Speaking to Greek media, the new Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, Kostas Gavroglou said he had the utmost respect for the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop of Athens Ieronymos, Monday. Abandoning the aggressive rhetoric used by his predecessor Nikos Filis during the former Minister’s rocky and often hostile relationship with Ieronymos, Gavroglou used a conciliatory tone and reassured the public that there would “no changes whatsoever” in the high school curriculum regarding the lesson of religious studies. “I mean it, no change at all, because the Archbishop has agreed at the Maximos Mansion with Mr. Filis and the Prime Minister on what we shall follow, and of course, we shall follow it, as agreed”, he stressed. On the Archbishop himself, who the new Minister met informally on Monday, Gavroglou said he held a pivotal position and played an important role in Greek society for “both historical reasons and reasons of timing”. “I hope he holds mutual feelings for me”, Gavroglou stressed. “It is not only political power, it is how society responds to initiatives taken and that is the most difficult thing”, he underlined.
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