This is a timeline of the presence of Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece from 1974 to 2008. The history of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically, as well as the territory now composing the modern state of Greece.
1975 Death of Papa-Dimitris (Gagastathis);[7][8]Article 3 of the Greek Constitution officially declares the prevailing religion in Greece as Eastern Orthodoxy under the authority of the autocephalous Church of Greece, united in doctrine to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.[note 3]
1976 The Dimotiki (Demotic) language form of Modern Greek was made the official language, replacing the purified and formal Katharevousa language of Modern Greek which had been in use for nearly two centuries since foundation of the modern Greek state.[note 4]
1977 Death of noted Greek theologian and professor Panagiotes N. Trembelas;[note 5] conversion of French theologian and Cistercian monk Placide Deseille (fr), together with two other Cistercian monks, Séraphim (Pyotte) and Elie (Ragot), who received baptism from Igumen Emilian of Simonopetra on Mt. Athos, later accepting the schema and being ordained as hieromonks of the Simonopetra brotherhood, subsequently founding various Athonite Metochia of Simonopetra in France.[note 6]
1978 Abortions are legalised in Greece but only under certain specific circumstances;[15][note 7] through the efforts of Metr. Panteleimon (Chrysofakis) of Thessalonica, the sacred relics St. David of Thessalonica (David the Dendrite) were triumphantly returned to Thessaloniki from Milan, Italy, after having been taken by Crusaders in 1236 AD;[16][note 8] the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece founded the Integration Centre for Returning Migrants, Immigrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees (KSPM).[17][note 9]
1982 Death of Archimandrite Haralambos Vasilopoulos, founder of the Pan-Hellenic Orthodox Union in 1959 («Πανελληνίου Ορθοδόξου Ενώσεως» (Π.Ο.Ε.)) and its organ Orthodoxos Typos, and a faithful defender of the Orthodox Faith,[30] being the author of over 300 publications including books exposing occultism and anti-Christian sects;[31][note 13] death of renowned lay preacher and Orthodox writer Dimitrios Panagopoulos (1916-1982);[33] glorification of the Venerable Eugenios of Aetolia († 1682);[34]monotonic orthography was imposed by law on the Greek language,[35][note 14] however the Greek Orthodox Church continues to use polytonic orthography; civil marriage is introduced in Greece in 1982, although the overwhelming majority still marries in church and Orthodox clergymen sometimes refuse burial rites and other rights to those not married in church.[36]
1984 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission, 3rd plenary, meets in Khania, Crete;[38][note 15] professor Georgios Mantzaridis publishes "The Deification of Man", setting forth the theological and anthropological basis for the doctrine of deification as expounded by St. Gregory Palamas (1296-1359).[39][note 16]
1986 Root of Jesse icon of the Mother of God in Andros (the "Myrovlytissa"), begins gushing myrrh;[40][41] glorification of Arsenios the Cappadocian (†1924) by the Patriarchate of Constantinople;[42][note 17] the performance of abortions was further liberalized by Law No. 1609 of 28 June 1986."[15]
Among the victims of the atrocities committed by the Turkish nationalist Army (1922–23) were hundreds of Christian clergy in Anatolia, such as metropolitan bishops (from left): Chrysostomos of Smyrna (lynched), Prokopios of Iconium (imprisoned and poisoned) Gregory of Kydonies (executed), Ambrosios of Moschonisia (buried alive). These bishops were glorified by the Orthodox Church of Greece in 1992.
1993 Church of Cyprus condemned Freemasonry as a religion incompatible with Christianity;[72]Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Theological Commission meets in Balamand, Lebanon, issuing common document "Uniatism: Method of Union of the Past, and Present. Search for Full Communion" (the "Balamand declaration"),[73] equating the Orthodox and Roman Catholics as "sister churches", and concluding that rebaptism should be avoided, while "'uniatism' can no longer be accepted either as a method to be followed nor as a model of the unity our Churches are seeking".[note 24]
1996 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America is reorganized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, dividing the administration of the two continents into four parts (America, Canada, Central America, and South America);[82] in his thesis Clash of Civilizations professor Samuel P. Huntington argued that one geopolitical alliance in the post-Cold War world would be an Eastern-Christian bloc, linking Russia, Serbia and Greece.[83][note 26]
1997 A bomb explodes at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, seriously injuring Orthodox deacon Nectarius Nikolou and damaging several buildings, being the third such attack in recent years, following the ones in 1994 and 1996;[84] Thessaloniki is the cultural capital of Europe (1997);[85] posthumous recognition by the State of Israel of Metr. Joachim (Alexopoulos) of Demetrias for saving the lives of 700 people during World War II who were hidden by the residents of the villages of Mount Pelion, having his name inscribed in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, and entered on the Righteous Honor Wall at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem;[86] in the case of Canea Catholic Church v. Greece (143/1996/762/963), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held unanimously that the Greek courts had violated article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights by refusing to acknowledge that the Canea Catholic Church in Crete had legal personality.[87][note 27]
2000–2001 Government of Greece orders removal of compulsory reference to religious affiliation on state identity cards, despite widespread campaigns against this from the Church of Greece and the majority of the public.[36][99][100][101][note 33]
