A day after his resignation, the ultra-conservative Bishop Amvrosios of Kalavryta, who often spoken disparagingly of gays and gained notoriety for his support of the extreme-right Golden Dawn party, declared on Monday that he has no regrets.

During the Sunday Mass in which he announced his resignation, he had apologized for causing any upset with his statements.

However, in comments to ANT1 television channel on Monday, the 81-year-old bishop said he had not had "any specific case" in mind when he apologized. "I am not apologizing for any specific cases but because no one is infallible and it is possible that we upset people without intending to, I apologize to my flock, seeing forgiveness if I bothered anyone, so that I can be alright with my conscience," he said, adding however that, "I have nothing to regret."

As for his description of gays as "the scum of society" - a comment that led to a court handing him a seven-month suspended sentence for hate speech in January, he said he regarded it as "a medal." Read more via ekathimerini