The hierarchs of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece discussed loneliness in contemporary society and its pastoral implications last week, with eight measures proposed to help address social isolation through communities of faith.
Metropolitan Dorotheos of Syros, Tinos, Andros, Kea, Milos, Delos and Mykonos presented a paper entitled The Pastoral Care of Loneliness and Psychological Exhaustion in Contemporary Society.
The first section explored the theological and patristic foundations of pastoral care for people experiencing loneliness.
The metropolitan emphasised that such ministry involves more than offering advice. It also requires restoring relationships, reintegrating people into a community of love and revealing the truth that no one is saved alone.
In the second section, entitled Loneliness and Psychological Exhaustion: A Contemporary Social and Pastoral Problem, the hierarch observed that loneliness affects every level of society and every age group, including families whose members often live together without experiencing genuine communion.
Eight proposals for overcoming loneliness
To address the wounds caused by loneliness in contemporary society through appropriate pastoral care, Metropolitan Dorotheos proposed eight measures:
- Establish parish groups to visit and support people who are lonely, ill or elderly.
- Strengthen youth programmes, focusing on building genuine communities rather than merely organising occasional activities.
- Organise training seminars for clergy and lay collaborators on mental health, domestic violence, school bullying and suicide prevention.
- Develop institutional cooperation with specialist organisations, academic institutions and mental health services.
- Establish Church counselling centres that can provide guidance and referrals to specialists where necessary.
- Expand cultural camps and volunteering programmes that foster community spirit, responsibility and young people’s willingness to serve others.
- Maintain a consistent Church presence online, communicating a message of truth, dialogue, consolation and hope.
- Strengthen pastoral care for families, with particular support for single-parent households, unemployed people, those who are bereaved and those experiencing social exclusion.
Loneliness as a spiritual challenge
Metropolitan Dorotheos also stressed that loneliness is not merely a psychosocial phenomenon but a profoundly spiritual one.
He recalled that a person living a Christian life is never truly alone.
The metropolitan concluded that the greatest challenge of our times is healing broken relationships.
He argued that such healing finds its fulfilment in the Church, where the priceless gift of communion among people in Christ is preserved for ever.
“A person is not saved through ideas alone, but in the truth of relationship, love and communion. And the Church is the mystery of the authentic relationship between the human person and God and with their brother or sister,” Metropolitan Dorotheos concluded.
On the same day, the hierarchs of the Church of Greece also discussed the online presence of clergy.