2003 Abp. Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens inaugurated the Office of the Representation of the Church of Greece to the European Union in Brussels;[114][note 34] Orthodox Churches in Europe commemorated the 550th anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople in May;[note 35] the Greek Minister of Culture Evangelos Venizelos informs Europarliament session that the status of the monasteries on Holy Mount Athos and its way of life will remain unchanged, citing official recognition of this status fixed in Article 105 of the Greek Constitution and also legally confirmed in the special Athens Treaty clause specifying conditions on which Greece joined the European Union;[117][118][note 36] Abp. Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens has falling out with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew over who should have the final say in the appointment of bishops in northern Greece, but rift is mended three weeks later;[120][note 37] in February, the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church issued a statement opposing the threat of war in Iraq;[121] the Church of Greece sent more than 20 tons in humanitarian aid for the refugees of the war in Iraq to be distributed along the Jordanian-Iraqi border;[122] the proposal to build a mosque outside Athens before the 2004 Olympics was blocked due to opposition from residents and Greece's Orthodox Church which disagreed with the location and plans for the funding for the multimillion-pound mosque to come from Saudi Arabia's King Fahd;[123][124] the 5th Academic Meeting between Judaism And Orthodox Christianity was held in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 27–29 May;[125]Inter-Orthodox Consultation on the Draft Constitutional Treaty of the European Union is held in Herakleion, Crete, from 18 to 19 March 2003;[126] death of ElderSerapheim Savvaitis (8 January / 26 December), Hegumen of the Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified (1957-2003).[127][note 38]
2004 In September, a helicopter carrying Patr. Petros VII (Papapetrou) of Alexandria along with 16 others (including 3 other bishops of the Church of Alexandria) crashed into the Aegean Sea while en route to the monastic community of Mount Athos with no survivors;[128] on 8 October the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece decided to restore the female diaconate for senior nuns in monasteries;[129][130][131][132][133][note 39] more than two years after he was elected to the post, Israel stated that it would recognise Patr. Irineos I as the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, after a long-standing refusal to endorse Irineos, describing him as the "candidate of the Palestinians."[134][note 40]
2005 Church of Greece hosted the WCCWorld Conference on Mission and Evangelism in Athens, the first in an Orthodox country in the history of this body;[135] the Ecumenical Patriarchate issued the "General Regulations for the Establishment and Operation of Holy Monasteries in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America" [Protocol #95] on 16 February, regulating monasticism in America;[136][137] Britain's Prince Charles arrived on the monastic community of Mount Athos for a three-day visit in May;[138]Vladimir Putin becomes the first Russian state leader to visit Mount Athos;[139] in October, the "Grey Wolves" Turkish terrorist group staged a rally outside the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Phanar, proceeding to the gate where they laid a black wreath, chanting "Patriarch Leave" and "Patriarchate to Greece", inaugurating the campaign for the collection of signatures to oust the Ecumenical Patriarchate from Istanbul.[140][note 41]
2006 Abp. Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens visits Vatican, the first head of the Church of Greece to visit the Vatican, reciprocating the Pope's visit to Greece in 2001, signing a Joint Declaration on the importance of the Christian roots of Europe and protecting fundamental human rights;[142][143][note 42] Abp. Christodoulos castigated globalisation as a "crime against humanity";[145] Abp. Christodoulos welcomed the imminent arrival of millions of Orthodox faithful from Bulgaria and Romania into the EU from 1 January 2007, saying the influx "will strengthen the voice of Orthodoxy" to address a perceived threat to national and religious identity posed by globalisation;[146] foundation of the Special Synodic Committee for Migrants, Refugees and Returning Migrants (SCMRM) at the initiative of Abp. Christodoulos, following the approval of the Holy Synod in Nov. 2006;[17][note 43] Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis took a three-day pilgrimage to Mount Athos;[147]Pope Benedict XVI met with Greek Orthodox Seminarians from the Apostoliki Diakonia theology college in Greece who were visiting Rome, urging them to confront the challenges that threaten the faith by working to unify all Christians;[148] the church reported that there were 216 men's monastic communities and 259 for women along with 66 sketes, with a total of 1,041 monks and 2,500 nuns, witnessing to a modern modest revival in monasticism;[149] in September, barely 48 hours after a Somali Islamic cleric called for Muslims to kill the Pope, Abp. Christodoulos told a sermon in Athens that Christians in Africa were suffering at the hands of "fanatic Islamists", citing the example of Roman Catholic monks who were slaughtered the previous year "because they wore the cross and believed in our crucified Lord";[150] Abp. Christodoulos criticized the authors of a state issued elementary school sixth grade history textbook, as attempting to conceal the Church's role in defending Greek national identity during Ottoman occupation, the book being later removed in 2007;[note 44] death of Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios, having authored thousands of recorded lectures in the spirit of patristic traditional Orthodoxy;[152] a ruling by a first-instance court in Athens approved the formation of an association of people who worship the 12 gods of Mount Olympus, linked to New Age practises by the Church of Greece;[153] government of Greece announces it will fund and build a €15 million (US$19 million) new mosque in Athens, to be the first working mosque in the Greek capital since the end of Ottoman rule over 170 years prior, welcomed by Abp. Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens and the Church of Greece in accordance with its established position.[154]
^"The Mt. Athos Community, led by Fr. Theokletos of Dionysiou and in cooperation with the Patriarchate, consented to the unjust and unethical resolution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, condemning the Esphigmenou fathers moreover, ordered the exile of the Esphigmenou Abbot and 3 other leaders of the monastery. As a result, under the Military Junta, a Navy Warship enforced a sea blockade and Marines surrounded the monastery for weeks. Unwilling to be intimidated by this overwhelming military force the monastery unfurled a now famous banner over the monastery wall facing the battleship which read "Orthodoxy or Death"."[3]
^Also: Sophia (Chotokourídou née Saoulidi) of Kleisoura, or Sophia the Righteous. Saint Sophia lived as an ascetic in an abandoned monastery in Kleisoura, Western Macedonia, Greece. She died on 6 May 1974. On 4 October, 2011, she was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.[4]
^Church and State The Orthodox Church in Greece has been considered historically as the protector of the so-called "Hellenic Orthodox Civilization." The actual role of the Orthodox Church since the creation of the Greek nation-state has been interpreted in many diverse and opposing ways; nevertheless, in all Greek Constitutions the Orthodox Church is accorded the status of the "prevailing religion".
