Archimandrite Symeon Papadopoulos Elected New Abbot of Mt Sinai’s St Catherine’s Monastery

Archimandrite Symeon Papadopoulos has been elected the new abbot of the historic Greek Orthodox St Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai, one of Christianity’s oldest and most revered monastic centers. He is set to be ordained archbishop, pending final approval.

The election was held by the Sinai Brotherhood, where Archimandrite Symeon received 19 of the 20 votes, with the remaining ballot cast blank by himself in line with ancient monastic tradition.

Following the General Assembly’s decision, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem will be formally notified to initiate the process for his ordination as Archbishop of Sinai, Faran, and Raitho.

This marks the first such election in over half a century. The monastery’s previous abbot and archbishop, Damianos, had served since 1973 and formally resigned on September 12 after 52 years of leadership.

Greek Foreign Affairs Minister George Gerapetritis extended his congratulations to Archimandrite Symeon in a phone call, as confirmed in a post on the X platform.

(Source: Amna)