Ordination of the New Archbishop of Sinai, Pharan, and Raitho, His Eminence Archbishop-Elect at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
On Saturday, October 5/18, 2025, following the announcement of the decision of the Holy and Sacred Synod regarding the election of the new Archbishop of Sinai, Pharan, and Raitho, His Eminence the Archbishop-Elect Symeon, having received this proclamation with gratitude, expressed his heartfelt acceptance before His Beatitude the Patriarch, saying among other things:
“With feelings of deep emotion and reverent awe, I stand before Your Beatitude to receive Your divine prayers and holy blessing for what is now to be accomplished concerning me. Your Patriarchal blessing and wise counsel are most essential for the ministry entrusted to me through Your Beatitude and the Hierarchs around You, by the Founder and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ.”
Thus, with particular solemnity, devotion, and the reverence befitting the supreme historical and spiritual significance of the event, on Sunday, October 6/19, 2025, His Beatitude the Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem celebrated, at the Katholicon of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the ordination of the new Archbishop of Sinai, Pharan, and Raitho, His Eminence Symeon, greeting him with the following words:
“Today, at this holy and most venerable hour, the Mother Church of Jerusalem offers thanksgiving unto the Lord, Who has deemed us worthy to behold a new Hierarch being raised up in our midst, as Archbishop of the venerable Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Hegumen of the Holy Monastery of the God-trodden Mount Sinai. … In this awe-inspiring hour, the Church of Zion entrusts you to the hands of God. Through the laying-on of hands of Our Humility and of the concelebrating hierarchs and co-ministers, by the descent, power, and grace of the Holy Spirit of Christ, proclaims the unbroken continuity of the apostolic and priestly grace, which from Jerusalem has been poured forth upon the whole world.”
During his ordination, the new Archbishop expressed his awareness of the grave circumstances under which he assumes the sacred responsibility of Hegumen of the Holy Monastery, as well as his steadfast attachment to the Patriarchal Throne of Jerusalem, declaring:
“Bound with you always by the bond of peace and the love of Christ, as a Hierarch of the Throne, in reverent canonical order, holding pious thoughts and rendering due honour to Your Most Divine Beatitude and to the God-sustained Patriarchal Throne of the Holy City of Jerusalem, I am resolved to labour, until my last breath, with the help of God, to the best of my strength, for the glory of the Lord, for ecclesiastical harmony and peace, and for the good testimony of the Monastic Tradition of our late Fathers.”
Thereafter, in the Throne Hall of the Patriarchate, representatives of the venerable Sinaitic Brotherhood, as well as representatives of Orthodox and non-Orthodox Patriarchates, were present. The Patriarchate of Alexandria was represented by His Grace Bishop Stephanos of Hippo, the Church of Greece by His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatios of Demetrias, together with Their Eminences Metropolitans Antonios of Glyfada and Kallinikos of Kastoria, and His Grace Bishop Niphon of Acheloos.
The Hellenic Government was represented by His Excellency Mr. George Gerapetritis, Minister of Foreign Affairs, accompanied by Mr. George Kalantzis, Secretary-General for Religious Affairs, and Mrs. Eleni Kassianidou, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Cyprus. Also in attendance were the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem, the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, a representative of the Consulate of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and representatives of the Latin Patriarchate, the Custody of the Holy Land, and the Armenian Patriarchate, along with members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Jerusalem.
In his address, His Beatitude the Patriarch announced that he himself would attend and perform the ceremony of enthronement of the new Hegumen of the Holy Monastery of Mount Sinai, an event which, once again, manifests the enduring bonds of unity between the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood and the Sinaitic Brotherhood, as well as the spiritual fatherhood and pastoral care of the Primate of the Church of Sion for the Archbishopric of Sinai and its new Hegumen.
Subsequently, His Excellency Mr George Gerapetritis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, spoke, expressing the deep emotion and respect of the Greek Government toward the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, underlining its manifold spiritual, national, and cultural mission, and conveying his particular joy in participating in these sacred moments for the Orthodox Monasticism of Sinai.
At the official festive luncheon that followed, in a spirit of joy and brotherly love, His Beatitude the Patriarch, addressing the new Archbishop, expressed the celebratory spirit of this historic day in the following words:
“Today we bear joyful witness to the concord and indissoluble communion in the Holy Spirit between the autonomous Monastery of the God-trodden Mount Sinai and our venerable Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood. … Filled with sentiments of sincere joy and fervent prayer for the peace of our region and of the whole world, we raise the cup and drink to the health, prosperity, and long life of Your God-honoured Eminence.”
From the Chief Secretariat
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