PARIS – The Holy Metropolis of France announced with deep regret that its beloved brother Father Nicholas Xenos, Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Vicar General of the Metropolis of France, has fallen asleep in the Lord.

The late Father Nicholas Xenos was born in Zakynthos where he completed his early studies. In 1973, he was admitted to the Rizareios Ecclesiastical School in Athens. In 1975, he settled in Paris where he studied literature at the Sorbonne and received the License and Maîtrise Lettres Modernes degrees. In 1980, he served as Principal Educational Adviser (Conseiller Principal d ‘Éducation) at secondary school level in France.

In 1990, he was ordained a Deacon and Archdeacon by the then Metropolitan of France, Jeremiah, in 1996, he was ordained a Presbyter, and in 1998 he was granted the oficion of Protopresbyter and in 2016, he was honored with the oficion of Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He was the presiding priest of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple for many years in the Sartrouville area in Paris.

After the death of their brother in Christ, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France and the clergy of the Holy Metropolis prayed for the repose of the soul of Father Nicholaos. They read out a passage of the Pauline epistle: “We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).”