Holy Synod

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis today attended an extraordinary meeting with Archbishop Ieronymos and the Permanent Holy Synod to discuss public health measures at Orthodox Christmas services nationwide and to convey to the entire Church the importance of vaccination amidst a surge in the COVID-19 epidemic.

The decision goes against the Holy Synod

Health Minister Vasilis Kikilias and Athens University Medical School Professor of Epidemiology Sotiris Tsiodras met today with the 12-member Permanent Holy Synod to persuade the Orthodox Church of Greece to join the state's massive vaccination push to build a wall of immunity by the end of August.

His Beatitude Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria was admitted to hospital for regular health tests, according to the Holy Synod press office.

The Permanent Holy Synod (DIS) met for two days via a teleconference

The Holy Synod, the decision-making body of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, has removed the Metropolitan of Chalcedon, currently known as the Kadıköy district in Istanbul, over his alleged disobedience and disrespect to Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.

The SPC Holy Synod will probably be held in the crypt of the Temple of Saint Sava, Metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia and guardian of the patriarchal throne of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Chrysostom, told Tanjug.
However, he notes that the final decision on where Synod will be held will be made on February 10.

The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece is defying the government's decision to keep churches out of bounds for worshippers during Wednesday's celebration of the Epiphany, with the government responding that no one can decide to observe only the laws they like, and setting the stage for a possible clash.

It is "inconceivaable" for the Greek Orthodox Church to be demanding an exemption from the nationwide lockdown to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany on January 6, opposition Movement for Change (KINAL) said in a statement on Monday.

The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece on Monday issued a statement expressing its opposition to the government's decision to impose a stricter lockdown this week that includes the closure of all churches and other places of worship.