Article 3 of Greece's Constitution defines the relations between the Church and the State :
"The prevailing religion in Greece is that of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ. The Orthodox Church of Greece, acknowledging our LordJesusChrist as its head, is inseparably united in doctrine with the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople and with every other Church of Christ of the same doctrine, observing unwaveringly, as they do, the holy apostolic and synodal canons and sacred traditions. It is autocephalous and is administered by the Holy Synod of serving Bishops and the Permanent Holy Synod originating thereof and assembled as specified by the Statutory Charter of the Church in compliance with the provisions of the Patriarchal Tome of 29 June 1850 and the Synodal Act of 4 September 1928."[9][10]Greece is the only Orthodox state in the world. The relationship between the Church and the State can be characterized as sui generis, since there is no complete separation nor is there an established church.[9] The Church is the State-Church. The role of the Orthodox Church in maintaining Greek ethnic and cultural identity during the 400 years of Ottoman rule has strengthened the bond between religion and government. Most Greeks, whether personally religious or not, revere and respect the Orthodox Christian faith, attend church and major feast days, and are emotionally attached to Orthodox Christianity as their "national" religion.
^The Greek language question was finally laid to rest on 30 April 1976, when Article 2 of Law 309 – still written in katharevousa – stipulated that Modern Greek should be the sole language of education at all levels, starting with the school year 1977–78.[11] According to Professor Yannaras:
"the "language question" which divided Greece for over a hundred and fifty years – the "katharevousa" versus "demotic" controversy – never troubled the theologians, who followed the state-imposed "official" language, which until 1976 was a precondition for an academic career. When the government changed the rules, theologians dutifully adopted a language which was equally artificial... ...exemplifying theology's isolation from the country's traditions and the problems of the laity. Living linguistic expression is theology's vital need. It is through language that the fundamental difference between ecclesiastical theology and religious teaching or dogmatic ideology is revealed."[12]
^"His 2,035 publications covered most aspects of academic theology. He wrote commentaries on all the books of the New Testament, with long extracts from patristic texts. He published critical editions of Three Liturgies and Small Euchologion on the basis of the liturgical manuscripts preserved in the libraries of Athens. He wrote books on homiletics and catechetics. He systematically refuted materialism, nihilism, and historical criticism of the Gospels. He also published studies on dogmatics, symbolics, and canon law. He translated the New Testament into the vernacular. His three-volume Dogmatics defended Christian doctrine with many patristics texts... [However] Trembelas' stature is sadly diminished by his entrapment in a Western theological outlook. He stands out from the spiritual environment of his time yet was also a part of it. From his youth he was an active member of a movement seeking to bring about a "spiritual renewal" in Greece on the model of Protestant pietism. He never questioned the movement's compatibility with his own spiritual roots."[13]
^In 1978 the Orthodox Monastère Orthodoxe Saint-Antoine-le-Grand (ru) was founded in Saint-Laurent-en-Royans in southeastern France, with the blessing of Metr. Meletios (Karabinis) of France and Schema Archimadrite Aimilianos (Vafeidis) of Simonopetra Monastery. In 1991 the Monastère de Solan (fr) was founded in La Bastide-d'Engras in southern France. And in 1995 the Monastère orthodoxe de Sainte-Marie de l’Egypte was founded on Porquerolles island by Père Seraphim.[14]
^"As a result of the efforts of various organizations, such as the Family Planning Association of Greece, the law on abortion in Greece was liberalized in 1978 (Law No. 821 of 14 October). Under the new law, abortion was thereafter permitted for reasons of serious foetal abnormalities during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. It was also allowed in cases of a risk to the mental health of the mother, as determined by a psychiatrist on the staff of a public hospital, but only in the first 12 weeks of gestation."[15]
^The sacred relics were housed in the Basilica of Saint Demetrios the Great Martyr. To celebrate this feast a Service was written by the renowned hymnographer Elder Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis. Eventually the relics were transferred to the Katholikon of the Monastery of Saint Theodora in the middle of Thessaloniki in a chapel surrounded by icons of the Saint's life.
