The Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Holy Synod on Thursday unanimously elected the Bishop of Christoupolis, His Grace Makarios, as the new Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Australia.
An Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne, Makarios Griniezakis, was born in Heraklion, Crete in 1973.
He completed his early education in Crete and the Athens Rizarios Ecclesiastical School.
His Grace Makarios graduated from the Higher Ecclesiastical School of Athens and from the University of Athens, School of Theology.
He pursued graduate studies in the field of Christian Ethics at Boston University, where he earned the Master of Sacred Theology (STM) degree.
He also earned a Master of Arts in the field of History of Science from Harvard University, School of Arts and Sciences. He also earned the Master of Bioethics from Monash University.
As of 2013, Makarios has served as a lecturer at the Patriarchal Academy of Crete, while serving as a visiting professor at several universities in Greece and abroad.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Hierarchs, under the leadership of the Ecumenical Patriarch, His All Holiness Bartholomew I, must also decide on a new Primate for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, as well as the future of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Great Britain Archbishop Thyateira and Great Britain, His Eminence Gregorios, is in his early 90s.
All three Archdioceses have major global centers of Orthodoxy and Hellenism.
The Holy Synod is expected to end sessions on Saturday, May 11.
Meanwhile, the Holy Synod confirmed and accepted the retirement of the Archbishop of America, His Eminence Demetrios, who announced he was stepping down from the post last Saturday. The process for the election of a new Archbishop follows.
