Englewood, New Jersey, November 21, 2022
Photo: staticflickr.com The new Patriarchal Vicar for the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America arrived at Archdiocesan headquarters in New Jersey last week.
His Eminence Metropolitan Antonios (El Souri) of Zahle, Baalbek, and Dependencies was appointed Patriarchal Vicar after His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, who served as head of the Archdiocese from 2014, submitted his letter of resignation on September 17 after a woman came forth with claims that she had been romantically involved with him for many years. His resignation was formally accepted by the Antiochian Holy Synod last month.
The new Vicar’s duties are to manage the affairs of the Archdiocese and oversee the process of nominating a new Metropolitan.
Met. Antonios got acquainted with the Archdiocesan staff on Friday, telling them that he looks forward to working with them “for the future of this Archdiocese, for its growth and its mission,” the Archdiocese reports.
His Eminence plans to visit churches across North America in the coming months. His first visit was to St. George Cathedral in Worcester, Massachusetts, yesterday.
His Eminence previously visited parishes across the Archdiocese of North America in 2018. Prior to his election as Metropolitan in 2015, Met. Antonios served as abbot and great schema-monk of the Monastery of the Theotokos in Bkeftine, Lebanon.
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