The first hieratic synaxis of Thessaly took place today at the Conference Center of Thessaly and its central theme was: "The Orthodox Clergyman: A pastor and a minister in the modern world". The synaxis was held in the presence of His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and all Greece, and the Metropolitans of Stagoi and Meteora Serafim, of Larissa Ignatius, of Elassona Charitonas, of Thessaliotis and Fanariofarsala Timotheos, of Trikki and Stagon Chrysostomos, of Demetrias Ignatius, of Velestino Damaskinos, and about 400 Clergy from all the Holy Dioceses of Thessaly.

After the opening prayer, the host Metropolitan of Demetrias Mr Ignatius was the first to speak, who characterized the day as being "very important for Thessaly", for specific reasons: It is a synaxis-meeting, a fruit of the Church that converses not only with its people but also with people who minister in it. And you are this person, Your Beatitude, who give us the chance to be happy about the fact that we can meet and exchange our views, not only as a Synod but also as a whole region, so as to see each other and remind each other that everything lies in unity, in the community of persons, in blessed love and communication, which is prevalent generally in Bishops, and especially in the Bishops of Thessaly...".

This day is very important "for the additional reason that  clergy and delegates from all the Holy Dioceses of Thessaly have joined us...they are our fathers fighting to testify to the truth of the Orthodox Church to our people...They are our collaborators. They are our fellow-travellers...".

This is a very important day for Thessaly, "because Metropolitans and clergy are not delegates only of their local Church, but of the history and the tradition of each Diocese...".

This is a very important day for Thessaly, "because in this meeting we have an additional revelation of "our hope". A hope to transcend today's division among people...".

Mr Ignatius welcomed everyone to the Synaxis and warmly thanked the people who worked in order to prepare it.

Then, there were speeches by the Metropolitans of Stagoi and Meteora Serafim, of Larissa Ignatius, of Elassona Charitonas, of Thessaliotis and Fanariofarsala Timotheos, of Trikki and Stagon Chrysostomos

Then, His Beatitude Ieronymos inaugurated the Synaxis and congratulated the Metropolitan Mr Ignatius "on having this idea and making it rea"l and wished the success of the proceedings.

The first speaker was the Protopr.Vasilios Kaliakmanis, Professor of Theology, in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, who expanded on the topic: "The Minister's self-consciousness and the mystery of kenosis of the Word".

Fr Vasilios posed the central question:" Ultimately, will Church be restricted to the role of a volunteer, non-Governmental Organization that will provide  social work and thus will be prestigious and will come up to people's expectations or will it according to our Apostle and Patristic tradition? Are we going to be in the service of the state and the Church as a place of worship will play a minor role or the opposite? My humble opinion is that, "If we do not always serve God, we cannot get to minister our fellow people. A pious person is a philanthropist at the same time...". The speaker, after analyzing Christ's kenosis and humiliation in depth, he pointed out that "kenosis is related to God's glory and the expression "form of a servant, denotes the relation between Christ and man". Apart from that, he noted that God was absolutely free during his kenosis: "His voluntary and not forced  way to the cross shows God's eternal love for his creature, man...".  Concluding, he mentioned that "The huge miracle of  divine kenosis requires further examination, mainly in order to realize its anthropological consequences and its meaning for the ministers and for the people of God, as for God's descend through humiliation and Ascension through grace. But also, the hierarchical structure of the church does not mean awarding primacies and rights but allocating duties and services.

The next speaker was the Protopr. Adamantios Avgoustidis, Vicar General and General Director of the Institute of Pastoral Education and Training of the Archdiocese of Athens, Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Athens.

Fr Adamantios pointed out that "Church today seems to be divided by two trends"...the one which is skeptical about the organized Church's social work and charities...considering that Worship should be the main and exclusive work of the priest...and the other one which believes that Church exists mainly when it does charities and social work...However, an unprejudiced scholar can easily notice that... the two forms of pastoral ministry, that is, the ministry through  sacraments andcompassion and support to our fellow people, are not contrasting concept, but complement each other...".

Next, he mentioned that "the problem lies in how this balance is expressed in the pastoral action and how the priest acts as a pastor and not just as an officiator or an organizer of impersonal actions having to do with charities or welfares, and stressed that: "Pastoral ministry is determined through our identity and self-consciousness as officiators of the sacraments of the Church. So, the Church is not a social and religious organization but exists through its Sacraments.

 At this point he stressed the need to have Pastoral Advisory, which presupposes personal and intellectual struggle, a lot of theological training and knowledge, as well as sensitization, when it comes to dealing with current problems in our life.

In the end, Fr Adamantios noted: " The world seems to collapse today. We are experiencing the end of ideologies and the failure of political and financial                                 systems, which have determined the world's life since Enlightenment and from then on... The question raised is, If once more, the Church will be equal to the occasion at this critical moment in our history. If it will offer vision, hope          and practical solutions to people's problems...The Priest of the third millennium A.D. cannot just pass on the theoretical principles of Christian teaching, without being able to indicate how these principles can be put into practice nowadays and without constituting a role model himself.

Afterwards, a thorough and productive discussion followed and the synaxis was concluded with the patristic word of His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos, who pointed out that the 1^st  hieratic Synaxis of Thessaly is a turning point in our life and can bring new data to our ministry, since there is a new world ahead where we have to work...".

Looking back, His Beatitude Ieronymos referred to the negative climate against the Church in the West, "during the Enlightenment, when religion was persecuted and rejected and man and reason prevailed. So, capitalism, Marxism e.t.c. prevailed and now we experience not only the humiliation of the human being (cremation e.t.c.) but also the loss of compassion and kindness...The tragic thing is that, in this climate, many Greeks were educated and entered upon office but have no Greek roots and no ecclesiastical experience. They have created an ideology and are introducing ways of making our country supposedly "modernized", by changing anything "old and antiquated". These people have no color, act according to their personal advantage and move towards every direction. Those ones who determine our fates express the views of other people who don't like the Church and the Clergy. Their acts and decisions are constantly undermining our country and we can see our misery...".

His Beatitude referred to the much desired ecclesiastical property, stressing that "it is ours, it does not belong to the State, it cannot be mortgaged. The Church itself is to administer it..." He talked about what the State plans to do in the future, such as the loss of the public character of the Church                                    which means the salary cuts of the Clergy, and he referred to the whole property of the Church from Renaissance and from then on. "There are many people in our country acting in a stupid way, Mr Ieronymos noted, " but we will be courageous and I am sure we will make it".

His Beatitude spoke on the refugee and migration crisis pointing out that "these people did not come here on their own. Everything is pre-planned. The poor refugees did not leave everything behind to be drowned in the Aegean Sea. We, "civilized" Europeans bombarded him and they came here only to find that the doors are shut. We should make it clear to those people that: We love you, we will help you, but this is not your home. This must be our concern. Actions should be taken by all and especially by the United Nations, to end this war so that people can settle down in their new life...".

The Archbishop concluded his speech, while he was applauded long and loud, by saying that "We go through a time that we do not just need discrete roles, we want clear and specific roles...we have to reveal the undermining work of this ideology and everyone should take on their responsibility. The Church' s role is to serve people. This is our role, our fate, our route. This is what we have chosen to do. We don't know If there will be more difficulties in the future, but we know that Church always win, as it will do now!".

 After the end of the Synaxis, lunch was given to the participants, with the presence of the Head of the Region of Thessaly, Mr Kostas Agorastos.