Evmenios Vasilopoulos

Evmenios of Chora (secular name Seraphim Vasilopoulos; born 1981) is the chorbishop of the Diocese of Chora, under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Biography

Early life and education Seraphim Vasilopoulos was born in 1981 to John and Vasiliki Vasilopoulos, in Melbourne, Victoria. He grew up in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs, having attended secondary education at Monash Secondary College. He later received a tertiary education at St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College in Redfern, New South Wales. Here, he attained a Bachelor's Degree in Theology, and later a Master's Degree of Arts in Pastoral Care, from the Sydney College of Divinity. The following month, His Eminence, Archbishop Makarios of Australia announced in an encyclical that the Very Reverend Fr. Archimandrite Evmenios Vasilopoulos would become the Archiepiscopal Vicar of this district, along with various other changes to the archdiocese. As Fr. Evmenios' community were unsure about the change, he assured them that it was "done out of a practical sense, there is no divisiveness in it."

Life as a bishop In 2021, following the retirement of His Grace, Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis from episcopal duties, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople informed the Archdiocese of Australia of its decision to elect four new assistant bishops. Among these four was His Grace, Bishop-elect Evmenios. Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis was also elevated to Metropolitan. Elpidios of Kyaneon, Silouan of Sinope, Kyriakos of Sozopolis, and Christodoulos of Magnesia. Among the congregation was the Most Reverend Anthony Fisher, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. In his personal address, Bishop Evmenios, after thanking the Holy Synod for his election, mentioned his parents, who "sacrificed everything to offer him and his siblings a warm Christian family". He later mentioned his first spiritual father, Fr. Nikolaos Moutafis, who guided him through his time as a parishioner at Sts. Anargiri Greek Orthodox parish in Oakleigh, Victoria. In that parish, Bishop Evmenios met the then Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese, Ezekiel of Dervis, who inspired him and encouraged the idea of theological tertiary education. The new bishop concluded by thanking the late Archbishop Stylianos, and the parish where he formerly served in Thomastown.

On the 18th of December, 2021, Bishop Evmenios of Kerasounta conducted his first baptism service after his consecration to the episcopate, baptising a French agnostic convert into the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Following a convention of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in July 2024, six new dioceses were established across the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, to enhance the pastoral care of Orthodox believers in the country. One of these dioceses was the Diocese of Chora (previously known as the Archiepiscopal District of Northcote). As Bishop Evmenios was still in the position of Archiepiscopal Vicar, he became the newly-elected chorbishop of the Diocese of Chora.

Related articles