European Network of Health Care Chaplaincy

  Health Care Chaplaincy 
                      in the Orthodox Church of Greece

2002 Standards Document in Greek

The majority of Greek Hospitals belong to the National Health System (Public Hospitals). In most of them, there is at least a "chaplain" who is referred to as the "Hospital priest" assigned by the Church. There are very few full-time chaplain positions within the organization of the hospital, but these positions are slowly increasing. There is a Synodical Committee that is active in providing for the development of Hospital Chaplaincy in Greece. I addition to this, there is also a “Consulting Committee of Laymen and Clergy in the area of Pastoral Care” which also provides support to the chaplains within the Archdiocese of Athens (“SKEPE”).

Health care chaplaincy in the next five years
(vision and steps):

a) Besides our efforts, there still are great difficulties in establishing full-time chaplain positions within the organization of hospitals

b) Starting from September 2004, a new post graduate educational program in the field of pastoral care, counselling and pastoral psychology will begin within the framework of the School of Theology of the University of Athens. Efforts are also being made to establish a support system for the chaplains who are presently serving health institutions and to offer them better-organized supervision.

c) There are efforts being made in establishing a “lay-assistant” program to help hospital chaplains in providing psychological and social support to those hospitalized.
 

Representative of the Church of Greece to the ENHCC:

Rev. Dr Adamantios G Avgoustidis, MD, PhD, Psychiatrist, Theologian, Lector at the University of Athens and priest (protopresbyter) in the Orthodox Christian Church of Greece.

Fr Adamantios served as the Director of the "Psychiatric and Pastoral Care Service" of the Centre for Mental Health (C.M.H.) of Athens, Supervisor of a Deinstitutionalization program for long-term and severe institutionalized mental patients ("Boarding House Unit of Levadia"- a rehabilitation program for chronic psychotic patients) and of the National “Foster Families Program” of the C.M.H. Presently, he is member of the Board of Directors of the C.M.H. He is Lector of Psychology, Psychiatry and Pastoral Theology at the School of Theology at the University of Athens and a Consultant to the Board of the “Section of Religion, Psychiatry and Spirituality” of the World Psychiatric Association” (WPA). Fr. Adamantios also serves on the board of “Consulting Committee of Laymen and Clergy in the area of Pastoral Care (“SKPE”).

[May 2006]