Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos, on Thursday’s received the country’s citizens protection minister, Michalis Chrysohoidis, at the Church of Greece’s synodical building, with talks focusing directly on efforts to deal with the resurgent migrant crisis plaguing the east Mediterranean country.
Increased landings by groups of third country nationals being smuggled onto a handful of Greek isles from the opposite Turkish coast have occurred over the recent period, with this week’s unprovoked incursion by the Turkish military into northern Syria expected to exasperate the situation.
Indicatively, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week threatened to “flood” Europe and Greece with 3.6 million refugees he claims are hosted in Turkey.
A Church spokesman, the Metropolitan of Ilion, Acharnes and Petroupoli, His Eminence Athinagoras, later said the meeting between His Beatitude and Chrysohoidis, who holds the public order portfolio, was held in order to boost cooperation between the state and Church regarding the migrant/refugee crisis.
“The Church’s NGO retains all the facilities for providing legal asylum to migrants, as well as for reuniting families. The possibility of providing Church properties so that migrant families and unaccompanied minors can be hosted was also discussed today. The Church requested that such programs be fully managed by the Church, from beginning to end. Additionally, the possibility of inclusion of the people that will remain in Greece was discussed,” His Eminence added.
On his part, the minister referred to the major contribution of the Church of Greece during a period of crisis, saying characteristically, “you are very worthy of praise”.
