Greek Prime Minister Alexis on Thursday responded to this week’s eyebrow-raising decision by the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece’s Holy Synod to express opposition to a solution for the long-standing “fYRoM name issue” containing the name “Macedonia” – an abrupt ecclesiastical foray into a sensitive foreign policy issue.
Tsipras, in a courtesy-laden letter addressed to Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos, politely called on the latter to “…to contribute, as much as you can, so that Greece, in a spirit of unity and a rational speech, and without the errors of the past, successfully deals with the issue of relations with fYRoM (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), as well as over other national issues that it (Church) cares about,” the letter stated.
In beginning the uncharacteristically quick, and highly formal, response to the Holy Synod’s very public position, Tsipras assured that his leftist-rightist government is “determined to deal (with the fYRoM name issue) with a sense of national responsibility, unwavering protection of national interests and the desire for relations of peace, cooperation and friendship with all the peoples of the region”.
