Before the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and High Priests of the Throne the elected Metropolitan Dimitrios of Metres and Athyra was presented with the announcement of his election (Mikro Minima) on Monday, September 21, 2020.
Addressing the new Metropolitan, the Ecumenical Patriarch said:
“It is natural for us to be especially delighted as we officially announce to you the evangelistic message of your worthy election as Metropolitan of the Ecumenical Throne, in reward of your many years of service, especially in the great country of Germany, among the expatriate children of the Mother Church, under the distinguished shepherd, Brother Augustine.”
Following his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch stressed:
“With this noble and pious gesture of yours, holy brother, you have taught us all a “mimicry and a good lesson”, a lesson of gratitude, as we all owe everything to our Ecumenical Patriarchate, this loving Mother who gives birth and nurtures her children in the education and discipline of The Lord, she makes them shepherds and teachers of the people of God, she promotes them, she glorifies them and she boasts about them in Lord, sometimes she endures their ungratefulness either as individuals or as ecclesiastical beings and units, as is the case with her children from the North.”
In his rebuttal, the Metropolitan of Metres and Athyra, expressed to the Ecumenical Patriarch his heartfelt gratitude for the qualification, as well as to the Synodal Hierarchs for the positive response to the favorable suggestion of the Ecumenical Patriarch.
