On the [[October 5|fifth of October]], 1999, Archimandrite Paul was elected Metropolitan Archbishop of Australia and , New Zealand, and All Oceania, and was consecrated on the [[October 10|10th]] in Damascus, Syria. He arrived in Australia in early December 1999 and has led the [[Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and , New Zealand, and All Oceania]] to the present day.