^The Orthodox Church of Greece has played a very active role in the field of migration in Greece, by creating special services, aiming at the efficient management of migration-related issues, as well as the overall pastoral support of migrants and refugees. The KSPM started functioning as a common project of WCC ("Diakonisches Werk der EKD" and "Dienste in Ubersee", 1974-1990), and later on (1990) became a service of the Holy Synod, depending directly on the Office of the Inter-Church Aid and Foreign Relations Committee. In 1994, after the closing down of the "WCC Refugee Service in Greece", and following an agreement between the WCC and the Church of Greece, the continuation of the WCC-Greece work with asylum seekers and refugees was assigned to the KSPM. A new service was established under the name "Ecumenical Refugee Programme" (ERP, or KSPM-ERP).[17]
^(in Greek) "Καταρχάς οι διπλωματικές σχέσεις συνάπτονται με την Αγία Έδρα κι όχι με το Κράτος της Πόλης του Βατικανού. Τις διπλωματικές σχέσεις δεν τις ζητά ποτέ η Αγία Έδρα αλλά τα κράτη προς αυτήν. Τέλος, πρέπει να σημειωθεί ότι η ιδιότητα του νούντσιου είναι διττή: εκκλησιαστική και διπλωματική. Για λόγους αρχής και για λόγους θεολογικούς, η Εκκλησία της Ελλάδος δεν αναγνώρισε ποτέ την παρουσία του Αποστολικού Αντινούντσιου στην Αθήνα. Σύμφωνα με την ορθόδοξη εκκλησιολογία είναι απαράδεκτο Προκαθήμενος Εκκλησίας (όπως ο Πάπας που είναι Προκαθήμενος της καθολικής Εκκλησίας) να έχει και κοσμική εξουσία ως Αρχηγός Κράτους και κατ’ επέκταση είναι αδιανόητο να έχει πρέσβεις. Βέβαια για λόγους αβρότητας ή ειδικούς λόγους, κατά περίπτωση, οι αντινούντσιοι επισκέφθηκαν τους Αρχιεπισκόπους Αθηνών και πάσης Ελλάδος, αλλά δεν είχαν ποτέ επίσημες επαφές με την Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία της χώρας."[20]
S. Kementzentzidis. The Blessed Elder Philotheos Zervakos. Transl. by Palis and Chalice. Thessaloniki, 1986.
C. Cavarnos. Blessed Elder Philotheos Zervakos. Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Belmont MA 1993. ISBN0-914744-93-3
^"..."Orthodoxy is not one of the churches, but The Church herself. She has preserved precisely and authentically the teaching of Christ in its pristine splendor and in all its purity. Over and above a simple, unbroken historical continuity and consistency there exists in her a spiritual and ontological authenticity. The same Faith, the same Spirit, the same life. It is this which constitutes the distinguishing feature of Orthodoxy and which justifies her claim that she is and remains The Church" (Episkepsis, #227, 15 March 1980)...From the Orthodox point of view there is no justification for Optimism in regard to the dialogue, and for this reason no haste should be exhibited concerning it. The Roman Catholics are pressing the dialogue, hoping to strengthen themselves by annexing Orthodoxy to themselves, for they are confronted by very powerful internal disturbances and crises, as is well known. The number of former Roman Catholics who have converted to Orthodoxy also disturbs them. But Orthodoxy has no reason to hasten towards dialogue since the papists remain so obdurate and immovable as regards infallibility, uniatism, and the rest of their pernicious teachings. Hastening the dialogue under such conditions is equivalent to spiritual suicide for the Orthodox."[24]
^His books exposing occultism and anti-christian sects included the following titles in Greek:[32]
Τέρατα και σημεία των Σκοτεινών Δυνάμεων.
Υπάρχουν Μάγια;
H Eβραιομασωνία ξεσκεπάζεται.
Ξεσκέπασμα των Xιλιαστών.
O Oικουμενισμός χωρίς μάσκα.
Ξεσκέπασμα της Θεοσοφίας.
Ξεσκέπασμα του Pόταρυ.
^"The five accents – three stress and two initial vowel aspirates – have been reduced, by a bill voted through parliament in mid-January, to just one, used to mark the stress on words of two syllables or more. According to Education Minister Eleftherios Veryvakis, the introduction of the monotonic system – already in use by most of Greece's newspapers – will "encourage a love of literature" and substantially reduce the printing costs of school books. At the same time, it will save students and teachers an estimated 6,000 grammar-lesson hours a year...The Government is also pressing ahead with legislation to introduce civil marriage in place of the compulsory religious marriage ceremony – a move which, along with changes in the family law code designed to give women equal rights, spells anathema to the conservative Greek Orthodox Church."[35]
^"A third round of talks between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches ended Friday in disagreement over the ways to resolve the disputes that have divided them for more than 900 years. The dialogue, started in 1980 and held once every two years, focused on theological differences over the nature of the Christian Church's holy mysteries, according to a spokesman for the Orthodox Academy of Kolymbari on this southern Greek island. The spokesman said Dutch Cardinal Johannes Willebrands of the Vatican and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Stylianos of Australia led the talks over the relative importance of baptism, anointment and the eucharist to Christianity."[38]
^Greorgios I. Mantzaridis is one of the foremost Greek Orthodox theologians today. Born in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1935, he is Professor of Ethics and Sociology of Christianity at the Theological School of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. Professor Mantzaridis is the author of numerous books, many of which have been translated into several languages. His main works available in English include "The Deification of Man" (1984) and "Orthodox Spiritual Life" (1994). His textbooks on "Christian Ethics" and "Sociology of Christianity" are considered by many Orthodox scholars to be classics in their fields.
