Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomeed the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos II to the Maximos Mansion on Monday.
According to reports at AMNA and a post of the PM on facebook, the two discussed some “pending issues”, while reaffirming the excellent level of cooperation between the Greek State and Church of Greece.
During the opening statements of the meeting, which was recorded and released to the public, Mitsotakis noted that a number of important steps have been taken, and that they have managed to resolve several outstanding issues. The PM reconfirmed his committment open dialogue and reaffirmed that his government is “here to jointly deal with, together as we should, the great challenges of the time.”
Archbishop Ieronymos, on his part, thanked the Greek PM for his committment to dialogue and willingness to find time to discuss the Greek Orthodox Church’s issues, and to jointly arrive at decisions.
Media reports, citing sources from within the Greek church, noted that, off camera, the two discussed the utilization of church property for the benefit of society, and the balance between Church and State, among other issues.
Discussions about the utilization of Church property are significant, as the Greek Orthodox Church is estimated to own between 0.5% and 1.3% of Greece’s land. The exact figure cannot be determined due to the Church’s decentralized structure and the absence of a comprehensive national land registry. It is nonetheless widely regarded as the country’s second-largest institutional landowner, after the Greek state itself.
At the political level, maintaining good relations with the Church is seen as important for New Democracy, which defines itself as a liberal-conservative and Christian democratic party. While there are no precise figures on how many New Democracy members explicitly align with Orthodox positions, the party has historically maintained close ties and general sympathies toward the Church, reflecting its base and ideological tradition.
The two previously met in Athens at the start of 2025, which was followed by the PM’s trip to Tirana to attend the funeral of the late Archbishop Anastasios.
