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.
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. He declared:
“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 H.E. 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 Cyprus. Also in attendance were the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem, the Ambassador 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, 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.
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Abridged from: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/liturgic-life/ordination-of-the-new-archbishop-of-sinai-pharan-and-raitho-his-eminence-archbishop-elect-at-the-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre/
