Thessaloniki bishop’s comments cause a stir

Bishop of Thessaloniki Anthimos, known mostly for airing nationalist views, caused a stir on Thursday by admitting in a radio interview that he agrees with leftist SYRIZA on a number of issues.

“I’m not a SYRIZA supporter but there are matters on which I agree with them,” he told Palmos 96.5.

One of the areas SYRIZA and the bishop see eye-to-eye is that the Church of Greece, rather than the state, should pay clerics’ salaries by exploiting its range of assets.

“Give us back our property and we will take care of our wages,” he said.

Anthimos also said during the interview that he was against shops opening on Sunday. “This will not pass,” he said. “It will be the end of Greece.”