ATHENS, Greece | The government has ruled out any change to the recent legislation on the election of metropolitans in Crete, insisting that the measure is fully aligned with national law and in direct accord with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The clarification came in response to a pointed parliamentary question by PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis and all opposition MPs from Crete, who accused the government of unilaterally altering the process for filling vacant dioceses. Education and Religious Affairs Minister noted that the May provision does not amend existing rules but “authentically interprets which auxiliary bishops and metropolitans of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and under which conditions, are eligible for election in the Church of Crete.”
The dispute erupted amid reports of a planned transfer of Metropolitan Amphilochios of Kissamos to the vacant see of Cydonia. The Patriarchate, seeking clarity, requested a legal opinion from the ministry, which replied that only those listed in the official register of eligible candidates may be elected—excluding current metropolitans of Crete.
Although the Patriarchate relayed this interpretation back to the island, Cretan hierarchs expressed strong objections. A planned local synod session to elect a new metropolitan in Chania was canceled at the last moment to avoid a direct clash with Constantinople and Athens.
In a show of unity, the Patriarchate and government agreed to enshrine the interpretation in Crete’s charter, a move that sparked anger among Cretan bishops, who accused the state of interference.
PASOK then escalated the controversy, claiming the provision was rushed through without consultation while Chania remained vacant, and warning it raised legal doubts about past elections. The party demanded the clause’s immediate repeal.
The government countered that the Church of Crete is semi-autonomous under the Ecumenical Patriarchate and that the amendment had been requested by Constantinople itself. It further reminded MPs that they had received full correspondence between the ministry and the Patriarchate before the May vote.
For now, the Cretan Church has not moved to elect a new metropolitan for Chania, which remains under the temporary administration of Metropolitan Amphilochios of Kissamos.
