During today’s first session, the Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece was informed by the Synodal Committee of Ecclesiastical Education for the statistics of all ecclesiastical schools of secondary education, concerning the performance of the graduates in 2020.
The Standing Holy Synod was informed about the positive response of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the request of the Holy Synod for the support of the Greek State through the partial contribution to the annual salary expenses of the lay staff of the church bodies, which are not self-funded or subsidized by the state budget.
This staff helps in carrying out the pastoral and charitable work of the Church. It is referred that, despite the crisis and the minimization of the income, due to the suspension of the operation of the churches, the work continues while no lay employee was fired during this period.
The president and the members of the Standing Holy Synod thanked the Greek government and wished every blessing, strength and wisdom from God to successfully face the dire situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Standing Holy Synod also approved the new title “Coexistence – Ecumenical Refugee Program” of the Repatriation Center for Repatriated and Migrants – Ecumenical Refugee Program, as well as the annual report on the accommodation structures for unaccompanied minor refugees.
The Metropolitan of Ilion, Acharnes and Petroupolis, Athenagoras, who is the president of the Center, informed the Standing Holy Synod that four facilities in Athens and Thessaloniki accommodate 154 children of different nationalities after one year of operation. He noted that the Church provide these children with safe housing, educational programs, Greek language courses and psychological support without any aim of proselytism.
Finally, the Standing Holy Synod dealt with issues of synodal committees and current service issues.
