Archbishop Sotirios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada
Archbishop Sotirios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada. Photo: Archdiocese of Canada.

Archbishop Sotirios of Canada to Resign After 52 Years of Episcopal Ministry

 — June 24, 202624 juin 2026
Theodore Kalmoukos, The National Herald

Archbishop Sotirios of Canada is resigning in early July, after 52 years of episcopal ministry in Canada. The information of The National Herald was confirmed by the Archbishop himself while he was in Vancouver, Canada, on a pastoral visit, saying: “Your information is true. I am planning on going to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on the first Saturday of July, where I will discuss it with the Patriarch, and afterwards I will make statements.”

Archbishop Sotirios Athanassoulas recently celebrated his 90th birthday at a major event organized by the Greek diaspora in Canada, about which The National Herald had written in detail.

His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios (Athanassoulas) was born to George and Anastasia in Lepiana, Arta, in Epirus, Greece, in 1936. He graduated from the University of Athens School of Theology and obtained a Master’s Degree in Theology from the Université de Montréal. He speaks Greek, English, and French. Still a layman, he served as Dean of Students at the School of Theology in Boston. He was ordained deacon on July 17, 1962 and priest on July 18, 1962. Since then, he has served as a clergyman in Canada. He was elected Bishop on December 18, 1973 and ordained on January 27, 1974. On September 24, 1996, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Toronto and Exarch of all Canada, and thereafter elevated to Archbishop of Canada in 2019. He served as Vice President of the Christian Pavilion at Expo ’67 in Montreal. He served as a member of the Archdiocesan Council of the Archdiocese of North & South America (1968-1996) and as administrator of the same Archdiocese (1996). He served as a Member of the Governing Board of the University of Toronto (1975-1978). He visited China (1981) with the Canadian Council of Churches and Australia with the World Council of Churches (1982). When he assumed his duties as Bishop in Canada, there were twenty-two parishes, which have now reached seventy-five. During his Archieratical service, the Diocese and now Metropolis has established the annual Youth Assemblies (1980) the monthly newspaper Orthodox Way (1982); The Social Services (1984); Metahomes (1984), providing transitional housing for the homeless; The Greek Orthodox Order of Canada (1987); The weekly television program Orthodox Voice (1990), which is broadcast across all of Canada; The School of Byzantine Music (1991); The Convents of St. Kosmas of Aitolos in Ontario and the Virgin Mary of Consolation in Quebec (1993); The Greek Orthodox Education of Ontario (Day Schools) (1996); The Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy (1998). He has composed and published: Catechism of the Greek Orthodox Faith in English and in Greek verse and prose. He has been honoured with the Centennial Medal of Canada; the “125 Canada” Medal; the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002); the medal of the city of Athens; and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). His Eminence has also been named Grand Commander of the Order of Phoenix of Greece.

Posted: June 24, 2026 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=14998
Categories: News • In this article: bishops, Canada, Greek Orthodox Transmis : 24 juin 2026 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=14998
Catégorie : News • Dans cet article : bishops, Canada, Greek Orthodox