Ieronymos denounces nationalist leader’s warnings against ND MPs
Archbishop Ieronymos, the leader of the influential Orthodox Church of Greece, on Friday denounced threats made by a nationalist party leader against deputies of the ruling New Democracy party.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Kyriakos Velopoulos, the chief of the nationalist Greek Solution party, warned conservative MPs who earlier this year supported legislation allowing civil marriage for same-sex couples not to attend Church during Easter.
“We will not heed Mr Velopoulos or any other politician for that matter,” Ieronymos said.
“These days are holy, and we should not tarnish them with trivialities,” he continued, emphasizing, “the Church calls upon us all to love and respect one another.”
In February, Greece became the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage, a move vehemently opposed by the Church and many conservative politicians.
