Three Auxiliary Bishops Elected for Antiochian Archdiocese of Europe

During the 47th session of the Holy Antiochian Synod held in June, it was decided to elect twelve auxiliary bishops, three of these to serve in the Arch-diocese of Europe. Those elected were:

Archimandrite Ignatius Al Houshi
Born in Damasucus in 1970, he entered the St George’s monastery as a nov-ice in 1994 and became a monk in 1995. In 2001 he moved to Greece where he acquired a Diploma in Byzantine music from the National institute in Athens, and in 2006, the Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from the Theological College in Athens. He was ordained deacon in 2007 and was ordained priest in 2010 at the holy monastery of Penteli, Athens. Pres-ently he is preparing his doctoral thesis on Byzantine Music. He is skilled in Ancient and Modern Greek as well as French. He has been very active in translating liturgical services, teach-ing of ecclesiastical chant, and in the Orthodox Youth Move-ment in Damascus. His induction will be in Paris.

Archimandrite Hanna (Shafic) Haikal
Born in Jouret Arsoun in Mount Lebanon in 1967, Archimandrite Hanna finished secondary school education in Balamnd in 1986 and then continued his study of Theology at the Aristotle Univer-sity in Thessalonica gaining a Bachelor Degree in Theology in 1993. He was ordained deacon in 1995 and a priest in 1997. In 2001 he gained a Doctoral Degree in Theology from the Aristotle University. He is well versed in Greek and German, and he also speaks French. He is skilled in many ecclesiastical and pastoral matters. His induction will be in Berlin where he was entrusted with the service of Saint George’s parish in 1999.

Archimandrite Ephraim (Abdouh) Maalouli
Born in the Damascus countryside in 1978, he finished his secondry school edu-cation and 1996 and joined the college of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at Damascus University in 1997. He entered St George’s Patriachal Monastery as a novice and became a monk in 2001. He then moved to Greece where he acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from the Theological Col-lege in Athens in 2006. In 2007 he was ordained a deacon and then a priest in the Al Hosn diocese. In 2009 he gained a Masters degree from the faculty of Greek Literature at Athens University and a Masters degree in Patristic studies at the College of Theolo-gy in Athen’s University. He is skilled in Ancient and Modern Greek as well as English. His induction will be in Cologne.