The election of a new Metropolitan

On Friday 2nd May the Holy Provincial Synod of the Church of Crete is due to meet to elect a new Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronas following the death of Metropolitan Damaskinos on 7th April. It is a significant event since as Haniotika Nea columnist Giorgos Ountrakis points out, the diocese supports some 140,000 Christian faithful.

The grave of Metropolitan Damaskinos at the Monastery of Agia Triada Tzagaroli.
The grave of Damaskinos, the late Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronas, at the Monastery of Agia Triada Tzagaroli on Akrotiri. Photo: Metropolis of Kydonia and Apokoronas.

Currently the List of Electable High Priests is being updated to include all those who possess the qualifications required to fulfil the post of Metropolitan, as laid down by the Charter of the Church of Crete. During the sitting of the Synod, each member can elect three candidates from the list. The three leading candidates then form the so-called “triprosopo” (“three persons”), from whom the new Metropolitan will be selected via a new vote.

The conditions
To be registered on the list of candidates, a priest must meet the following conditions:
— to be an unmarried priest, tonsured at least ten years ago,
— to be a Greek citizen or of Greek origin,
— to be a graduate either of the Theological School of a Greek university or the Theological School of Halki,
— to be at least 35 years old,
— not to have been convicted without appeal by an ecclesiastical or criminal court.

In addition they must have completed at least five years of noteworthy service since receiving their degree, either in Greece or abroad, in one or more of the following positions:
— chief secretary or secretary of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarch or of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece or the Holy Provincial Synod of Crete,
— protosyncellus of the Holy Archbishopric of Crete, the Holy Archbishopric of Athens or other Metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate or the Church of Greece, chief Preacher to a Metropolis or the Armed Forces,
— principal or teacher at an ecclesiastical or secondary educational school,
— the abbot of a monastery housing at least 30 monks.

Alternatively, they can be a regular or replacement professor or deputy professor at the Theological School of a Greek university or the Theological School of Halki. [It should be pointed out that the Theological School of Halki, which is situated on the second largest of the Princes Islands in the Sea of Marmara, was closed as a teaching institution in 1971 by order of the Turkish government. The qualifications relating to the school are therefore something of a historical relic, although negotiations by the Ecumenical Patriarchate for its reopening are intermittently reported to be under way.]

Two likely candidates and the principle of non-transferability
According to information received by Haniotika Nea, two people who fulfil the requirements to be candidates for Metropolis of Kydonia and Apokoronas are archimandrite to the Ecumenical Throne Melchisedek Abelikakis, the vicar of Sternes, and archimandrite Nikiforos Kounalis, vicar general to the Holy Archbishopric of Crete.

Archimandrites Melchisedek Abelikakis and Nikiforos Kounalis
Two priests who qualify for election as the new Metropolitan: Melchisedek Abelikakis, vicar of Sternes, and Nikiforos Kounalis, vicar general to the Holy Archbishopric of Crete. Photos: Haniotika Nea.

While the names of two other Metropolitans serving in Crete have been mentioned in this context, for them the principle of non-transferability applies, as laid down by the Charter of the Church of Crete. The principle is absolute and stipulates that an acting Metropolitan cannot be transferred to another Metropolis, either by vote or by the decision of a Synod. The only legal way it could be done would be for the person concerned to resign from the Metropolis where they are serving and take part in a new electoral process. This resignation would have to have been submitted well before the session of the Synod in which the new Metropolitan was to be elected – something which has not happened in any Metropolis in Crete to date.

Haniotika Nea contacted the theological historian Haris Andreopoulos, who is on the Board of the Ecclesiastical and Canon Law Association, asking for his comments on the non-transferability principle. “Non-transferability is a specific rule for the Church,” he said. “A Metropolitan marries his Metropolis for life.” On the likelihood of a Metropolitan resigning to be the candidate for another Metropolis, Mr Andreopoulous said: “There would have to be an exceptionally great need for this to happen. To put it simply, we would have to say that there was no-one anywhere in Crete who could cover the vacancy and we were compelled to seek someone from another Metropolis. In any case the principles of the Charter would have to be adhered to.”
(Haniotika Nea, 28/04/25)