Media: Clergy of Phanar US Archdiocese have the highest salary in the world

Media: Clergy of Phanar Archdiocese in US have the highest salary in the world

The priests of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in the United States are the highest salaried clergy of all the Orthodox Churches in the world. This is reported by the National Herald of the Greek Diaspora in the United States.

The material says that a newly ordained priest receives $ 56-76 thousand a year, and those who have 16-20 years of service – about $100 thousand. Moreover, the income which the priests receive for their ministry is not included in the salary. Parishes also provide priests with cars, health insurance and housing.

The authors of the National Herald emphasize that the priests of the American Archdiocese receive many times more than those of other Orthodox Churches in the United States.

The outlet reports that the disclosure of the financial capabilities of the archdiocese is due to several reasons. Its head, Archbishop Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis), thus wants to convince the parishioners and clergy, as well as critics, that the actions to bring the archdiocese out of the financial crisis are successful. At the same time, he hopes that the image of the wealthy American Archdiocese will raise its authority in the eyes of the clerics of other Churches and therefore, convince them to join the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The financial well-being of the Greek clergy in the United States also has disadvantages. Often, it is not educated or talented priests who are highly paid, but those who have connections in the diocese. Therefore, the salary of newly appointed clergy is often one of the highest in the diocese, and a priest who has dozens of years of service is 50 thousand dollars a year. In the Greek Church in America, it is also common to “thank” the bishop for coming and serving in the parish. The size of such donations ranges from $ 500 to $ 1000 and more, the National Herald notes.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America belongs to the Patriarchate of Constantinople and was established by the decree of the Ecumenical Patriarch Meletius IV in 1922. The American Archdiocese is led by an archbishop who is elected by the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Archbishop Elpidophoros thanked the State Department for supporting Phanar.

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