Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all of Greece referred to the positive results of the collaboration between the Church, State and individuals on Tuesday afternoon in “Athanasios Martinos 1 & 2” Shelter of Supported Living, of the Foundation for the Care of People With Intellectual Disabilities or Down Syndrome “M. Kokkori” of the Archdiocese of Athens, located in Varnavas, Attica.
The inauguration of the shelter took place, in the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Metropolitan Amphilochios of Adrianople, who was the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch, archpriests, state officials, and politicians attended the inauguration ceremony.
The Archbishop expressed his emotion for the event while referring to the late Metropolitan Kleopas of Thessaliotis, who “laid the foundation stone for this work”.
He also made reference to the Metropolitan Cyril of Kifissia, who “is the shepherd of the eparchy”.
He also talked about families with children with intellectual disabilities and their parents’ concern about who will take care of them when they pass away, reassuring that “this is the right place.”
Concluding his greeting, the Archbishop underlined that this Center “sends one message nowadays, that is when the Church, the State and the private body work together, they can do more and better.”
Then the President of the Hellenic Republic, speaking of the donor, Athanasios Martinos, and the Archdiocese of Athens, pointed out that “your work leads to something innovative which, through humanism and solidarity, serves in full the Greek and European Culture. Because our culture, and our common European heritage, are based on human being.”
