Appointments to the Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union

With a patriarchal letter dated September 7, 2023, His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew announces new appointments for the Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union.

With this decision, His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium, who until now has been the supervisor of the Office, is now appointed as chairman. Archimandrite Emilianos Bogiannou, who was initially secretary and since 2014 director of the Office, is relieved of his responsibilities. Archpriest Konstantinos Kenanidis and Archpriest Pawel Cecha, both priests of the Archdiocese of Belgium, are appointed secretary general and counselor of the Office, respectively.

The Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union was created by a decision of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in August 1994 and started to function in January 1995. It was supervised by the Metropolitan of Belgium and had as its first director Archimandrite Emmanuel Adamakis (present senior Metropolitan of Chalcedon).

Since the creation of CROCEU (Committee of Representatives of the Orthodox Churches to the European Union), the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is the chairman of this Committee.