Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut
His Grace Bishop Elias Audi
His Eminence Bishop Elias Audi was born in 1941 in the town of Anfeh, Koura, where he spent his childhood and youth. He initially studied medicine at the American University of Beirut, later earning a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the Lebanese University. He then traveled to New York, where he studied theology at St. Vladimir's Institute. In 1968, he was ordained as a deacon, and after graduating from St. Vladimir's Institute in 1969, he was promoted to the priesthood and appointed pastor of the Yonkers Church in New York.
In 1971, he became Vice Dean of St. John of Damascus Institute in Balamand. He was elected as a bishop in 1979 and appointed Patriarchal Vicar. On February 5, 1980, the Holy Antiochian Synod elected him Bishop of the Archdiocese of Beirut and its Dependencies. From 1991 to 1998, he was a prominent member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches and also chaired the Joint Dialogue Committee between the World Council of Churches and the Vatican during the same period.
