Athens, September 17, 2026
Photo: ekklisiaonline.gr
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece has revoked an honor it awarded to His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrose, former head of the Diocese of Kalavryta, just two weeks after granting it, citing a letter from the bishop that members found offensive to the Synod.
The Standing Holy Synod, under the presidency of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, made the decision unanimously during its session this month. The hierarch had just been awarded the Golden Cross with Star of the Order of the Apostle Paul on August 26 in connection with the 50th anniversary of his episcopal consecration.
Hierarchs meeting this month reviewed Metropolitan Ambrose’s letter and concluded its contents were insulting to both the Standing Holy Synod and the wider hierarchy of the Church of Greece. A roll-call vote followed, and the Synod rescinded its earlier decision, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
In the letter, addressed to Archbishop Ieronymos and fellow hierarchs, Metropolitan Ambrose accuses the Church’s leadership of staying silent while Greek society drifts into moral and spiritual crisis. He argues that secular newspapers have shown more courage than the Synod itself, writing that while the Church stays silent, faithful children of the Church grow anxious and speak out.
He points to the removal of crosses from public buildings and religious imagery in advertising, alarm over neo-pagan rites spreading within the armed forces, and a Metropolitan’s attendance at an interfaith choir event hosted by a synagogue, which he identifies as a betrayal of the Orthodox faith. He also cites news coverage of a proposed law recognizing same-sex parentage, complaints from educators about religious illiteracy among schoolchildren, and objections to LGBTQ content in a state sex-education curriculum for sixth graders.
Much of the letter takes aim at the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whom Metropolitan Ambrose says he has personally excommunicated. He criticizes the Church’s silence over Greece’s rollout of digital identity cards and personal ID numbers, a policy he says millions of citizens have refused to accept.
He also revisits his objections to the Church’s 2020 pandemic-era circular that forced worshippers out of churches instead of strengthening them spiritually. He also references a news report saying a Greek priest caught a young couple in a church chapel and gave them money to continue their encounter at a hotel rather than intervening.
The letter closes with an appeal for the Synod to issue a formal protest to political authorities, offer spiritual guidance to the faithful, and condemn hierarchs for straying from their mission—including an unnamed bishop who reportedly referred to lawmakers who voted for same-sex marriage legislation as “angels of the resurrection.”
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