LAST UPDATE: 15:40
Today, Thursday, March 11, 2021, the enthronement ceremony of Metropolitan Polykarpos of Italy and Exarch of South Europe took place at the St George Cathedral of Greeks in Venice.
Moreover, Metropolitan Polykarpos (Stavropoulos), former Metropolitan of Spain and Portugal, was elected the new Metropolitan of Italy by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Throne, according to a decision made on the 14th of January 2021, fully confirming the publication of orthodoxtimes.com.
The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Throne elected Metropolitan Polykarpos from Nafpaktos as the successor of late Metropolitan Gennadios of Italy, who fell asleep in the Lord on the 16th of October last year.
Metropolitan Polykarpos has a long experience after serving the Italian Orthodox Church from 1990 until 2007 when he was elected Metropolitan of Spain and Portugal.
From 1992 to 2007 Metropolitan Polykarpos also served as Protosyncellus of the Metropolis of Italy.
In addition, Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Konstantinos Vlasis posted on social media on the occasion of the enthronement of the Metropolitan of Italy: “In the context of my responsibilities for Religious and Church Affairs I attended today the enthronement ceremony of Metropolitan Polykarpos of Italy and Exarch of South Europe that took place at the Cathedral of Saint Georgios in Venice, Italy. Axios!”
Σήμερα στο πλαίσιο των αρμοδιοτήτων μου για τις Θρησκευτικές και Εκκλησιαστικές Υποθέσεις παραβρέθηκα στην τελετή…
Δημοσιεύτηκε από Kostas Vlasis στις Πέμπτη, 11 Μαρτίου 2021
“I am very happy because I was given the opportunity to go to Venice after many months, given the restrictions imposed worldwide due to the pandemic, where I met both representatives of the Greek communities in Italy and the administration of the Greek Institute of Venice. Despite the obstacles and the restrictions imposed on all of us over the last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not for a moment stopped being in contact with the Greeks living abroad. On the contrary, we take every opportunity to make our presence known and to support the work carried out by our expatriates,” Konstantinos Vlasis told the ANA-MPA.
The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs is scheduled to travel to Constantinople next week to meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and representatives of the Greek community.
