President visits Patra in honour of city’s patron Saint

Greece’s President visited the Peloponnesian city of Patra on Friday where he participated in a liturgy to celebrate the feast day of St Andrew the Apostle.

Following the liturgy the President attended a dinner in his honour hosted by the Metropolitan of Patras Chrysostomos where he took the opportunity to add his support to the Greek Orthodox Church.

Pavlopoulos praise the Church saying it stood by the Greek people during difficult times and played a crucial role in supporting the social state during the recent fiscal crisis, when the state could not do so.

"We all ought to recognize the benefits to the Greek people and our nation provided by the excellent way the Church, State and people have worked together all these year,” he added

Pavlopoulos referred to the recent Church – State reforms proposed by the Tsipras government saying that the constitution's articles pertaining to regulatory issues may change, "but you may not change articles that register a historical truth" such as the Church's role in the modern Greek state.

"The Church contributed fundamentally to our ability today to see the future of our country and our people with greater optimism," he said.