Archbishop Ieronymos has reiterated the Church’s demand for compulsory religion lessons in schools in a letter to Education and Religion Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos, last week.

The main focus of the archbishop’s letter is a request for the hiring of some 4,000 unemployed theology school graduates.

Ieronymos is reported to have asked for them to be appointed as teachers in schools or as guides on “religious tourism” tours and in museums displaying ecclesiastical relics.

A Holy Synod source said, “We are sorry that certain ministry officials… are bothered by the Church’s established stance on religion lessons and not by the chronic problem of unemployment faced by thousands of theologians.”

Spiliotopoulos said he would consider the archbishop’s request once he had read the letter.