Archbishop Dimitrios (in ) (6 November 1979,

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

) is a theologian, bishop of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen Autocephaly, autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

and finally Archbishop of France from 2021 onwards. He presides over the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France, the coordinating body for the Orthodox faithful in France.

Early life and education

He was born in

in 1979. He graduated from the Ecclesiastical School of Thessaloniki and from the Department of Theology of the Theological school of the

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ( AUTh; ), often called the University of Thessaloniki, is the second oldest tertiary education institution in Greece. Named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, about east of Thessa ...

. In 2001 he was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

and in 2007 he became priestly leader of the Church of Saint Paraskeva in Xirokrini,

. From 2007 to 2015, he took charge of the Church of the

Exaltation of the Holy Cross The Feast of the Holy Cross, or Feast of the Cross, commemorates the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different celebrations which honor and celebrate the cross used in the crucifi ...

Oraiokastro Oraiokastro (, also Oreokastro) is a municipality in the Thessaloniki (regional unit), Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece, and a suburb of Thessaloniki. Municipality The municipality Oraiokastro was formed at the 2011 local government reform by t ...

, in the Metropolis of Neapolis and Stavroupolis. At the invitation of Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, he directed the Orthodox Church of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and then became hierarchical commissioner of the South of France. He participated in the Commissions for inter-Christian dialogue and inter-religious relations, representing the

Metropolis of France The Metropolis of France, or the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of France (, ), is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople established in 1963. It comprises the Eastern Orthodox parishes and monasteries in France. Historically, its c ...

and the

As Metropolitan of France

On 20 July 2021, he was elected by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as Metropolitan of France, he was consecrated by the

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I Bartholomew (born Dimitrios Archontonis, 29 February 1940) is the current Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople since 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals) in the Eastern Orthodox ...

on the 25th of the same month in the patriarchal cathedral Saint-George at

Phanar Fener (; ), also spelled Phanar, is a quarter midway up the Golden Horn in the district of Fatih in Istanbul, Turkey. The Turkish name is derived from the Greek word "phanarion" (Medieval Greek: Φανάριον), meaning lantern, streetlight or ...

and he was enthroned on Saturday 18 September 2021 in the

Saint-Étienne cathedral Saint-Étienne Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo, in Saint-Étienne, Loire, France. It has been the cathedral of the Diocese of Saint-Étienne since its creation on 26 December 1970. The building was ...

in Paris. In April 2022, during the

2022 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 10 and 24 April 2022. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a Two-round system, runoff was held, in which Emmanuel Macron defeated Marine Le Pen and was re-elected as President of France. ...

, he joined a message from Secours Catholique calling not to support the candidacy of the far-right politician

Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...

. In September 2022, he created an internal commission of inquiry following the revelation of facts of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

on minors and

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

in a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

under his jurisdiction during the 1970s. The prelate noted that the perpetrators of the crimes were deceased and the facts prescribed but expressed to the victims his "deep horror at the horrors suffered and the suffering endured since". He offered them, if they wished, to meet him. He stated that those responsible had dishonored their office. On 22 February 2023, he was supposed to dine, in the company of sixteen other

religious leaders Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcen ...

as well as philosophers, with French President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

, to discuss the question of

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

. The dinner was postponed to 9 March 2023, and took place on that date. Another dinner on the same question was organized at the beginning of 2024. On 21 April 2023, he joined the Bishop of Nanterre, Matthieu Rougé, in expressing their wish for the celebration of Easter to be held on the same day for Catholics and Orthodox Christians, to demonstrate the unity of Christians. He participated in the work "''Religions et fin de vie : les témoignages des grandes voix religieuses.''" In early November 2023, amid tensions following the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, he took a stance against

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. In this context, he met the

Chief Rabbi of France Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir H ...

Haïm Korsia Haïm Korsia (born 27 September 1963) is the Chief Rabbi of France. He was elected by the Central Consistory. Already serving as Jewish chaplain of the French army, Korsia was also head of a rabbinical school. He was elected in June 2014 and b ...

and he visited the

Grand Mosque of Paris The Grand Mosque of Paris (, ; ), also known as the Great Mosque of Paris or simply the Paris Mosque, located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the largest mosques in France. It comprises prayer rooms, an outdoor garden, a small lib ...

to meet with the rector,

Chems-Eddine Hafiz Chems-eddine Mohamed Hafiz (born 28 June 1954 in Algiers) is a Franco-Algerian lawyer. Since 11 January 2020, he has served as rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris. He is a member of the Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme (CNC ...

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ploumis, Dimitrios 1979 births Living people Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Clergy from Thessaloniki