Bishop Sevastianos of Zela elected as the new Metropolitan of Atlanta

The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has elected His Grace Bishop Sevastianos of Zela as the new Metropolitan of Atlanta.

Bishop Sevastianos, Protosyncellus of the Metropolis of Atlanta, was elected unanimously following the presentation of a Triprosopon prepared during an extraordinary session of the Holy and Sacred Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese of America held on Sunday night.

The Triprosopon list was formed by the vote of the Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese of America as follows:

• Bishop Sevastianos of Zela with 8 votes;
• Bishop Anthony of Synada with 5 votes;
• Archimandrite Dionysios Anagnostopoulos with 4 votes;

This list of candidates was afterward submitted to His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy and Sacred Synod, together with an accompanying letter from the Archbishop of America requesting that the election of the new Metropolitan proceed based on the Triprosopon.

Announcement of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate continued its work on Monday, 2 December 2024, under the chairmanship of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, considering the matters listed in the agenda, for which appropriate decisions were made.

During this session, the Holy and Sacred Synod, on the basis of the Triprosopon presented by the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese of America, unanimously elected His Grace Bishop Sevastianos of Zela, Protosyncellos of the Holy Metropolis of Atlanta, as the new Metropolitan of Atlanta. The previous Metropolitan, His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios, voluntarily submitted his resignation for health reasons.

Biography

His Grace Bishop Sevastianos of Zela (Sevastianos Skordallos) was born in 1955 in Ano Zodia, Cyprus. He graduated from the Athens School of Theology in 1978. He was ordained a deacon by Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Morphou on January 17, 1974, and a priest by Bishop Gregory of Tropea on March 4, 1978.

He served as a deacon under Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Morphou (1974), at the Church of St. George in Akademia Platonos, Athens (1975), at the Church of St. Nicholas in Kato Patisia, Athens (1976-1978), and as a priest in Nottingham, England (1978-1979). He also served at the Church of the Holy Trinity and Holy Cross in Birmingham, Alabama (1980-1982), the Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen and Holy Cross in Huntsville, Alabama (1982-1984, 1989-1993), the Metropolitan Church of Panagia Katholiki in Limassol, Cyprus (1984-1988), the Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour in Marietta, Georgia (1993-2004), and the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Tarpon Springs, Florida (2004-2006).

On 1 June 2006, he was appointed Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese of America.

On 17 December 2011, he was consecrated Titular Bishop of Zela, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of America, at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Manhattan, New York. Archbishop Demetrios of America performed the ordination.

Source: orthodoxtimes.com