Elder Paisios of Mount Athos. Saint Arsenios the Cappadocian. Transl. by the Holy Monastery "Evangelist John the Theologian", Souroti, Thessaloniki, Greece. 2001.
(in Greek) Μοναχού Παϊσίου Αγιορείτου. Ὁ Ἂγιος Ἀρσένιος ὁ Καππαδόκης. Εκδόσεις Ιερού Ησυχαστηρίου Μοναζουσών «Ευαγγελιστής Ιωάννης ο Θεολόγος», Σουρωτή Θεσσαλονίκης, 1991.
^"His most dramatic clash came in the mid-1980s when late Socialist Premier Andreas Papandreou tried to expropriate the Church's vast land holdings. Seraphim eventually won the battle and in retaliation excommunicated seven government officials."[43]
^From antiquity the Orthodox Church has celebrated with special liturgical joy the occurrence when Pascha falls on 25 March (Old Style) - the Feast of the Annunciation, calling it "Kyriopascha," "the Lord's Pascha". It was precisely on the coincidence of the Feasts of the Annunciation and Pascha on 25 March 1821 (Old Style), that Greece challenged the Turkish Yoke. Kyriopascha has also manifested its miraculous Grace to our own generation by its most recent occurrence in 1991, the year of the demise of Communism in Russia, a demise which, furthermore, was finalized by a last, desperate gasp in the form of an abortive Communist coup thwarted on 6 August (Old Style)–the Feast of the Transfiguration. The last Kyriopascha on the Julian calendar was in 1991; the next will be in 2075, 2086 and 2159. The last Kyriopascha on the Gregorian Calendar was in 1951, and the next will be in 2035, 2046 and 2103.
^This action by the Patriarchate of Antioch was protested by the Sacred Community of Mount Athos, in a Letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch Concerning the Balamand Agreement, 8 December 1993, which was signed by all the Representatives and Presidents of the Twenty Sacred Monasteries of the Holy Mountain of Athos:
"...we cite the case of the Patriarchate of Antioch, which, without a Pan-Orthodox decision, has proceeded to ecclesiastical communion with the Non-Chalcedonians [Monophysites]. This was done despite the fact that a most serious issue has not yet been resolved. It is the latter's non-acceptance of the Ecumenical Councils after the Third and, in particular, the Fourth, the Council of Chalcedon, which in fact constitutes an immovable basis of Orthodoxy. Unfortunately, in this case, too, we have not seen a single protest by other Orthodox Churches."[62]
^"AN unprecedented summit of world Orthodox leaders has ended with a strong attack on the Vatican, harming chances of an early improvement in the deeply troubled relations between the two Christian Church groups. Closing their meeting in Istanbul, the 12 spiritual heads of Eastern Christianity said attempts by Roman Catholics to proselytise in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union had inflicted a "most severe wound on the dialogue between the Churches which will be difficult to heal". The leaders said: "Traditional Orthodox countries have been considered 'missionary territories' [by the Vatican] and proselytism is practised with all the methods that have been condemned and rejected for decades by all Christians"."[63]
^Their ranking to the chorus of the Saints was formally announced in Encyclical 2556, of 5 July 1993, of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece ((in Greek) Εγκύκλιος 2556 της 5ης Ιουλίου 1993 της Ιεράς Συνόδου της Εκκλησίας της Ελλάδος).[67]
^Born in Constantinople 2/15 October 1897. Passed from this world on 28 March 1992. Spiritual daughter to Fr. Amphilochios Makris the Elder.
^This declaration was roundly criticized in Orthodox literature:
^Somewhat similarly, in 1971 professor Dimitri Obolensky coined the phrase The Byzantine Commonwealth, to refer to the area where Byzantine liturgical tradition was spread during the Middle Ages by Byzantine missionaries. This area covers approximately the modern-day countries of Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Belarus.
