By Nikos Kolokythas
The new Elder Metropolitan of Chalcedon, Emmanuel, is included in the diptychs of the Ecumenical Throne from now on. The new Elder Metropolitan, who has served as Metropolitan of France for 17 years, was enthroned today at the Cathedral of Saint George in the Phanar.
In the -informal- ecclesiastical semiology of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the 63-year-old Emmanuel Adamakis, originally from Agios Nikolaos, Crete, received not only the title of the Elder Metropolitan of Chalcedon but also the position number two in the “organization chart” of the Ecumenical Throne.
Experience, however, says that the titles do not make leaders nor do they become a source of strength. It is the persons that add prestige or degrade the titles and make the positions lose their grandeur. History will tell whether Emmanuel will be worthy of the title and his predecessors.
For many, Emmanuel was chosen by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in this position for two reasons.
First, he had to “give him something.” For several years, Emmanuel expected to get a higher position. During his ministry as representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Theological Dialogue of Orthodoxy, he was moderate. He always defended the interests of the Patriarchate.
He may not have had an excellent and profound knowledge of theology, confided elder theology teachers who participated in the inter-Orthodox meetings. But he always preserved the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Emmanuel initially sought to become Archbishop of America. Circumstances and some events in France that caused a stir and, most importantly, Bartholomew’s belief that Elpidophoros would be more suitable in this position were two reasons that kept Emmanuel away from the United States.
The course of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and his steps prove that Ecumenical Patriarch´s choice was right. After all, the Ecumenical Patriarch has seldom barked up the wrong tree regarding the persons. And when he fell out, then, without emotions, he made the necessary “corrections.”
People who know the church affairs very well said that the second reason why Emmanuel had received the title of Elder Metropolitan of Chalcedon was that he would become the shield of Bartholomew and the “opponent” of the Elder Metropolitan of Princes’ Islands, Dimitrios.
He would become the counterweight and together with the new hierarchs around the Ecumenical Patriarch, and work “first for the Patriarchate and Bartholomew and then for themselves.”
After all, Bartholomew is looking for people who will work mainly for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and then will serve their aspirations as “dauphins.”
In the coming years, it will become apparent what will be the role of the new Elder Metropolitan of Chalcedon and whether he will manage to find the balance with the Elder Metropolitan of Princes’ Islands, Dimitrios, or whether an informal competition starts from today with both of them looking ahead…