Former parish priest at the Holy Monastery of Panagia Kamariani in Red Hill, Victoria, Father Eleftherios Tatsis (Papa Lefteris), has been defrocked.
According to a statement by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia (GOAA), the decision to defrock Papa Lefteris was made by the Ecumenical Patriarchate due to “a series of ecclesiastical and canonical offenses he committed.”
“The defrocked cleric by decision of the Orthodox Church has returned to the rank of the laity and has lost the privilege of wearing priestly vestments, as well as the right to perform the Holy Sacraments and other divine services,” the statement reads.
This defrocking comes after Papa Lefteris announced his resignation from the GOAA on October 2 last year.
Papa Lefteris resigned after the Archdiocese issued a statement in August 2022 expressing its disapproval of the priest for his “belligerent rhetoric” towards the church and Archbishop Makarios of Australia.
Following his resignation, the GOAA suspended Papa Lefteris on October 5 last year and said, “from this point forth, every service and every sacrament that possibly may be performed by the said clergyman does not have validity” and is not recognised by the Archdiocese.
Papa Lefteris has continued to perform sacraments, including a traditional Blessing of the Waters ceremony at Rye in January, which saw thousands of local Greeks turn up to show their support.
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