Archbishop Ieronymos rejects separation of church and state

Archbishop Ieronymos, the leader of the Orthodox Church of Greece, released a statement on Monday on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the restoration of democracy.

In his statement, Ieronymos called the last 50 years “the most democratic and stable period in the entire political history of our homeland.”

Furthermore, he rejected any discussion of separation between the Church and state and expressed regret that Greece did not invest in the cooperation between both institutions, but instead “exhausted our energy on futile and unproductive battles” over the issue.

Ieronymos said he considers this discussion to be alien to Greek tradition and influenced by foreign notions that do not correspond with Greek reality and history.