The ordination of the unanimously elected Archbishop Symeon of Sinai, Pharan and Raithu is taking place on Sunday in Jerusalem, with Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem presiding.
The Greek government is being represented by Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and the General Secretary for Religions Affairs at the education ministry, Georgios Kalantzis.
According to church tradition, the Patriarchal procession will descend to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the Ordination and Divine Liturgy were celebrated, led by Patriarch Theophilos. Following the ceremony, speeches will be delivered at the Patriarchate’s Throne Hall by the Patriarch, the new Archbishop Symeon, and Minister Gerapetritis.
The election of the new archbishop and abbot of the Monastery of Sinai ends a chapter in the history of the world's oldest Christian monastery and the issue that had arisen regarding its leadership, following the events that led to the resignation of the previous abbot, Archbishop Damianos.
Archimandrite Symeon arrived in Jerusalem for the ordination ceremony on Friday, where he was received by a delegation from the Patriarchate and large numbers of faithful. He then had a private meeting with Patriarch Theophilos, followed by a dinner attended by the Greek General Consul in Jerusalem, Dimitrios Angelosopoulos.
Once ordinated, Archbishop Symeon will be the abbot of Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai, a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai, it was built between 548 and 565, and is the world's oldest continuously-inhabited Christian monastery. It is controlled by the autonomous Church of Sinai, which is part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, and became a World Heritage Site in 2002.