The Synod of the Constantinopolitan Patriarchate Elects New Archbishop of Canada

The Synod of the Constantinopolitan Patriarchate unanimously elected Metropolitan Apostolos of New Jersey (Koufalakis) as the new Archbishop of Canada. The decision was made on July 22 at the Synod presided over by Patriarch Bartholomew. This was reported by the Union of Orthodox Journalists in Greece.

The election took place at the patriarchal Cathedral of Saint George. Metropolitan Apostolos (Koufalakis) succeeded his previous place of service in the USA to become the head of the Archdiocese of Canada.

The new archbishop was born on the island of Rhodes and graduated from the Patmos Theological School. In 1993, he took monastic vows at the Panagia Paramythia Monastery, after which he was ordained as a deacon and presbyter. The hierarch continued his theological education at the University of Thessaloniki and Boston University in the USA, where he earned a Master of Sacred Theology degree.

For more than twenty years, the clergyman held administrative positions in the Greek Archdiocese of America. In 2014, he was elected Bishop of Medeia, and in 2023, at the proposal of Patriarch Bartholomew, the Synod confirmed him as Metropolitan of New Jersey.

Now, in accordance with the new decision, Archbishop Apostolos has headed the Phanar's administrative center in Canada for the pastoral care of the local Greek diaspora.

As the Union of Orthodox Journalists previously reported, the Synod of the Constantinopolitan Church elected an Exarch for Lithuania.

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