^"The Greek Government complied with decision No. 143/1996/762/963 of 16-12-1997 of the European Court of Human Rights about the legal entity of the Catholic establishments in Greece. Law 2731/5.7.1999 was amended with the addition of an article no. 33, which stipulates: "the legal entities that have been maintained in effect by virtue of article 13 of the Introductory Law of the Civil Code shall include those establishments of the Catholic Church of Greece that were created or have been in operation prior to 23/2/1946." 23 February 1946, was the date when the Greek Civil Code came into effect."[87]
^The visit aimed at restoring ties between Athens and the Patriarchate, which had been marred by the refusal of Seraphim to let the Ecumenical Patriarchate open an office in Athens. The Primate of Greece, who replaced Seraphim after his death, was also due to ask the Patriarch's permission to install an office of the Greek Orthodox Church in Brussels.[90]
^(in Greek) Το Γραφείο της Αντιπροσωπείας της Εκκλησίας της Ελλάδος βρίσκεται στις Βρυξέλλες και λειτουργεί από το έτος 1998, είναι υπηρεσία της Ιεράς Συνόδου της Αγιωτάτης Εκκλησίας της Ελλάδος στο εξωτερικό και στεγάζεται σε ιδιόκτητο κτήριο που εγκαινιάσθηκε στις 4 Οκτωβρίου 2003 από τον Μακαριώτατο Αρχιεπίσκοπο Αθηνών και Πάσης Ελλάδος κ.κ. Χριστόδουλο.[91]
^On Sunday 21 October 2012 the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, Theodoros II, consecrated the Church of Saint Andrew in Kananga, Congo, being the largest Orthodox Church in Africa to date. During his homily, His Beatitude spoke about the vision of the late missionary Fr. Charitonas Pneumatikakis, about the construction of a large Orthodox Church in the region of Kananga, a project which began in 2004 and was completed in 2010 by the then Metropolitan of Central Africa and the current Metropolitan of Pentapoleos, Ignatios.[94]
^The Archimandrite Vasileios Gontikakis, who was abbot of Stavronikita for twenty years and since 1990 has been abbot of Iveron, is generally recognized as the most representative spokesman of the monastic renewal on Mt. Athos. His books - Hymn of Entry, Abba Isaac the Syrian, The Parable of the Prodigal, Theological Commentary on the Iconography of the Monastery of Stavronikita - have been translated and reprinted many times. They are written in a theological style totally new in Greece, reflecting the immediacy of real experience. Gontikakis is the great witness to "Philokalian" spirituality.[98]
^The church took the unprecedented step of organizing the collection of signatures demanding that a referendum be held on the issue of the new identity cards and their mention of religion. The collection of signatures dragged on for several months, well into 2001. In the end, the church claimed to have collected over three million signatures.[36]
^"The emergence of an official office, the 'Representation of the Church of Greece' to the European Union, is a crucial landmark in the Europeanization process of the OCG, which reflects the aspiration of the latter to participate in the European process. It is a service abroad of the Holy Synod designed to represent the OCG in the EU."[115]
^"THE HORRIFIC event of the Fall itself falls into the domain of the unreachable judgments of the Wisdom of God, which transcend human understanding, represents the open wound of the Orthodox Christian conscience, but it is also a confirmation of the eternal truth, that the "image of this world" is passing, while at the same time a confirmation of the indestructibility of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, according to the promise of Christ. REMEMBERING, therefore, the Fall of Constantinople, we venerate the wounds of the Crucified Lord and confirm ourselves in the power of His Resurrection, witnessing before all peoples Him as the Stone, which the builders rejected and reject, and He has become the "Cornerstone, and this is marvelous in our eyes". In that name we offer brotherly veneration to Your Beatitude and to all the participants in the convocation marking the 550th Anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople, greeting you with the joyous Paschal greeting: "CHRIST IS RISEN!"[116]
^"The Common Declaration on Mount Athos attached to the Treaty of entry of Greece to the EEC (1 January 1981) recognises the special status of Mount Athos as this is defined in article 105 of the Greek Constitution. Consequently, EU takes into consideration this status and particularly on matters of taxation exemption and rights of installation."[119]
^The Greek church has since 1928 had administrative, but not titular, control over several dioceses in northern Greece – including Thessaloniki.[120]
^The Holy Synod decided that women could be promoted to the diaconate only in remote monasteries and at the discretion of individual bishops...The document does not use the word ordination, but specifically allows bishops to consecrate (kathosiosi) senior nuns in monasteries of their eparchies. But bishops who choose to promote women to the diaconate have only the ancient Byzantine liturgy that performs the same cheirotonia, laying on of hands, for deaconesses as in each major order: bishop, priest and deacon. Even so, some (mostly Western) scholars have argued that the historical ordination of women deacons was not a cheirotonia, or ordination to major orders, but a cheirothesia, a blessing that signifies installation to a minor order.[130]
^The church had accused Israel of violating religious freedom by rejecting its candidates and of "unacceptable interference" in the life of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Under an 1875 Ottoman law, as well as another passed in 1958 by the Jordanian authorities who ruled east Jerusalem, political authorities in the Holy Land have the right to oversee candidates for the position of patriarch.[134]
^"Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is a favorite target of the ultra-right Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetci Hareket Partisi: MHP), also known as "Grey Wolves", and of other extreme Islamic organizations. The nationalist organization Noel Baba, a branch of the Grey Wolves, claims that it has accumulated more than five-million signatures for the withdrawal of the Ecumenical Patriarch from Constantinople. Further, Noel Baba Foundation and Peace Council Chairman, Muammer Karabulut, and the General Secretary of the Union of Public Office Employees in Turkey, who is a member of the organization, promoted the issue of the withdrawal of the Ecumenical Patriarch from Constantinople and continue to present the petition signatures to the President of Turkey, Ahmet Necdet Sezer (from May 2000)."[141]
