Greek Orthodox Church Affected by Austerity Measures
By: Postolos Papapostolou
18/1/2011
Greece’s powerful Orthodox church wants the government of the cash-strapped country to relax tough hiring restrictions so it can put more priests on the state payroll.
The government paid the salaries of 10,800 priests and church staff members who are technically civil servants last year, out of 757,500 “permanent employees” in the public sector.
In 2011, Greece will only hire one new state employee for every five leaving. This is part of the nation’s $146 billion international bailout loan agreement. Most of these positions will be taken up through mandatory transfers to reduce staff at loss-making state enterprises.
The church’s governing Holy Synod said it would request a limited number of new priests to cover pressing operating and pastoral needs, on Monday.
