Ieronymos II of Athens

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (l) on Tuesday assured Archbishop Ieronymos that his government will not push through with plans to remove priests from the state payroll, reversing a decision by the previous leftist administration. Mitsotakis stressed that articles 3 and 13 of the constitution, which determine relations between the Church and state, would not be changed.

In yet another sign of the normalization of relations between Athens and the Phanar, Archbishop Ieronymos paid a visit to Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios in Istanbul on Monday.
According to reports, Ieronymos visited the Patriarchate to wish Vartholomaios a happy name day.

The new archbishop of America, Elpidophoros, met Friday in Athens with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos and his deputy Terence Quick.
"Armed with the good wishes of Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios and the entire nation, I feel secure in taking on my new duties," he said.

Ushering in a new era in the relationship between Athens and the Phanar, Greek Archbishop Ieronymos and visiting Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios together attended the inauguration of a gerontology center in the town of Dilesi in Viotia, central Greece, on Thursday. Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos was also at the event. 

Archbishop Ieronymos received Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios on Wednesday in what has been described as a visit intended to the bury the hatchet between Athens and the Phanar. 

Vartholomaios described the thaw in relations between the two leaders saying, "Blood cannot be turned into water."

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios is expected in Athens on Wednesday for talks with Greek Archbishop Ieronymos that are widely expected to usher in a new era in relations between the Church of Greece and the Phanar.

In what is seen as a hatchet-burying visit, the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios will arrive in Athens on Wednesday for talks with Greek Archbishop Ieronymos that are widely expected to usher in a new era in relations between the Church of Greece and the Phanar.

As Greeks everywhere celebrate Easter with a variety of customs, many predating Christianity itself, Church leaders remind us that Easter is, a bove all, a spiritual event.

In a bid to bury a hatchet of sorts, Greek Archbishop Ieronymos will welcome Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios in Greece on May 23.

It will be the first meeting between the two church leaders after a long period during which they were reportedly not on speaking terms.

The agreement between Greece's leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Archbishop Ieronymos was a dead letter even before the latter acknowledged the deal was at a "dead end."

Unfortunately, yet another opportunity for the separation of the Church of Greece and the state, which would have been of mutual benefit for both sides, has fallen by the wayside.