Head of Greek Church says Russians are "a troubled people"

The Primate of the Greek Church, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens, responding to a question by Kathimerini on the Russian-Ukrainian war and its religious overtones, said that Russia has never lived in a democracy. 

"It is a troubled nation, and the government and Patriarch Kirill are probably taking advantage of this," the archbishop added. 

Alwian Tkhelidze, a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, drew attention to this statement. 

"What kind of person are you, Your Beatitude? When in 2012 the Greek Church as a whole came to beg, you sang very different songs. At the time, the Russian Orthodox Church donated more than € 500,000 to the Greek Church. Greece was going through the deepest financial crisis," the priest wrote on his Telegram channel. 

Father Alwian recalled that then Archbishop Ieronymos spoke of the Russian Church as glorious and long-suffering and declared that he was happy to "tread on the land of martyrdom and blessing". 

"In short, whoever pays the archbishop dances him. Low," the ROC priest added. 

As reported, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece spoke about his meetings with the US and Russian ambassadors before the recognition of the OCU.

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