LAST UPDATE: 20:39
The hope that this center will not only be a place of dignified and princely living for people at the “sunset” of their lives, but a home, like those of our family tradition, open to society, to new generations and to children, was expressed by Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all Greece, at the inauguration ceremony of the Center for Gerontology and Welfare Support “Agios Porphyrios”.
As the Archbishop pointed out, addressing the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and many believers, there are modern sports facilities, playgrounds and recreation areas, an open theater and a modern photovoltaic park for the energy support of the structure, as well as a newly built church, a place of worship, prayer and meditation.
He then expressed his gratitude to the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Pavlopoulos and to the Ecumenical Patriarch, who on the one hand inaugurated this Centre today, and “on the other hand they send a message of unity, co-existence and co-operation, a message addressed to every man of good will, far, within and outside the geographical limits of our Fatherland.”
He also noted that this project is not the work of one person, and in this case of Archbishop Ieronymos. This work was created by the collaboration of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens with the Holy Metropolis of Thiva and Levadia, the competent Ministries and Ministers, the previous Prefects, and especially the current Prefect Konstantinos Bakoyannis.
He also added that the project will succeed and only have a sustainable future if it works once again with unity, cooperation and everyone’s collaboration.
Bartholomew: It is testified that charity belongs to the core of Orthodox morality
“The Centre for Gerontology and Welfare Support ‘Agios Porphyrios’ continues the far ecclesiastical tradition of the philanthropic ministry to the fellow man. And through this, it is testified that charity belongs to the core of Orthodox morality,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said in his greeting.
Bartholomew added that “an impressive foundation for the support of the elderly is being inaugurated; a creation of another spirit, an institution embodying respect for the human being, but also the confidence in the power of science and the advancement of medicine, which are unconditionally serving man.”
Pavlopoulos: The Orthodox Church of Greece covers many and important gaps in the proper functioning of the welfare state
For his part, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, referred to the crucial role of the Orthodox Church of Greece in covering many and important gaps in the welfare state during the current economic crisis.
In his address, President Pavlopoulos said that “at a crucial moment for the unity of our people and our nation before the challenges they face, the Shepherd of Orthodoxy on Earth, His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, and the Primate of the Church of Greece, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, meet here, in a highly symbolic and accordingly emblematic initiative of blissful unity.”
He further added that the Orthodox Church of Greece covers many and important gaps in the proper functioning of the welfare state in which the State alone would not be able to cope.
Gavroglu: The solidarity of the Church is the quintessence of Orthodox faith
In his addressing, the Minister of Education, Kostas Gavroglu, referred to the social contribution and the work of the Church in the past years of the crisis, while referring to the important contribution of the Center in supporting the elderly.
The Minister pointed out that the contribution of the Church to acts of solidarity to the fellow man, when accompanied by the word of love, is the quintessence of Orthodox faith.
Gavroglu also welcomed the spiritual unity of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece, which – as he said – was sealed after the meeting of the two Primates yesterday.