Hierarchs in Australia

His Grace Bishop Iakovos (in the world John Tsigounis) was born in Kogarah, Sydney. He completed his secondary studies at Model Farms High School, Baulkham Hills, in 1983.

He then studied at St Andrew’s Theological College of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia between 1992-1995, before completing three years of postgraduate studies at the Sydney College of Divinity.

Having been ordained Deacon by His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos in 1993, he served as his Protodeacon for the following seven years, while also working as the on-campus Tutor of the Theological College until 2001.

In 1999 he was ordained Presbyter by His Eminence, receiving the name Iakovos, in honour of the Dean of the Theological School of Halki and spiritual father of His Eminence, the late

Metropolitan Iakovos of Ikonium. In 2000 he was bestowed the title of Archimandrite.

Following his ordination to the Priesthood, he served the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Theotokos, Redfern, and then the Parish-Community of the Resurrection of Christ, Kogarah.

In 2002 His Eminence appointed him to the large Parish-Community of Sts Anargyri, in Oakleigh, Melbourne, as well as to the administration offices of our Archdiocese in Melbourne, with His Grace Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis, where he served until his election to the Episcopate.

On 11th January 2011, he was unanimously elected Bishop with the esteemed title of Miletoupolis, and served in the Second District of Melbourne till end of October 2019. From 1st of November 2019 he serves the Archdiocesan District of Queensland.

His Grace Bishop Emilianos of Meloa was born on the island of Kalymnos in 1971. He studied at the “First” Primary School and at the “First Nikephorian” High School in Kalymnos, before studing at the School of Physiotherapy in Thessaloniki. In 1989, after only two months in the city, he visited Mount Athos where he met Saint Paisios and also became acquainted and connected with the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra and its Abbot, Elder Aimilianos of blessed memory. At the end of 1990, he received a blessing from Elder Aimilianos to become a novice monk at the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra and on the 14th November 1993, he was tonsured a Great Schema Monk by Elder Aimilianos.

In 1999 he was admitted to the School of Pastoral and Social Theology in Thessaloniki from which he graduated four years later with an “A” grade degree.

Following the wish of his Elder, to establish a new monastery, and with the blessing of the successor, Elder Elisaios, after 14 continuous years at the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra, he turned to Archbishop Stylianos of Australia for direction because, on the one hand, he knew the Archbishop from his visits to Mount Athos and, on the other hand, because all of his mother’s relatives were in Australia. He visited Australia at the end of 2003 at 33 years of age.

He was ordained a deacon by Archbishop Stylianos on 26th October 2004 at the Parish of St Demetrios, Salisbury, in Adelaide. In December of the same year, he was transferred to Perth to establish the Holy Monastery of Saint John of the Mountain, where he was ordained to the priesthood and consecrated as Abbot of the Holy Monastery, on 7th January 2005 by His Grace Bishop Nikandros, then Bishop of Dorylaion and currently Metropolitan of Irinoupolis. He was made a Spiritual Father by Bishop Nikandros on 23rd March 2008 and, since then, with the blessing of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, he has travelled to Brisbane and Darwin for the Holy Sacrament of Confession.

He was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite by the late Archbishop Stylianos at the Holy Monastery of St John of the Mountain on 6th September 2009.

On 28th October 2019, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia invited him to Sydney and elevated him to the position of the Chancellor of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of our Lady. Since then, he has been carrying out his duties as Chancellor at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, also being the Chairman of the GO Youth, GO Family and Friends and GO Teens initiatives of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia in NSW.

On 28th November 2019, he was unanimously elected by the Holy and Sacred Synod of our Ecumenical Patriarchate as Bishop of Meloa and was ordained a Bishop on Christmas Day of the same year at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of our Lady, in Sydney, by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia.

His Grace Bishop Elpidios (Karalis) of Kyaneon was born in Perth, Western Australia, in 1971 where he attended St. Marks Catholic College.

He attained a Bachelor of Business Degree from Edith Cowan University in Perth and then went on to study at St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College in Sydney where he obtained a Bachelor of Theology Degree followed by a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry. Following his Theological Studies he pursued a Diploma in Secondary Education from the Australian Catholic University (ASU) in Sydney. Following his studies, Bishop Elpidios then taught Orthodox Studies at St Andrew’s Grammar in Perth from 2006 until 2019

Bishop Elpidios was ordained to the Diaconate in January of 2007 by Archbishop Stylianos of Australia and in November of the same year he was ordained to the priesthood by His Grace Bishop Nikandros of Dorylaiou (now Metropolitan of Eirinoupolis). Both ordinations took place at the Holy Monastery of St John of the Mountain in Perth. In 2011 he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite.

