Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos and the Orthodox Church of Greece respect all religions and treat the faithful with no discrimination, the Archbishopric of Athens said
ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2021) Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos and the Orthodox Church of Greece respect all religions and treat the faithful with no discrimination, the Archbishopric of Athens said.
On Friday, Ieronymos said that islam was not a religion, but a political party, adding that Muslims were "the people of war and expansion." This statement was strongly condemned by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
"Both the Archbishop and all the Metropolitans of the Church of Greece respect in practice all the known religions and treat all the faithful with Christian love and solidarity without discrimination, through all their actions and initiatives, especially in the social and charitable field," the Archbishopric said as quoted by the Orthodox Times news website on Sunday.
The Archbishopric added that Ieronymos did not speak about the entire Muslim community, but about extremists who exploit Islam as an instrument.
"The Archbishop was referring to, that is, people who instrumentalize Islam and turn it into a deadly weapon," the Archbishopric said.
Members of the Greek Muslim community account for about one percent of the 10 million population of the country. The majority of Greek Muslims are settled in the northern region of Western Trace located near the Greek-Turkish border.
