In his announcement, Metropolitan Anthimos of Alexandroupolis draws the attention of the faithful.
The Metropolitan calls on the faithful not to be deceived by a former clergyman of the local Orthodox Church and Metropolis, who have been convicted by the civil courts and defrocked for immoral acts by the synodical courts of the Church of Greece, who urges his followers to collect signatures in order to establish the Old Calendarist “Holy Metropolis of Alexandroupolis and all Thrace.”
The Metropolitan points out that “the Holy Metropolises in Greece, under the Greek Constitution, are Legal Entities of Public Law, provided for by the Charter of Church of Greece (Law 590/1977) and are established by Presidential Decree.”
According to the Metropolitan of Alexandroupolis, the purpose of the defrocked clergyman and his followers is to obtain legal recognition as an Old Calendar religion, “these Old Calendar groups which neither Mount Athos nor the Orthodox Churches in our homeland recognize.”
The announcement aims to protect Christians in Alexandroupolis and Thrace from signing and transferring personal data to people who do not belong to the Greek Orthodox Church and try to cause a schism.
