Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presided over a special session of the Holy Eparchial Synod today, which convened via teleconference following a venerable Patriarchal edict.
During the meeting, Ecumenical Patriarch’s venerable Patriarchal letter was read, announcing that Metropolitan Alexios’ resignation from the throne of the Holy Metropolis of Atlanta was accepted and the Metropolis was subsequently declared vacant.
Thereafter, the procedure set forth by the relevant provisions of the Archdiocese’s current Charter was initiated. The Archbishop — in consultation with the Eparchial Synod — appointed Metropolitan Savvas of Pittsburgh as Locum Tenens of the now-vacant Holy Metropolis of Atlanta.
The Archbishop then proposed the formation of a three-person list of candidates (tri-prosopon) to fill the vacancy of the Holy Metropolis of Atlanta — in accordance with Ecumenical Patriarch’s directive.
As defined by Article 14 of the Archdiocesan Charter, a confidential vote was conducted taking into account the List of Clergy Eligible for Episcopal Advancement and Election that was recently approved by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Consequently, the Tri-prosopon for the Holy Metropolis of Atlanta was formed, comprising the following individuals:
-Bishop Sevastianos of Zela with 8 votes;
-Bishop Anthony of Synada with 5 votes;
-Archimandrite Dionysios Anagnostopoulos with 4 votes;
This list of candidates was afterward submitted to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy and Sacred Synod, together with an accompanying letter from the Archbishop requesting that the election of the new Metropolitan proceed based on the Tri-prosopon.
