The final stretch towards the construction and operation of the first cremator in the country is underway, despite the Church’s opposition.
Environment and Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis on Tuesday signed a relevant decision to allow the operation of a crematorium in the inner city Athens district of Eleonas.
The Church of Greece had officially opposed such a prospect since 2014.
A circular issued by the Church of Greece’s permanent Holy Synod to all Metropolises under its jurisdictions reminded that the Church will not officiate at funerals and memorials for those who clearly and voluntarily expressed their desire for cremation of their bodies after death.
The development even generated an article by the British daily “Guardian”, under the headline “Greece defies church with step towards first crematorium.”