His Eminence, Bishop Sozomenos Polyviou, was born in Sydney, Australia on Sunday, 21st October, 1979. His name at birth was Christos, after his grandfather from his father's side, and he would celebrate his Name's Day on the Holy Nativity of our Lord. His parents were born and raised on the beautiful Mediterranean Island of Cyprus, and had migrated to Australia separately in the late 70's were they met and eventually married.

 

In July of 1996, on the eve of the Feast Day of St. Paraskevi, Christos was received into the Genuine Orthodox Church of Australia by the then Presbyter, Fr. Efstathios Tourlis, at the Holy Dormition of the Theotokos Parish in Bexley, Sydney, New South Wales. 

 

In December of 1997, Christos successfully completed his secondary level of education, as a year 12 student at Hurstville Boys High School in Sydney's St. George district. Over the next few months Christos traveled to Cyprus and to Greece, where he stayed at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Kouvara, Attiki, Greece, where he got his first taste of the monastic life.

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Upon his return to Australia, Christos became an apprentice in the Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Ventilation industry and successfully completed his apprenticeship by December of 2001, when he became a licensed contractor and engineer in the aforementioned field.

On the 22nd, May 2004, Christos and his mother moved to Limassol, Cyprus indefinitely.

 

After settling in Cyprus, on 12th July of 2005, Christos was drafted into the Cyprus National Guard to serve his military time at the 398th Infantry Regiment, in the town Nyssou, where he was trained to be  of a member of a Rescue Squad. Coincidently, the Infantry Regiment he served at was very close to the place where Saint Sozomenos lived his life in asceticism somewhere in the 7th century, and who's name he would later on bear.

After bright Week in 2008, Christos became a Novice Monk under the obedience of His Eminence Metropolitan of Citium, Parthenios, rightful bishop of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Cyprus.

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On the 11th August, 2008, Christos was tonsured a Rasofor Monk by His Eminence, Bishop Parthenios, taking the name Niphon, at the Holy Monastery of the Entry of the Theotokos, in Limassol, Cyprus, and under the guidance of his elder, Monk Kallinikos, who was an ascetic monk from Romania, who migrated to Cyprus in order to serve His Eminence Bishop Parthenios. 

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At the end of 2009 on the Feast of St. Sozomenos of Potamia, (22nd November, o/c), Rasofor Monk Niphon, was Tonsured into the Small-Schema by His Eminence, Bishop Parthenios, who gave him the name Sozomenos, in honour of the saint of the day, at the Holy Monastery of the Entrance of the Theotokos, in Limassol, Cyprus, and under the guidance of his elder, Monk Kallinikos. An interesting fact is that, St. Sozomenos, actually reposed in the Lord, on the 21st November, on the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple, but due to the Feast, the Church commemorates St. Sozomenos's Feast the next day. 

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On the 7th December 2009, on the Feast of St. Ambrose, Small-Schema Monk Sozomenos, was ordained a Hierodeacon by His Eminence, Bishop Parthenios, at the Three Hierarchs Cathedral in Troullous, Cyprus.

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On the 13th December 2010, on the Feast of St. Eustratius, Hierodeacon Sozomenos was ordained into the Priesthood, at Ss. Constantine & Helen's Church in Birmingham, UK, after a petition had been made to Bishop Parthenios, by the parishioners of the aforementioned church, who all requested that Hierodeacon Sozomenos, would be quite suited to be the priest who would help the founder of the Parish, the then Presbyter Fr. Soterios Hadjimichael, who was also very keen on Fr. Sozomenos being his successor, as was achieved.

On the 21st May 2012, Hieromonk Sozomenos, was given the blessing to become a Spiritual Father by His Eminence Bishop Parthenios, so that he could begin hearing people's confessions and guiding them through the Mystical life of the Church.

 

On the 17th August 2017, Hieromonk Sozomenos was given the honour of Prelatic Commissioner, officially representing His Eminence, Bishop Parthenios in Britain.

On the 5th November 2017, Hieromonk Sozomenos was given the honour of becoming Protosyncellus for His Eminence Bishop Parthenios under the Genuine Orthodox Church of Cyprus as well as for His Eminence Bishop Kirykos, for whenever he would travel abroad to countries under his Omoforon.

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After several petitions to His Eminence, Metropolitan of Citium, Parthenios of the G.O.Church of Cyprus, by the faithful of the G.O.Church of the British Isles as well as by clergy and laity abroad, (North and South America, Caribbean), His Eminence, Bishop Parthenios announced to the Holy Synod of All Bishops of the Genuine Orthodox Church, that he would release Hieromonk Sozomenos from G.O.Church of Cyprus, which he previously belonged to, so that he may freely become a candidate for the High-Priesthood, for the G.O.Church of the British lsles which would have an Autonomous status. People from within the British Isles and the Missions abroad, petitioned to have a bishop of their own, who would directly lead them, rather than just serve them as an acting bishop. Thus, in a synod meeting which took place at the Holy Trinity Monastery in Hexamilia, Corinth, Greece on the 15th October 2019 by the "Holy Synod of All-Bishops" of the Genuine Orthodox Church, presided by His Beatitude, Archbishop of Athens Pachomios, Protosyncellus, Hieromonk Sozomenos was canonically elected bishop and Metropolitan for the Ancient See of Mercia, which, through the Holy Synod's decision, became the Holy Metropolis of Mercia and the British Isles.

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On Sunday, 27th October, 2019, His Grace, Bishop Elect Sozomenos, was tonsured, receiving the Great and Angelic Schema, at the hands of his Spiritual Father, Metropolitan of Citium Parthenios, according to the canonical order of the Church. His sponsor for this tonsure was his Monastic Elder Great-Schema Monk Kallinikos. 

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On 3rd November 2019, His Grace, Bishop Elect Sozomenos, was Consecrated into the High-Priesthood, becoming the first legitimate resident Orthodox bishop in the British Isles, at least, since the schism which took place in the Orthodox world in 1924, when the Patriarchate of Constantinople decided to uncanonically, adopt the already condemned and anathematised Gregorian Calendar. On the same day, the Enthronement ceremony to took place, where Bishop Sozomenos was handed down the Pastoral Staff from the previous Acting Bishop of G.O.Church of the British Isles, and thus, officially becoming 'Metropolitan of Mercia and the British Isles'.

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