A hierarch of the Church of Greece spoke out against raising the salaries of bishops in Greece

Metropolitan Kallinikos of Paronax expressed his categorical disagreement with a government bill that would significantly increase the income of archbishops and metropolitans of the Greek Orthodox Church. According to Orthodoxia.info, His Eminence Kallinikos called on the government to remove this amendment from the bill and urged the Holy Synod to officially state its position on this matter.

In his official statement, the metropolitan emphasized that the initiative to bring the salaries of bishops in line with those of ministry secretaries-general is a “unilateral intention of the state.” According to the hierarch, the Church has not made any such requests, and the authorities’ proposal itself, given the current socioeconomic conditions, only provokes public outrage and provides grounds for criticism of the clergy.

“This measure creates more grounds for criticism and temptation than it solves real problems,” Metropolitan Kallinik noted in a letter sent to the Holy Synod on June 11. He emphasized that increasing payments to the higher clergy seems inappropriate given that many citizens and rank-and-file clergy are struggling to provide for their families and facing financial difficulties.

The Metropolitan urgently requests that the Holy Synod take decisive measures to distance itself from this government initiative and protect the Church’s authority, which, in his view, has already been seriously damaged by the resulting public outcry.