Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta resigned

His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta has officially resigned, citing health reasons in a letter addressed to His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Archdiocese of America.

Recently, Metropolitan Alexios has faced ongoing health challenges that have increasingly hindered his ability to fulfill his duties effectively.

Brief Biography

Born Anthimos Panagiotopoulos in Ano Sougdenika, Patras, on 25 December 1943, he graduated from the Theological School of Athens in 1973. His monastic journey began in 1963 at the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos, where he was tonsured a monk. He was ordained a deacon on November 1, 1965, and a presbyter on August 27, 1972.

Metropolitan Alexios served as Archdeacon in the Metropolis of Patras before moving to the United States, where he continued his ministry as a priest. On May 17, 1987, he was ordained as titular Bishop of Troas, serving as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of America.

From 1997 to 1999, he held the position of locum tenens for the Diocese of Atlanta. He was elected Bishop of Atlanta on March 13, 1999. Following the elevation of the Diocese of Atlanta to a Metropolis, he was promoted to Metropolitan on December 20, 2002.