On January 18, 2021, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Divine Liturgy for Saints Athanasios and Cyril, Patriarchs of Alexandria, at the Patriarchal Cathedral in the snow-covered Phanar.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy the Ecumenical Patriarch bestowed the offikion of the Great Archimandrite of the Great Church of Christ upon the Archivist of the Patriarchates, Agathangelos Siskos, who is in charge of the Community of Neochori.
In his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch referred to the ministry of Fr. Agathangelos, initially as a Librarian and later Archivist of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, his contribution to the Community of Neochori, as well as his rich theological education.
“Now, with the worthy promotion of the elected Metropolitan of Spain and Portugal the position of our Archimandrite and Head of the Patriarchal Cathedral remained vacant. For that we called you from the periphery to the Center, to the Most Holy of faith and of the Nation.
You are worthy of this, worthy of your promotion.
Here you will respect and observe in full the Typikon of the Great Church, you will teach it in practice and on a daily basis to your younger brothers, and later to others, and thus the tradition, the order, the decency, of the Patriarchal Church, which impresses and moves, as it appeared during this period of the coronavirus pandemic, will continue forever”.
The Ecumenical Patriarch also urged the new Archimandrite to continue working with dedication in all areas of responsibility entrusted to him by the Mother Church.
At the Divine Liturgy were also present Metropolitan Polykarpos of Italy, Bishop Adrianos of Alikarnassos, the newly elected Metropolitan Bessarion of Spain and Portugal, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and faithful of Constantinople.
