The Jerusalem Patriarchate on Monday officially removed Archbishop Damianos from his position as head of the historic Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, bringing a decisive end to a prolonged leadership crisis at the revered institution.
The unanimous decision by the Patriarchate's Holy Synod came after Archbishop Damianos failed to appear for a scheduled hearing in Jerusalem to answer allegations of canonical misconduct.
The Synod also interpreted a recent letter from the archbishop, who is currently in Athens, as a voluntary resignation.
The move follows a July decision by the monastery's own brotherhood to suspend the archbishop.
The Synod has now designated him "Former Archbishop of Sinai," clearing the way for a general assembly of the monastery's monks to elect a new abbot on Sept. 14.
Highlighting the diplomatic sensitivity of the dispute, a special delegation from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Deputy Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou, had recently transferred the archbishop from Sinai to Athens.