Metr. Symeon Questions Institution of Auxiliary Bishops

ATHENS, GREECE — Metr. Symeon of Nea Smyrni has raised ecclesiological, canonical, and administrative concerns about the institution of assistant and titular bishops ahead of the upcoming regular convocation of the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece.

The issue, titled “On Assistant Bishops,” is scheduled for discussion during the October 6–8 meeting. Metr. Symeon said this is not the first time he has expressed his position, noting that he has previously addressed the matter before both the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy and the Permanent Holy Synod, as well as in writing when the issue was presented to the Hierarchy in 2008.

According to the Metropolitan, appointing assistant or titular bishops who are not elected for an existing ecclesiastical province and who do not assume pastoral responsibility for a particular flock is inconsistent with what he considers fundamental principles of Orthodox ecclesiology and the spirit of the Holy Canons.

He also questioned the way auxiliary bishops are selected in practice, focusing particularly on the three-person nomination process. Metr. Symeon argued that a metropolitan may effectively indicate beforehand whom he wants as an assistant, leaving the Hierarchy to participate in a process lacking the characteristics of a genuinely free election.

In particularly strong language, he described the three-person process as a “fig leaf” when, in his view, it is used to give the appearance of an election to a predetermined choice.

Previously, the UOJ reported that an open letter was sent to the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis.