Synod of the Church of Greece reviewed the introduction of a unified "personal number" for citizens

The Permanent Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, during its session on June 12–13, 2025, reviewed the introduction of a so-called «personal number», established by Presidential Decree No. 40/2025. The new number is intended to replace several existing citizen identifiers: the ID card number, the tax number, and the social security number. It will also serve as a basis for unifying public sector registries. This was reported by the source Romfea.

Having heard the Church’s legal department, the Synod found no violations in this initiative, either theologically or legally.

«When citizens interact with the state, identification will not occur solely on the basis of the new number — personal registry data such as name, surname, date of birth, etc., will still be required,» the official statement notes.

It is also emphasized that the «personal number» merely consolidates existing identifiers into one:

«Since this number simply replaces three already existing ones, there can be no theological objection or claim of unconstitutional restriction of individual rights, including those related to personal data.»

It was previously reported that on May 14, 2025, in Athens, the Primate of the Church of Greece, His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos, met with Metropolitan Stephanos of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (Metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Estonia). Notably, the meeting took place amid efforts by Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem to support the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church, which is facing a ban in Estonia — in part with the support of local hierarchs of the Phanar.