PM Mitsotakis visits Aghia Varvara: 'We are going strong, taking the country ahead - the best is yet to come'

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid a visit on Holy Monday to the western suburb of Athens, Aghia Varvara, and said "the best is yet to come" during chats with the residents, in the context of his visit to the university student Dormitory of the Apostolic Ministry of the Church of Greece, in the company of Archbishop Hieronymos of Athens and All Greece.

At the dormitory that houses 70 students from Greece and abroad who study

at church schools or elsewhere, Mitsotakis praised the archbishop for the facility, and reiterated that his government was the one to significantly increase the rent subsidy for university students. The government is also "planning the renovation of student dormitories, which, truth be told, are not in very good shape."

Building dormitories

Mitsotakis acknowledged that the government should do more about housing students, and said he had discussed it frequently with Education & Religions Minister Sophia Zacharaki - who was present at the visit - and committed before the archbishop "to work jointly so that the footprint of the Church in this critical sector is strengthened even more. We have extensively discussed the possibility of utilizing land you have availalbe in various areas of Athens, in which a similar facility could be relatively easily be built so that it could significantly increase the Church of Greece's ability to host young people who really need it."

In this context, Archbishop Hieronymos announced that the Church of Greece is building a new dormitory on Alexandras Avenue, with foundation work beginning within May.

PM Mitsotakis also referred to private donors who helped in the renovation of existing facilities, mentioning Celia Kritharioti and Nikos Tsakos, and calling on people close to the Church to also support it in this direction. He said the government had doubled the funding for the Apostolic Ministry, and said that "all together - private individuals and the state - we can unite to help the most vulnerable of our fellow citizens."

According to government sources, the prime minister was given a tour of the Dormitory and spoke with students who sang hymns and traditional songs.

Both the premier and the archbishop referred to the government's decision to provide a supplement to people aged 18-65 with hearing problems. Hieronymos in particular welcomed the announcement and result, saying, "I have worked close to these people since I was 25 and I know what it means to have a housheld with three or four people with hearing and speaking disabilities, what expenses they have, and what difficulties in communication. Occasionally they felt bitter, that they were treated unfairly. I conveyed this to the government, ministries, ministers. It reached the prime minister. I convey the appreciation of those people whose bonus is a good bonus, for the duration of their lives, not just for one year, two years, and so on."

The prime minister said the archbishop was "among the first who made me personally awared of the injustice, which was at last corrected today."

Patriarchates abroad

Government sources said that in the context of their talk, they also highlighted the recent government decision to provide 600 positions for clerics at the oldest patriarchates and Mt Sinai Monastery. "It is the first time the state has taken a very bold decision to provide 600 openings for clerics for the oldest historic patriarchates and for Mt Sinai Monastery as well," said Mitsotakis. Particularly for he latter, since Mt Sinai's "legal status has been defined at last, so that we may support the Church of Greece and the Apostolic Ministry practically in the great work you are carrying out in difficult areas of our planet, especially in Africa."

Concluding his visit at Aghia Varvara after leaving the Dormitory, PM Mitsotakis told residents of the town, "We are going strong, we are taking the country ahead despite difficulties. Let me wish you a heartfelt Happy Easter

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