Elpidophoros selected new archbishop of America

Metropolitan of Bursa Elpidophoros has been selected as the new archbishop of America to replace Demetrios who stepped down earlier this month. The decision was taken by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.

Elpidophoros, 52, was born in Istanbul in 1967 and from August of 2011 had served as the abbot of the Monastery of Holy Trinity in Halki.

In February, he welcomed by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to the grounds of the Halki Theological Seminary, shut down by Turkey in 1971. Tsipras and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, planted a tree symbolizing the blossoming of the Greek-Turkish friendship.
Elpidophoros attended the Urban School of Makrochori in Istanbul before attending high school student in Athens and then the School of Pastoral and Social Theology at the Aristotle University of...