ATHENS – President Prokopios Pavlopoulos hailed the stance of the Greek Church towards issues that concern the country which he said aims to promote consensus, during a meeting with the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronymos II, at the Presidential Mansion on Friday.

The comments came after the Archbishop requested a meeting with the President to inform him about the ecclesiastical parameters of the name dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
“There is an ordinary alertness on all issues that concern the country and our national interests,” he said after he welcomed the Archbishop. “A stance which aims at promoting consensus without interfering in policy issues, which is very important at times like these.”

Pavlopoulos said Orthodoxy has set the tone for the country’s culture.

On his side, the Archbishop said the FYROM name issue has many parameters, one of which is the ecclesiastical, on which he wanted to brief the President. He said the issue primarily concerns the Ecumenical Patriarchate but “we have to contribute as well because we will have repercussions on the life of our Church”.