^After a private lunch with the pontiff, Christodoulos was expected later Thursday to receive a papal gift of two metal links from the chain believed to have bound the Apostle Paul prior to his execution by the Romans.[144]
^The role of this Committee, which is composed of university professors and jurists specialized in migration issues, consists primarily in studying and programming pastoral oriented policies aiming at the efficient social integration of migrants. It also has a counselling role towards the Holy Synod of the OCG, and is further in charge of commenting draft laws, and legal texts in the domains of immigration.[17]
^The infamous school history textbook for 11-year-olds was finally withdrawn by Greece's new education minister Evripides Stylianides in 2007. Supporters of the textbook denounced its withdrawal as being due to 'nationalism and religious fundamentalism', however Greece's Orthodox Church leader and academics correctly identified it as an attempt to rewrite Greek history to make it 'more inclusive', in which pivotal events in Greek history – such as the Greek War of Independence and the role of the Church in the uprising, the burning of Smyrna (1922), the Istanbul Pogrom (1955), the Cypriot campaign for enosis and the Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus – were omitted or glossed over. Abp. Christodoulos welcomed the news, stating: "The Church was first...to resist this distortion by the doubters of historical facts."[151]
^"On 9 January 2007, the ECHR issued a judgement condemning Turkey for violation of article 1 of Additional Protocol 1 of the European Convention On Human Rights (protection of property), and called upon Turkey, within three months of the day on which the Courts judgement becomes final, either to return the property to its legitimate owners or pay damages in the amount of 890,000 and 20,000 for costs and expenses. The Court took its final decision on 9 April 2007, with which Turkey is under an obligation to comply by 9 July 2007. This decision is of particular importance, mainly because it condemns a decades-long Turkish practice and the relevant court decision of 1974, based on which minority religious foundations are not recognised as the owners of real estate obtained after 1936."[158]
^In 2007, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution that "The Ottoman campaign against Christian minorities of the Empire between 1914 and 1923 constituted a genocide against Armenians, Assyrians, and Pontian and Anatolian Greeks." The vote in favor was 83%.[160]
FULL TEXT OF THE IAGS RESOLUTION:
"WHEREAS the denial of genocide is widely recognized as the final stage of genocide, enshrining impunity for the perpetrators of genocide, and demonstrably paving the way for future genocides;
WHEREAS the Ottoman genocide against minority populations during and following the First World War is usually depicted as a genocide against Armenians alone, with little recognition of the qualitatively similar genocides against other Christian minorities of the Ottoman Empire;
BE IT RESOLVED that it is the conviction of the International Association of Genocide Scholars that the Ottoman campaign against Christian minorities of the Empire between 1914 and 1923 constituted a genocide against Armenians, Assyrians, and Pontian and Anatolian Greeks.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Association calls upon the government of Turkey to acknowledge the genocides against these populations, to issue a formal apology, and to take prompt and meaningful steps toward restitution."[161][162][163]
^His death has been questioned. On 16 June 2013, on the Skai TV program «Ελεύθερος Σκοπευτής», Greek journalist and television and radio broadcaster George Tragas discussed the question of the murder of Abp. Christodoulos with a panel of guests.[171] In addition, in February 2016, on the 8th anniversary of Abp. Christodoulos' death, one of his closest associates, Archimandrite Epiphanius Economou publicly stressed that "Christodoulos was not supposed to live and that is why he is not alive", implying that the Archbishop’s death was not accidental. "It is no coincidence that everything started (in Greece) from the day after his death. In the beginning I did not want to believe it, but now I believe it" he said.[172]
^Papa-Dimitri Gagastathis A Simple Priest of Our Days.ROCA (Orthodox America). Comp. with excerpts from Papa-Dimitri Gagastathis, the man of God (1902-1975), Transl. and Ed. by Dimitrios N. Kagaris, Orthodox Kypseli Publications, Thessalonika, 1997. Retrieved: 24 July 2013.
^Peter Mackridge. Language and National Identity in Greece, 1766-1976. Oxford University Press, 2009. p. 319. ISBN978-0-19-921442-6.
^Christos Yannaras. Orthodoxy and the West: Hellenic Self-Identity in the Modern Age. Transl. Peter Chamberas and Norman Russell. Brookline: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2006. p. 199.
^Christos Yannaras. Orthodoxy and the West: Hellenic Self-Identity in the Modern Age. Transl. Peter Chamberas and Norman Russell. Brookline: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2006. pp. 207-208.
^ abFOCUS ON INDIA.Orthodox Research Institute. Retrieved: 24 July 2013.
^Jerusalem's Patriarch dies of heart attack.The Globe and Mail. 11 December 1980. Page 4.
^The Enlarging of Europe.The Economist. 18 December 1982. (U.S. Edition Pg. 58).
^"Zealots Spurn Common Market Aid to Mt. Athos Monastic Community."The New York Times. Sunday 19 April 1981 (Late City Final Edition). Section 1, Part 1, Page 8. Column 1.
^Jacqueline Swartz. "Greek Socialists keep respect, if not pledges."The Globe and Mail (Canada). Thursday, 28 October 1982.
^ abDiana Diaconou. 'Monotony' pleases Greeks. The Globe and Mail (Canada), 30 January 1982.
^ abcdGeorge Mavrogordatos. "Orthodoxy and Nationalism in the Greek case."West European Politics. 1 January 2003. Vol.26. No.1. Pg. 117(22) ISSN0140-2382.
