PM Mitsotakis and Archbishop Ieronymos agree on new start in Church-State relations

Meeting at the Maximos Mansion on Tuesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos agreed there must be a new start in Church-State relations that is based on sincerity and respect for their separate roles, which will not become the object of exploitation by political parties.

In this context, they agreed on an immediate reactivation of the Committee for Church-State Dialogue in order to settle all issues that concern the two institutions, such as the religious studies classes in schools and making use of Church property.

Mitsotakis guaranteed to fully protect the existing salary, insurance and pension rights of clerics and the Archbishop underlined that, as far as the Holy Synod is concerned, the Church-State agreement proposed last November is considered null.

The meeting also discussed the approval of funds for the Church of Greece in 2019.