The Standing Holy Synod decided today to change the place of the celebration of Orthodox Sunday, reacting implicitly to the passing of the bill on same-sex couples’ marriage.

The Standing Holy Synod did not explicitly mention the reasons for the decision, but announced that the celebration of Orthodox Sunday for the first time will not take place in the Metropolis of Athens, which is traditionally the case, but in the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Asomatos Petraki.

Essentially, with the decision, the Hierarchy puts a “blockade” on the political leadership, as the liturgy at the Petraki Monastery is not subject to protocol, while the Standing Holy Synod will not send invitations to the state and political leadership.

In fact, in the past, the President of the Republic used to read the Creed (the “Creed”), while this year this will be done by Archbishop Hieronymos.

According to information from protothema.gr, the Hierarchy decided that the meal will be held at the Petraki Monastery, while in previous years Archbishop Hieronymos and the Synodal Hierarchs met with the President of the Republic, having issued the relevant invitation, which will not happen this year.

However, as the Presidency of the Republic made known, “the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou sent yesterday, March 4, invitations to the President of the Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, and the members of the Synod, for the traditional lunch in their honour at the Presidential Palace, on the occasion of the Feast of Orthodoxy.

The President and the Members of the Synod are always welcome at the Presidential Palace, but at the same time their decision as to whether to accept the invitation is respected.”

“The Standing Holy Synod has decided that this year’s celebration of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, on the First Sunday of Lent, March 24, will take place in the Catholicos of the Holy Monastery of Asomatos Petraki, presided over by His Eminence, His Eminence the Metropolitan of Nicopolis and Preveza, Mr. Chrysostomos, Theoklotos of Ierissos, Mount Athos and Ardameron and Panteleimon of Maroneia and Komotini.

His Eminence, His Eminence the Synodal Metropolitan of Aetolia and Acarnania, Mr. Damaskinos, will deliver the solemn homily of the day, as already appointed,” the statement said.

The announcement of the Holy Synod in detail:

The Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece of the 167th Synodal Period, under the presidency of His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, convened today, Tuesday, March 5, 2024.

The I.I.S. decided that this year’s celebration of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, on the First Sunday of Lent, March 24th, will take place in the Catholicos of the Holy Monastery of Asomatos Petraki, presided over by His Eminence, His Eminence the Metropolitan of Nicopolis and Preveza, Mr. Chrysostomos, Theoklotos of Ierissos, Mount Athos and Ardameron and Panteleimon of Maroneia and Komotini.

The solemn homily of the day, as already appointed, will be delivered by His Eminence the Synodal Metropolitan of Aetolia and Acarnania, Mr Damaskinos.

During its Sessions the Standing Holy Synod:

– It was informed about the Letter of His Beatitude Archbishop George, Archbishop of Cyprus, referring to the completion of fifty years since the Turkish invasion of the Great Island.

His Beatitude and His Eminence and His Eminence’s Synod expressed their solidarity with the Cypriot people, their sorrow and their anguish because all efforts for a peaceful settlement have failed, resulting in the continued occupation of a large part of Cyprus.

– It decided to appoint His Eminence the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Mr. Jeronimos, as the Escort of His Beatitude, during his visit to Kilkis, on June 21, 2024, due to the celebrations of the city’s Freedom Day. He was also informed by His Eminence Metropolitan Bartholomew of Polyanis and Kilkis about the festive events that will take place in Kilkis on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Metropolis of Polyanis and Kilkis.

– He was informed by His Eminence Metropolitan of Maroneia and Komotini, Mr. Kilissi. He was informed by the Archbishop of Marion, Marion and Komoros and the Metropolitan of Marion and Komoros, of the signing in Nicosia, on 27 February 2024, of the Memorandum of Cooperation for the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust and the fight against anti-Semitism between the Church of Greece, which he represented, the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports of the Hellenic Republic, the Church of Cyprus, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth of the Republic of Cyprus, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and the Jewish Museum of Greece.

– He was informed by the Director General of the Apostolic Deaconate of the Church of Greece, His Eminence Metropolitan Agathaggelos of Fanario, about the decision of the Central Board of the Organization to organize, in October 2025, a Theological Conference on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the convening of the First Ecumenical Council. The Standing Holy Synod put the board under its auspices and approved the appointment of the members of the Scientific Committee and the programme of the Congress.

– He was informed by the Director of the Orthodox Centre of the Church of Greece, His Eminence Metropolitan of Thermopylae, Mr. John, the Director of the Orthodox Centre of the Church of Greece, on the participation of the Orthodox Centre, following a special invitation, as the sole representative of Greece in the European Practitioners Network against Antisemitism (EPNA), which is a body that includes organisations from all over the European Union and beyond, and is under the auspices and supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.

– It decided on the publication, by the Apostolic Diaconate of the Church of Greece, of the manual of the Primate of the Armenian Patriarchate of the Great House of Cilicia, Mr. Aram I, entitled “The Armenian Church”, which was translated into Greek by His Eminence Metropolitan Gabriel of Nea Ionia, Philadelphia, Heraklion and Chalcedon.

– He was informed by the Theophilos Bishop of Tanagra, Apostolos, Director of the Office of the Delegation of the Church of Greece in Brussels, about the European Mental Health Programmes, which will be implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.

– Approved the proposal of the Synodal Committee on Press, Public Relations and Enlightenment for the organization of the H’ Day, in order to inform the heads of the Press Offices, as well as other persons involved in the communication of the Holy Metropolises of the regions of Attica, North and South Aegean, which will take place in the Holy Metropolis of Peristeri, on Tuesday, June 4, 2024.

– It approved the proposal of the Institute for the Study of Neoplasms of the Digestive System, to put under the auspices of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece the two-day conference entitled: “Surgical Oncology of the Digestive System and Transplants”.

Finally, the Standing Holy Synod drew up the Supplementary List of Clergy Candidates for registration in the List of Clergy Candidates for Election to the Archpriesthood, approved clergy secondments and dealt with issues of Holy Metropolises and Synodal Committees, as well as with current service issues.

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During the break of the Session, the Director General of the Apostolic Ministry of the Church of Greece, His Eminence Metropolitan Agathaggelos of Fanari, and the Secretary General of Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Mr. George Kalantzis, offered to His Beatitude the President and the Members of the Permanent Holy Synod the book for the officials of Primary and Secondary Education, entitled: “Teaching the History of Pontus”.

The book was edited by the General Secretariat for Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Education, the Chair of Pontian Studies of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Apostolic Deaconry of the Church of Greece.

His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos, after thanking His Eminence the Metropolitan of Fanari and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Culture, described the book on the History of the Greek Pontium as excellent and moving, which is the fruit of the close cooperation between the Church and the State, stressing that it is one of the educational books that we need today more than any other time.

He expressed the wish that this publishing effort would be a guide for the publication of other books, which would help in teaching the history of other places of Hellenism.

From the Standing Holy Synod

of the Church of Greece