Tsipras, Archbishop Ieronymos Announce New Agreement Between Church and State

A new agreement between the Church of Greece and the Greek State was announced on Tuesday. This agreement followed a meeting between the Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece, Ieronymos, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the Maximos Mansion in Athens.
Tsipras and Ieronymos issued a joint statement following the meeting.
Tsipras said that the two sides reached an agreement of historic proportions and revealed that priests will no longer be considered public servants. Instead, the Greek State will provide an annual amount equivalent to the wages of the priests to the Church of Greece. The Church of Greece will then be responsible for the distribution of wages.
Tsipras added that a new fund will be established jointly by the Church and the Greek State to make use of the Church’s property.
Ieronymos thanked Tsipras for the new agreement and his initiative to cooperate with the Church.
Greece’s Minister of Education Kostas Gavroglou, along with government spokesperson Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, also participated in the meeting.
It is noted that Tsipras recently announced a series of proposals to amend the Greek constitution. Included among these proposals was the formal separation of church and state. Today, however, Tsipras stated that his intention is to promote and exhibit the Church’s contribution to the Greek nation.

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