New Metropolitan of Vienna of the Constantinople Patriarchate enthroned

On Sunday, December 4, 2011 in the Vienna's church of Holy Trinity a new Metropolitan of Vienna and Austria and the exarch of Hungary of the Constantinople Patriarchate kyr Arsenios Kardamakis was enthroned. The rite of enthronment was led by Metropolitan Emanuel (Adamakis) of Gaul from Paris.

Representatives of all Churches on the territory of Austria were present. The Serbian Orthodox Church was represented by Bishop Dr Irinej of Backa, administrator of the Diocese of Austria-Switzerland, and also this event was attended by archimandrite Jovan Radosavljevic. 

Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn held a speech. Besides many bishops and metropolitans, the enthronment was also attended by ambassadors of France, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus.

У својој поздравној беседи нови митрополит је нагласио да ће следити пут свога претходника, трудећи се да буде на корист 500.000 православних верника који живе у алпској републици.

The new metropolitan was born on October 31, 1973 in Heraclion, on the island of Crete. FInished schools in Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as the Catholic University of Marc Bloch in Strasbourg. He was ordained a hierodeacon in 1998, and hieromonk in 2002 in Karlsruhe, and since 2004 he was protosyngellos in Paris, working at the Ecumenical council of churches of France. Besides Greek, he is fluent in English, French and German.

Next week, on December 11, in the same church of Holy Trinity, the Divine Liturgy will be held by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is going to come on December 8 in a four-day visit to Austria. 

Source: Diocese of Backa