Archbishop Ieronymos against separation of Church and state

Archbishop Ieronymos has said that separating Greece’s Orthodox Church from the state would be “horror.”

Speaking on Friday during an event at police headquarters in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Ieronymos said it was important to maintain the relationship “at a time when institutions are being rocked to their foundations.”

“It’s horror to think that there could be a time when we could be separated, or be against one another, or not to be all together working in the same vineyard.”

In what was widely interpreted as a symbolic victory for the Church, Nikos Filis, who as education and religious affairs minister had repeatedly clashed with Ieronymos on a range of issues, was earlier this month removed from the SYRIZA-led government.

As an opposition party, SYRIZA had repeatedly called for separation of Church and state.