Former Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras this week referred to his relations, while in office, with Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos, as well as to a contentious 2015 referendum in the country that his then radical leftist government held.
In an interview with an Athens-based television station, Tsipras said he believes in the power that faith holds for many people, while adding that he respects religion, the religious faithful, the Church and Orthodoxy.
His statement came in response to a question on how he achieved good relations with the current Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church, despite the fact that he was the first Greek prime minister not to be sworn-in with a religious oath, and the fact that he opted against either a religious or civil marriage ceremony with his partner.