ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the reflections from a theological perspective, gender perspective and sociological perspective. A consideration of church welfare provision in the two Greek towns of Thiva and Livadeia reveals a kaleidoscope of practices and perspectives ranging from the disgraceful to the divine. The local church in Thiva and Livadeia has an especially strong focus on issues concerning psychological health. In terms of local perspectives on the welfare system in Thiva and Livadeia and on the church's role within it, a great deal hinges on people's conceptions of the term welfare. The research in Thiva and Livadeia offers much food for thought in seeking to understand European trends in majority church-based welfare activity. Thus, the welfare system in Thiva and Livadeia may be considered to be equally poor as in most Greek towns evidence of which is the fact that there are no state-run homes for elderly people in the entire prefecture of Viotia.