In 2008 Bishop Elpidios was assigned as parish priest to the Parish/Community of Sts Constantine and Helene, Perth, which he served up until the end of 2019. In July of the same year he was appointed Archiepiscopal Vicar of Perth by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia and on the 28th of November 2019 was elected Bishop by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the honorary title of Kyaneon.

On the 18th of January 2020 he was ordained to the Holy Episcopacy by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Redfern, Sydney.

His Grace Bishop Silouan of Sinope was born in 1978 in Brisbane, Australia.

He holds a degree in Theology from the St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College in Sydney and a degree in Social Work from the University of Queensland. He holds a postgraduate diploma in languages from the Flinders University and an Honours degree in Theology from the same university. He was awarded a PhD from the Australian Catholic University with the thesis “The Letters of Bishop Basil of Caesarea: Instruments of Communion.”

On 23 November 2002 he was tonsured as a monk from his Spiritual Father since his student years, Elder Stephanos, who was the then Abbott of the Holy Monastery of Pantanassa. He was ordained deacon on 1 December of the same year and was ordained presbyter 25 October 2003, by Archbishop Stylianos of Australia. On 4 June 2006 he was elevated to Archimandrite by Archbishop Stylianos, and on the 22 February 2012, he was consecrated as a Confessor by Bishop Nikandros of Dorylaeon, now Metropolitan of Irinoupolis.

From 2002 to 2006 he served in the Holy Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Brisbane, Queensland, and since then, and up until 2019 served in the Holy Monastery of St. Nectarios in Croydon Park, South Australia.

Since 2017 he is a Lecturer of Patristics Theology at St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College in Sydney.

In 2019 he was appointed Archiepiscopal Vicar of Adelaide by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia and on November 28 of the same year, following the proposal by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios, was elected unanimously by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as Bishop of Sinope. On January 19, 2020, he was ordained to the Episcopacy by the hands of Archbishop Makarios of Australia at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Sydney.

His Grace Bishop Kyriakos of Sozopolis was born in Paphos, Cyprus on the 4th of December 1959.  In 1965 together with his family he migrated to Australia.
He studied at St Andrew’s Theological College of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia between 1992-1995.

After completing his studies, he travelled to Mount Athos where he decided to stay at the Monastery of Stavronikita, under the spiritual guidance of Abbot Tychon.  In 1996 he was tonsured a monk and was ordained deacon and priest by His Grace Bishop Chrysostomos of Rodostolou.

At the request of the late Archbishop Stylianos, he returned to Australia and in November 1997 he became abbot of the Holy Monastery of St George, in the Blue Mountains in Springvale in New South Wales.

On the Feast of the Monastery in 1998 he was given the title of Archimandrite and received the blessing to be a spiritual father and confessor.
Having served faithfully at the Monastery of St George for nearly 23 years, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios appointed him as the Parish Priest at Parish-Community of ‘The Resurrection of our Lord’ in Kogarah, Sydney on the 7th of June 2020.

On the 30 August 2021, following the proposal by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios, was elected unanimously by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as Bishop of Sozopolis. On November 13, 2021 he was ordained to the Episcopacy by the hands of Archbishop Makarios of Australia at the Church of St Nicholas, in Marrickville in Sydney.

His Grace Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia ( in the world Efthimios Economou ), was born in Sydney Australia on the 26th November 1978.

He completed his studies both in Australia and Greece. After he graduated from the Ecclesiastical Lyceum in Volos, he studied in the University Ecclesiastical Academy  in Thessaloniki. He is also a graduate of the St Andrew’s Theological College in Sydney.

On the 23rd June 2000, he was tonsured a monk by the late Metropolitan of Larissa and Tyrnavos Ignatius and he is affiliated to the Monastic Brotherhood of the Newly-found Martyrs Raphael, Nicholas and Irene at Pyrgetos, Larissa.

He was ordained a deacon at the Holy Metropolitan Church of St Achillios of Larissa, on the 25th June, 2000. On the 3rd March 2002, he was ordained a presbyter at the same Church by the late Metropolitan Ignatius and he was blessed into the order of Archimandrite at the same time.

