Acrimony continues among church bishops

Education Minister Costas Gavroglou on Wednesday reiterated the government’s intention to continue its dialogue with the Church of Greece despite the Holy Synod’s refusal last Friday to ratify a deal between Prime Minister Alex Tsipras and Archbishop Ieronymos regarding church-state relations.

His remarks confirmed the government’s desire not to risk a clash with the church by moving unilaterally to legislate the deal.

Meanwhile, Ieronymos’s detractors continued to accuse him of overstepping his authority by striking the tentative deal with Tsipras.

Speaking to Antenna TV, Bishop Daniel of Kaisariani said Ieronymos committed “breaches that cannot be erased.” “In the life of the church nothing is forgotten,” he said.

However, Bishop Maximos of Ioannina told state-run ERT that Ieronymos was being unfairly treated and that his critics owe him an apology.

For his part, Ieronymos said that he “will have the final say.”