.

But another one, he told the Greek News – without clarifying whether he was speaking sarcastically or not:
“I take it as a demotion of Father Karloutsos, who was acting “Bartolomei Gratia” (ελέω Βαρθολομαίου) as the second Archbishop. At least now he holds a title given to him by the Archbishop, who could take it away if he is not performing his duties accordingly”.

[ GreekNews
   www.greeknewsonline.com/archbishop-elpidophoros-appoints-
   rev-alex-karloutsos-vicar-general-of-the-archdiocese-of-america/
   June 25, 2019 ]