Orthodox Church of Greece

'It is extremely important that over recent years Thessaloniki has assumed its share of responsibility for actions and omissions of the past...the historical wound created by indifference, complacency and anti-Semitism,' said President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

It is difficult to rule out yet another winter with harsh public health restrictions, as the Delta variant of the virus is raging and the rate of vaccination has not reached the desired level.

The Church hierarchy has often been accused – sometimes justly and sometimes unjustly, at times in good faith and other times in bad faith – of anachronistic approaches to changes in society.

Main opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras demanded that churches comply with public health regulations that apply to all other venues (except for supermarkets and pharmacies).

It took pressure from the scientific community and, the death of clergy, for the Church to adjust to news realities and to comply with public health measures instituted by the government.

The education ministry (which has church-state relations) has proposed that a university degree be the precondition for paying the salaries of a clergymen (in Greece they are paid by the state).

'The core issue is that we see that that the public is in a state of fatigue and that we must gradually lift the lockdown in a controlled fashion. We finally have enough tools to do this,' Magiorkinis said.

It is sad that among the few who behave irresponsibly regrading the coronavirus lockdown are representatives of local government as well as lower and high-level clerics.

“'Today it is not our sacred beliefs that are being tested but rather but rather our faith in human health, the love for one’s neighbor which is a cornerstone of Orthodoxy.' Mitsotakis said.

“In any event, the salary status of those who serve the Church constitutes the responsibility and decisions of the State,” the PM's office said.

Ieronymos profusely thanked the PM, asserting that if all is implemented as planned, he will go down in history as the leader who solved a problem that was intractable for decades.