The Diaconal Holy Synod of Ecclesia of Greece of the 168th Synodal Period, under the presidency of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece.

According to the communiqué issued and regarding the publications about “the first POS on a church bench”, the IIS clarifies that the church in Athens where it was placed has no relation to a church of the Orthodox Church of Greece, which -according to a relevant Regulation passed on 11 March 2025 and its publication in the Official Gazette is imminent- has prohibited the installation of POS in Orthodox churches, while it only allowed transactions (accepting donations, paying expenses, etc.etc.) of ecclesiastical legal entities using internet banking and IRIS.

Regarding the exhibition “The Seduction of the Bizarre”, in a letter to the competent authorities (19.3.2025), the IIS described the acts of violence inside the National Gallery as anti-Christian and protested because the exhibition mocks the religious feeling of Orthodox Christians and abuses Byzantine iconography, which is part of the cultural heritage of the Greek people. The core of the problem is not the freedom of artistic expression, which concerns the artist, but the ethical rules that bind the National Museum of Fine Arts as a public cultural institution. The management of the Gallery announced that it was not reconsidering the selection of the exhibits (16.4.2025) and, following their re-exhibition (5.5.2025), held a dialogue workshop on the issue (6.5.2025). With the re-exhibition predetermined, this workshop functions as a communicative management of an intransigence. The IIS avoided statements that could exacerbate fanaticism on either side. At the same time, it urges those responsible to respect the sensitivity of the religious feeling of the Greek people.”

Subsequently, the IIS, having ratified the Minutes of the Authorization, determined the Program of the festive events for the celebration of the holy memory of Saint Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles, founder of the Church of Greece, as follows:

α) On Saturday 28 June 2025 at 7.00 p.m., at the Holy Church of St. Paul on Psaron Street in the city of Athens, the All-Holy Archpriestly Vespers will be celebrated, at which the synod representative of the IIS, the synodical metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Agios Vlasios, Ierotheos, will preside. The Archimandrite Fr. Damaskinos Petrakos, first secretary-activist of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, has been appointed to speak at the Vespers.

b) On Saturday 28 June 2025 at 7.00 pm, (b) On Saturday, Saturday, Saturday at 7:00 p.m., at the Cathedral of Apostle Paul of Corinth, the Solemn Archpriestly Vespers will be celebrated, presided over by Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, with the participation of synodal metropolitans of the Church of Greece, on the occasion of the festive events organized annually by the Holy Metropolis of Corinth, under the title “Corinth Pavelia 2025”. During the Vespers service, the representative of the IIS, the synodical metropolitan of Demetrias and Almyrus Ignatius, will speak.

c) On the morning of the feast day, Sunday 29 June 2025, at the Holy Church of St. Paul on Psaron Street in Athens, the Orthros and the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated, presided over by Archbishop Ieronymos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, with the participation of the synodal metropolitans of the Church of Greece. The synodal metropolitan of Nea Krini and Kalamaria, Justinos, will speak at the Divine Liturgy.

d) In the evening of the same day at 7.00 pm, on the Holy Rock of the Arion of the ancient Athens, in commemoration of the Apostle Paul’s sermon to the Athenians, there will be celebrated a Great Solemn Vespers, presided over by Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, with the participation of the synodal metropolitans of the Church of Greece, other hierarchs and other clergy, monks and the faithful people. During the Vespers service, the Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, Archimandrite Fr. Ioannis Karamouzis, will speak.

Also, during its sessions the IACC:

-Approved the Synodal Encyclical, prepared by the Synodal Metropolitan Daniel of Kaisarianis, Byron and Ymittos, on the celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of the convening of the First Ecumenical Council, which will be read in the Holy Churches on Sunday, June 1, 2025.

-He was informed by the Synodal Committee on the Ecclesiastical Education and Training of the Clergy of the Church about the final number of applications for enrolment in each Ecclesiastical School of Secondary Education for the school year 2025-2026, as sent by the Directorate of Religious Education of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports.

-Approved the following proposals of the Special Synodal Committee for Divine and Political Economy and Ecology, which aim at further cultivating ecological sensitivity and developing the environmental action of the Church of Greece: a) The sending of a Circular Note to the Holy Archdiocese of Athens and the Holy Metropolises of the Church of Greece, requesting the appointment of a representative of each Holy Metropolis as the person responsible for Ecology issues and as their liaison with the Committee for Divine and Political Economy and Ecology. b) The organization of a two-day summer interactive programme for students of Theology, on the theme “Theology and the Natural Environment”. c) The organization of an Interdisciplinary Environmental Conference by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece and the ESE of Divine and Political Economy and Ecology, in cooperation with the Holy Metropolis of Thessaly and Fanariofersala, on Monday 1 September 2025. d) The planning of regional environmental workshops in cooperation between the Commission and the concerned Holy Metropolises and with the assistance of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports and the local educational authorities, aiming at the participation of students of Primary and Secondary Education and the development of more systematic pastoral cooperation between the Church and the Educational Community on ecological issues.

-Approved, following the proposal of the Special Synodal Committee for Cultural Identity: a) The programme of the three-day Scientific Conference on the occasion of the bicentenary of the heroic Exodus of the Free Besieged of Messolonghi (1826-2026), which will take place in Messolonghi, from 16 to 18 October 2026. b) The planning of the Panhellenic Student Competition, on the occasion of the bicentenary of the heroic Exodus of the Free Besieged of Messolonghi, during the school year 2025-2026.

-He was informed by the Special Synodal Committee for Cultural Identity: a) about the holding of the Panhellenic Student Competition on the theme “Asia Minor – Pontus: Memories” and the Panhellenic Student Competition with a general theme: “Orthodoxy and Hellenism in Cyprus – 50 years since the Turkish invasion” and b) the visit of the awarded students to Veria and Kalamata respectively.

Finally, the IIS approved the secondments of clergymen and dealt with issues of Holy Metropolises and Synodal Committees, as well as with current service issues.

During the break of yesterday’s session, the Archbishop and the Synod members received the Deputy Minister of Health, Dimitrios Vartzopoulos, who informed them about issues within his competence, while after the end of the session they visited the Synodal Monastery of St. Simeon the New Theologian, in Kalamos, Attica.