He served as a Deacon at the Holy Metropolitan Church of St Achillios in Larissa and as the Parish Priest at the central Parish of St Athanasios in Larissa. His Parish enjoyed strong programs in the spiritual, the youth and the philanthropic areas.

He received the status of Spiritual Father by the late Metropolitan of Larisa and Tyrnavos Ignatius , during the Vespers of the Feast Day of St Athanasios, in 2012.
He participated in various Liturgical and Clerical Seminars under the Synodical Committee on the Divine Worship and Pastoral Work of the Church of Greece.

He returned to his birthplace in the Fifth Continent, in 2013. He was appointed as the Parish Priest in Charge at the historic Renowned Parish of St Nicholas Marrickville in Sydney.  During his office, activities such as ethnic and Spiritual events, confessions, feeding those in need, youth and elderly fellowships have been organised.

During 2020, with the decision of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, he was appointed as the Chief Secretary of the Bishops’ Assembly of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia.

On the 30th August 2021, was elected by the Holy and Sacred Synod of our Ecumenical Patriarchate as Bishop of Magnesia.
On the 14th November 2021 he was ordained to the Holy Episcopacy by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia at the Church of St. Nicholas in Marrickville, Sydney.

His Grace Bishop Evmenios (in the world Seraphim Vasilopoulos) was born in 1981 in Melbourne, Victoria. He completed His secondary studies at Monash Secondary College.

He then studied at St Andrew’s Theological College where He attained a Bachelor of Theology Degree followed by a Master of Arts in Pastoral Care from the Sydney College of Divinity.

Bishop Evmenios was ordained to the Diaconate on Sunday the 22nd of April (Sunday of the Myrrhbearers) of 2007 at the Archdiocesan church of St Eustathios in South Melbourne by His Grace Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis and was appointed to St Spyridon in Kingsford, NSW.

On the 9th of December of the same year He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Stylianos and appointed immediately parish priest at The Transfiguration of the Lord parish in Thomastown, Victoria.

On the 2nd of February of 2009 He was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite and on the 2nd of February the following year He received the blessing of spiritual confessor by Archbishop Stylianos.

In November of 2019 He was appointed Archiepiscopal Vicar of the newly established Archdiocesan District of Northcote by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia.

From 2019 He was appointed co-chair of the Board of Directors for St John’s College in Preston and in 2020 Chairperson of the Board Directors for St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Victoria.

In 2021 He was elected a member of the standing committee for the Victorian Council of Churches.
On the 30th of August 2021 He was elected Bishop by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the honorary title of Kerasounta.

On the 20th of November 2021 he was ordained to the Holy Episcopacy by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia at St Nicholas parish in Marrickville, Sydney.

His Grace Bishop Bartholomew (in the world Peter Anastasiadis) was born in 1980 in Sydney Australia. He completed his secondary studies at Kingsgrove North High School in 1997. He then studied at St Andrews Theological College receiving a Bachelor of Theology Degree at the same time being a member of the Central Youth Committee of the first Archdiocesan District of Sydney.

He then worked for over a decade in Senior Management in the Retail and Finance sectors.

His Grace was then ordained Deacon at the Church of St Euphemia at Bankstown on the 11 March 2012 by the then assistant Bishop and Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and present Metropolitan of Sevastia His Eminence Seraphim receiving the name Prochoros. As a Deacon he served in the Archiepiscopal Court.
On the 1 March 2014 he was ordained Presbyter at the church of Sts Raphael Nicholas Irene Liverpool where he was appointed the Assistant Priest of the Parish. In 2015 he was bestowed the title of Archimandrite by the late Archbishop Stylianos of blessed memory.

In March 2017 he was transferred to the large Parish Community of The Resurrection of Christ Kogarah appointed as an Assistant Parish Priest. In 2019, he returned to the church of Sts Raphael Nicholas and Irene Liverpool, appointed as Parish Priest and Confessor. His Grace initiated the first ever outdoor feeding program in New South Wales.

In December 2020 he was appointed by His Eminence Archbishop of Australia as the Archiepiscopal Vicar of Canberra. In 2021 he was appointed as the representative of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia in the National Council of Churches.

On August 30 of the same year following the proposal of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios, he was elected by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as Bishop of Charioupolis. On November 21, 2021 he was ordained to the Episcopacy by the hands of Archbishop Makarios of Australia at the Church of St Nicholas Sydney receiving the name Bartholomew, In honour of our present Ecumenical Patriarch.