CHURCH


Gay marriage testing Church and state ties
NEWS

Greece’s Independence Day on March 25 and Greek Orthodox Easter on May 3 will serve as a barometer of the Church’s response to legislation passed by Parliament institutionalizing same sex marriage. 

Archbishop orders inquiry into rant against lawmaker
NEWS

Amid the backlash from some clerics over Parliament’s recent ratification of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, Archbishop Ieronymos ordered an ecclesiastical inquiry on Tuesday concerning the archimandrite of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens, Father Seraphim Dimitriou, over his recent behavior toward a socialist MP.



Catholics on Lesvos mark St Valentine’s Day
SOCIETY

The Catholic community in Mytilene on the island of Lesvos commemorated Saint Valentine in the “Frankoklisia” – the Catholic Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in the central market of the city.

Mount Athos monks weigh in on gay marriage
NEWS

The government’s plans to legislate for marriage equality “circumvents fundamental principles of human existence,” the 20 monasteries that make up the monastic community of Mount Athos have announced.



Holy Synod warns of impact on family in letter to MPs
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL

Ahead of the government’s submission of a bill on same-sex marriage to Parliament, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece sent a letter to 300 MPs reiterating its opposition, stressing the damage it will wreak on the institution of the family and children.

Church drafting letter to MPs on same-sex marriage
NEWS

The legal adviser to the Hierarchy of the Greek Church is reportedly drafting a letter that will be sent to lawmakers regarding the legal ramifications of same-sex marriage and, according to well-informed sources, it will be completed after the relevant government bill is made public.

Church head’s balancing act on same-sex marriage
NEWS

The recent unanimous rejection by the influential Greek Church’s governing Holy Synod of government plans to legalize same-sex marriage is perceived as a success for Archbishop Ieronymos in navigating the perennial antagonism between the more modernizing and conservative, at times obscurantist, factions within the Hierarchy.