The Ecumenical Patriarchate has removed Hieromonk Paisios Chatzigeorgiou, a cleric of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, from the priesthood.
The decision was made during sessions of the Holy and Sacred Synod on April 20–21, 2026, following a ruling on alleged “ecclesiastical offences.”
Presided over by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Synod determined that Chatzigeorgiou would be deposed from the priesthood and returned to the rank of monk.
The sessions opened with the customary Paschal exchange between the Ecumenical Patriarch and Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon. Synodal Assistants also extended congratulations to the Patriarch on his recent election as a foreign associate member of the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, an honour he acknowledged with thanks.
Other agenda items were also considered, with relevant decisions taken.
Source: Orthodox Times.
