For the extremely close cooperation with the Church in its institutionally defined framework, the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was mentioned from Delesi, where together with the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Hieronymos, they visited structures of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens.
“Your Grace, I want to thank you and congratulate you for your great social work. Visiting today three structures which are under the supervision of the Archdiocese and as we enter Holy Week, I think that your words, that above all we must treat each other with love and respect, resonate today more timely than ever”. said the prime minister.
“I want to emphasize once again that our cooperation in its institutionally defined framework, was and remains extremely close”, added Mr. Mitsotakis.
“And in your person, I would also like to thank all your collaborators, clergy and laity, the thousands of volunteers, who assist this very rich social project of the Church. And as, as I said, the great celebration of Christianity is approaching, days of reflection but also days when all of us can ask ourselves what more we can do to help especially those who need it most. So it is with great pleasure that I am here today with you”, said Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
And I want to emphasize once again that our cooperation in its institutionally defined framework was, is and remains extremely close. And that we look forward precisely to this important social footprint of the Church, which comes and complements the state structures, the state welfare, always giving an excess of love and support to those who need it most”, stressed the prime minister.
Their first stop was at the nursery school “Evangelismos Tis Theotokou”, where they were welcomed by Metropolitan Fthiotidos Simeon and had the opportunity to talk with the 47 students of the structure and their teachers. They were given a tour of the classrooms and the digital story and play room, while the children sang Lazarus carols and offered Easter gifts, their own creations.
“I want to emphasize that everyone who works here is making enormous efforts to support our children and their families in the best possible way,” noted the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.
“Today our prime minister came to see you, tell him that you are fine and that now that school is closed and we will all celebrate Easter together, you will become better children and so you will get back together to continue the fight. A good effort is being made, the parents are quite happy.
Again, I and our partners are pleased with the offer to families, but also to our children as such. And we would like more such schools but, as we said yesterday, we are asking for a good cooperation, so that together with Church and State we can do such projects and be proud of them. We thank you very much for being with us even today”, emphasized Archbishop Hieronymos.
Afterwards, the Prime Minister and the Archbishop went to the “Zoodochos Pigi” kindergarten, where English language and drama classes are held. The Prime Minister saw the premises of the station up close and talked to the 15 young students.
Immediately after, they visited the “Agios Porphyrios” Gerontology Center, where they were guided around its premises and talked with the 60 elderly people housed in the structure, exchanging wishes for Easter. The center has been built with funding from the NSRF on an area of 27 acres, with a total building area of 5,000 sq.m.
Jerome: There is no “Christian meter”
“These holy days should not be spoiled by trifles,” said Archbishop Ieronymos, speaking to the cameras during his visit to Dilesi in Boeotia, where together with the prime minister they will visit structures of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens.
“We have our fixed lines and our fixed lines are the Gospel, the word of God, the positions of the Church. Beyond these positions we cannot move. Therefore, we do not do what Mr. Velopoulos will tell us, nor what any politician will tell us. We respect opinions, we count them and we do what God says: we love all people,” he noted
When asked by journalists if there is a “Christian meter”, he answered, “no, never. Only love, forgiveness, fellowship and cooperation. Especially in the area of Greece, in our country, especially in these times, cooperation is essential. There are many things that separate us that make us different, but we are looking at how we can move forward with this collaboration.”
And he added: “I can’t even go to things that the Gospel doesn’t say, no matter what the prime minister says, I look at what the Gospel says. He too may have his principles. I cannot identify myself nor can you identify with personal interests or positions that tomorrow will have no value.
It is time to think seriously, especially during this time when our country needs partners and cooperation. Everyone has their opinions, they stick to their opinions, they fight for them, time will tell.”
He also answered a question about the circulars that the Church will send ahead of Easter, that he will do what he does every year. “We don’t move based on tomorrow, today or yesterday, we move based on what the Gospel tells us and the word of God.”
What Kyriakos Velopoulos said
Regarding the Archbishop’s statement, the president of Hellenic Solution said “it is being used as a pre-election tool by New Democracy and Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself”.
Mr. Velopoulos noted that “the hierarchy should not lead the faithful to specific political spaces”, stressing that for the Greek Solution the Church is the whole of the people, the clergy and the Hierarchy.
A related announcement on the issue of the “instrumentalization” of the Church was issued by the Hellenic Solution on Thursday (26/4)
“The Mitsotakis government, through its propaganda mechanism, reaches the point of using even hierarchs as tools, in order to slander the Greek Solution and distort the statements of its president Kyriakos Velopoulos.
A typical example is the statements of the Venerable Metropolitan Dimitriados Ignatios, who was “trapped” and participated -unwittingly we want to believe- in this “operation to distort the truth”, because he was called to comment on distorted statements of the president of the Hellenic Solution.
However, the propagandistic instrumentalization of the Church by the ND is fully confirmed by the exact statement from the floor of the parliament which we quote in its entirety together with the video.
PS Sometimes I enter the house of God because I believe, and sometimes I go to the house of God to vote.”
#Messages #unity #Mitsotakis #Ieronymos #Cooperation #Church #remains #close
