The Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously decided on Thursday, September 10, 2026, to revoke its earlier decision to award an honorary distinction to former Metropolitan Ambrosios of Kalavryta and Aigialeia.
According to the Holy Synod’s announcement, the decision followed a letter of more than 40 pages recently sent by the former Metropolitan to the members of the new Synodal Period.
The Standing Holy Synod judged the content of the letter to be “insulting to the body of the Standing Holy Synod, as well as to the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece.”
Following a roll-call vote, the Synod unanimously revoked its decision of August 26, 2026, to award Ambrosios the Gold Cross with Star of the Order of the Apostle Paul of the Church of Greece.
The decision was taken during the first meeting of the Standing Holy Synod of its 170th Synodal Period, held on September 9 and 10 under the presidency of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece.
At the opening of the proceedings, the prescribed special service was celebrated, after which Archbishop Ieronymos welcomed the new members and expressed his hope that their work would be conducted in a spirit of love and cooperation. Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Mithymna, Vice President of the Standing Holy Synod, responded on behalf of the hierarchs.
The Synod also constituted its ecclesiastical courts and appointed Synodal representatives to committees, as well as members of various administrative bodies of the Church of Greece. Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia was appointed spokesman of the Standing Holy Synod.
During the meeting, the Synod expressed its condolences over the deaths of two Hellenic Air Force pilots in an accident during Athens Flying Week in Tanagra and prayed for strength and consolation for their families and loved ones.
Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia was also appointed to represent Archbishop Ieronymos at the signing of a memorandum of cooperation in Cyprus on October 6 between the Education Ministries of Greece and Cyprus and the Churches of Greece and Cyprus.
The agreement will seek, among other objectives, to highlight the history and culture of Cypriot Hellenism and the contribution of the Church of Cyprus to preserving its identity.
Synod bans clergy from using weapons
In a separate decision, the Standing Holy Synod addressed the possession and use of weapons by clergy.
Responding to a relevant official document from the Ministry of Education, the Synod updated a circular issued in 2016 and explicitly prohibited clergy from using weapons for any reason, including hunting.
Photos: Christos Bonis / Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
