Mt. Athos, October 2, 2025
Photo: vimaorthodoxias.gr
Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Rodoston, a prominent hierarch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and renowned authority on Athonite chanting tradition, reposed on Wednesday, October 1, at the age of 92, reports Vima Orthodoxias.
He served the Church as a hierarch for 47 years and was distinguished as an expert in Athonite chanting:
His funeral and burial will be served at the Great Lavra on Mt. Athos this afternoon.
May Met. Chrysostomos’ memory be eternal!
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Born Panagiotis Anagnostopoulos in 1933 in Anagennisi, Serres, he was the son of a priest who had fled Eastern Thrace as a refugee. He arrived at Mt. Athos in 1950 and was tonsured a monk the following year.
After completing his studies at the Athos Ecclesiastical School and the Theological School of Halki, he served as professor and later director of the Athos School from 1963 to 1988, where he taught generations of clergy and monastics.
He was ordained titular Bishop of Rodoston on April 22, 1978, at the Patriarchal Church of St. George at the Phanar by Metropolitan Meliton of Chalcedon. His pastoral ministry was characterized by spiritual clarity, sobriety and a pedagogical approach to Church matters. He was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan on January 10, 2023.
Met. Chrysostomos authored several books on Athonite life and spirituality, including Longing and Grace on Athos, Letters and Hymns on Athos, Persons and Events on Athos, and Behold, the Papacy.
He was considered one of the last authentic interpreters of the Athonite chanting tradition, having studied under Athonite monk Andreas (Theofilopoulos) and musician Meletios Sykiotis. His recordings of liturgical Athonite melodies are regarded as important references for scholars and chanters of Byzantine music.
The blessed Hierarch resided in the Great Lavra’s Cell of All Saints, near St. Neilos. His daily life was marked by a hesychastic spirit, study, prayer, and service to tradition. Those who knew him speak of a man deeply humble and at the same time deeply cultivated, who combined the strictness of monastic life with the joy of spiritual witness.
Even in his advanced years, he continued to teach, write, and chant, serving as a living link with the spiritual tradition of Athos. His contribution to the understanding and dissemination of Athonite chant is considered decisive and has already been recognized by both ecclesiastical and academic circles.
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