 In 1942 he was ordained a priest and an archimandrite, also by Archbishop Damaskinos and served as parish priest at the Church of St Luke in Patisia.During the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II, he joined the ranks of EDES under general Napoleon Zervas.He served as secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, and in 1949, was elected Metropolitan Bishop of Arta and in 1958 was transferred to Ioannina.