Archbishop orders inquiry into rant against lawmaker

Amid the backlash from some clerics over Parliament’s recent ratification of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, Archbishop Ieronymos ordered an ecclesiastical inquiry on Tuesday concerning the archimandrite of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens, Father Seraphim Dimitriou, over his recent behavior toward a socialist MP.

In a statement, PASOK said its MP Pavlos Christidis was accosted with “a hateful rant” by Seraphim because he voted for the bill and that he even went as far as “targeting his family with photos on social media.”

The Church has expressed opposition to the bill but Ieronymos’ response has been low-key. Nonetheless, tensions have simmered between the Church and state, with the archbishop himself reportedly dismayed with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ speech in Parliament during the vote, saying that he does not seem to accept that the Church should express opinions on issues concerning society.