Church of Greece

The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece is set to vote unanimously against same-sex marriage legislation at its extraordinary meeting on Tuesday. 

The Church of Greece has adopted a wait-and-see approach regarding the government's plans to legalize same-sex marriage.

With the government's effort to build bridges with the Church of Greece on the issue of same-sex marriage and parenthood having failed, clerics are now pushing lawmakers not to back the relevant bill that will soon be tabled in Parliament.

In response to the conspiracy theories that have led to protests, mostly by very religious people and some clerics, over the new identity cards, the Permanent Holy Synod of Church of Greece said in a statement Wednesday that it is a matter for the country's judiciary and concerns the administrative issue of state-citizen relations.

The Church of Greece has said it will issue an opinion on the new identity cards this week.

Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens has called for "judiciousness and prudence" on an issue that has energized conspiracists among the faithful, including some bishops, and which has already led to protest rallies and plans for more.

Who should we believe? The prime minister, who made a commitment to pass legislation allowing same-sex marriage, or the high-ranking clerics who never miss an opportunity to vent their homophobic vitriol?

Something of a war has broken out in the Church of Greece after an Athens priest enlisted the help of two girls from his congregation to fill in for the altar boys in the Pentecostal liturgy.

A prominent writer and outspoken critic of the Church of Greece was arrested on Monday after a candidate with the Christian nationalist Greek Solution party sued him for defamation and accused him of violating his religious freedom.

Four days after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that faithful at Orthodox churches will have to present a negative COVID-19 rapid test in order to enter a church, the Holy Synod, the Church's executive organ, announced that it does not have the wherewithal to conduct such checks at the entrances of Church's.

What would happen if a business association convened tomorrow and decided to reopen all its stores on Monday? What if the owners of the country's bars, cafés, restaurants, concert venues and nightclubs did the same next weekend? Or if sports clubs opened their stadiums and invited their fans to watch their games? Would it all have to be brought to a halt by the police? Could it?