Greek PM Alexis Tsiptas sent a letter to Archbishop of Athens and Greece, Ieronymos, in an effort to tone down the polemic rhetoric between the government and the Greek Orthodox Church, following leaks from the Finance Ministry accusing the Church of effectively adopting extreme right positions similar to those of the Golden Dawn party on the Macedonian name issue.
In his letter Mr. Tsipras notes that “We [government] will take consideration of the ecclesiastical factor with due attention” and clarifies that “the Government is responsible for the matter on the basis of the Constitution”, referring to the separate roles of the Church and State.
The Prime Minister said the goal was to resolve the name dispute with national unity, underlining that this unity should not be undermined by hatred and intolerance that had led to national defeats in the past.