U-turn on naming of new bishop
The head of the Church of Greece, Archbishop Christodoulos, was forced to withdraw his support yesterday for a former bishop – who resigned in 2005 amid drug allegations – to become the new bishop of Messinia in the Peloponnese. The archbishop had wanted the former bishop of Thessaliotis, Theoklitos, to fill the post in Messinia that became vacant two weeks ago with the death of the previous bishop, Chrysostomos. Sources said, however, that local worshippers were opposed to the move. Theoklitos stepped down from his post two years ago after being accused of dealing drugs. He was also linked to an alleged trial-fixing ring. The Holy Synod cleared Theoklitos in 2005 of dealing drugs but high-ranking clerics, as well as local politicians, were against Christodoulos’s idea of appointing him as the new bishop of Messinia. Sources said that the archbishop acquiesced yesterday and chose to appoint archimandrite Chrysostomos Savvatos to the post instead of his first choice.
