Greek Churches brace for social crisis- Church News

from wfn.org

World Council of Churches - News

GREEK CHURCH READY TO STAND BY THE PEOPLE IN TOUGH TIMES

>For immediate release: 06 May 2010

The Church of Greece is getting ready to assist the Greek people  to face
the consequences of tough economic measures taken by the government,  a
church official attending an ecumenical gathering in Geneva has  said.

The Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and Primate of the Autocephalous
Orthodox Church of Greece, Hieronymos II, met on Monday, 4 May with  the
country's Prime Minister George Papandreou to express the church's
willingness to support the Greek people during the difficult times  ahead,
said Rev. Fr Gabriel Papanicolaou. A church official, Papanicolaou  is
attending a 4-6 May gathering of churches' ecumenical officers organized
by the World Council of Churches.

"The church is ready to assist in any possible way", said Papanicolaou.  "We
know that the consequences of the measures will be more strongly  felt
after the summer, so we are getting ready, training parish priests  to deal
with the crisis."