During a briefing with political reporters, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis discussed a legislative solution addressing the “fundamental issue of the legal personality of the Holy Monastery of St. Catherine of Sinai in Greece.” The solution comes in the form of a new bill from the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports.
“This is a historic initiative that, for the first time in 15 centuries, grants clear legal status to a unique religious and cultural institution, while respecting its autonomy and ecclesiastical status,” stated Minister of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports, Sofia Zacharaki. “This demonstrates in practice that Greece remains the cradle of Orthodoxy.”
The bill also includes provisions to strengthen the charitable work of church institutions, as well as support for the Higher Ecclesiastical Academies and the Theology Departments of Higher Education Institutions by facilitating the enrollment of foreign and non-Greek students.
Finally, the bill abolishes the outdated legislative framework regulating the licensing of places of worship, which had been in place since the Metaxas era, the spokesperson emphasized.
Source: ANA-MPA, Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
