Subsequently, he was appointed as the vicar general of the Metropolis of Belgium while serving as the rector of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel parish in Brussels.[1] He assumed the leadership of the Orthodox Church's office with the European Union from its inception in 1995.[1] On September 5, 1996, he was unanimously elected bishop of the Diocese of Reggio and appointed auxiliary bishop to the Metropolitan of Belgium.[1]
On January 20, 2003, he was unanimously elected by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as the Metropolitan of France. He was entrusted with representing the Patriarchate in theological dialogue with the Oriental Orthodox Churches.[1] He retained the leadership of the Orthodox Church's representation to the EU and was responsible for academic dialogue with Islam and Judaism. He also served as the president of the Conference of European Churches from 2009 to 2013.[1]
In 2014, he co-authored a book with Roman Catholic cardinal Kurt Koch titled L'Esprit de Jérusalem.[2] While serving as the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of France, he was consulted by the French Senate in the drafting of certain laws related to religions.[3][4] He also actively participated in the "Orthodoxie" program organized by France Culture and made appearances on various other broadcasts.[5]