^Monk Joseph Dionysaitis. Elder Arsenios the Cave-dweller (1886–1983): Fellow Ascetic of Elder Joseph the Hesychast. Transl. Angela Georgiou. 2005.
^ abCatholic, Orthodox Talks in Greece End In Disagreement.The Associated Press. 8 June 1984.
^Georgios I. Mantzaridis. The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and Orthodox Tradition: St.Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition (Contemporary Greek theologians series). St Vladimir's Seminary Press. 13 December 1984. (Amazon.co.uk).
^Mother Nectaria McLees. Righteous Chrysanthi of Andros (+ 1992). Evlogeite, A Pilgrim's Guide to Greece. St. Nicholas Press, Kansas City, MO, 2002. pp. 96-100.
^Sotiris Roussos. THE PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM IN THE GREEK-PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI TRIANGLE: IS THERE A PLACE FOR IT? Athens, 1 March 2003. pp. 3, 13.
^(in Greek) Μιχαήλ Μ. Η Συνωμοσία στην Κύπρο. Σιωνισμός-Μασονισμός. Κύπρος 1993. Β΄Έκδοση 2003.
^Pontus genocide monument overshadows relations between Turkey and Greece: Turkish FM.Xinhua General News Service. 12 May 2006 Friday 8:30 AM EST.
^ abcLucian N. Leustean. "Table 1.2 Other Christian Bodies in dialogue with European institutions". In: Representing Religion in the European Union: Does God Matter? Routledge Studies in Religion and Politics. Routledge, 2012. p. 14. ISBN9781136271922
^Mike Gerrard. Culturally, It's the Grecian Turn: In Thessaloniki, 1997 Is the Year of the Arts.The Washington Post. 10 November 1996. Pg. E01.
^Rhea Sourmeli. Peace and the rise of nationalism on agenda at religious summit.Agence France Presse–English. 21 September 1995.
The top-level meeting is part of a week-long symposium, which started Wednesday, marking the 1,900th anniversary of the writing of The St John's Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament.
^Nicolaas van Rijn. Canadian Greek church marks its independence.Toronto Star. 30 September 1996. p. A4.
^The Righteous Among The Nations. Alexopoulos Ioakim (1873 - 1959 ). Date of Recognition: 13 October 1997. Yad Vashem. Retrieved: 12 July 2013.
^ abCharalambos K. Papastathis and Nikos Maghioros. "Greece: A Faithful Orthodox Christian State. THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC." In: Javier Martínez-Torrón and W. Cole Durham, Jr.. Religion and the Secular State: National Reports (Issued for the occasion of the XVIIIth International Congress of Comparative Law, Washington, D.C., July 2010). Published by: Complutense Universidad de Madrid, in cooperation with The International Center for Law and Religion Studies, Brigham Young University. July 2014. pp. 370-371.
^Janet Hunter. Greece gets new archbishop. The Ottawa Citizen. 10 May 1998.
^Thanassis Cambanis. New Archbishop Enthroned in Greece.Associated Press Online. 9 May 1998.
^Susanne Gusten. Greek church leader visits Istanbul to overcome rift in Orthodoxy.Agence France Presse -- English. 13 June 1998 11:39 GMT.
^Στόχοι.Αντιπροσωπεία της Εκκλησίας της Ελλάδος στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση. Retrieved: 24 July 2013.
^Holocaust & Intolerance Museum of New Mexico. The Greek Genocide.Genocide in History. June 2011. p. 27 (GIH_Greek_1). Retrieved: 19 July 2013.
^Christos Yannaras. Orthodoxy and the West: Hellenic Self-Identity in the Modern Age. Transl. Peter Chamberas and Norman Russell. Brookline: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2006. p. 299.
^Patrick Quinn. "Greek church demands referendum on religion on identity cards." Associated Press. 28 August 2001.
^Elena Becatoros. Church escalates battle with government in ID showdown.The Associated Press (AP). 14 June 2000.
^GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH RALLIES CITIZENS TO FIGHT THE GOVERNMENT ON IDENTITY; CARD CHANGE.St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri). 15 June 2000.
^Monk Joseph Dionysiatis. Abbot Haralambos Dionysiatis: The Teacher of Noetic Prayer. 1st ed. Athens, 2004. 286 pages. ISBN9789603515098
^Richard Boudreaux. "Pope Apologizes for Anti-Orthodox Past; Greece: John Paul begs forgiveness for Roman Catholics' history of sins against 'brothers."Los Angeles Times. 5 May 2001: News: p.A-1.
^R. Jeffrey Smith and Sarah Delaney. Papal Trip Angers Greek Clergy. John Paul's Visit to Orthodox Stronghold First Since 1054.The Washington Post. 4 May 2001. Pg. A19.
^Professor Sir Dimitri Obolensky Russian-born historian who traced the influence of Byzantine civilisation in Eastern European identity.The Daily Telegraph (London). 7 January 2002. p. 25.
^"Greek Orthodox ban modern Greek in liturgy. (News in Brief: Greece)."Catholic Insight. Nov. 2002: 27+.
^Vassiliki Karageorgiou (PhD Candidate, Dept. of Politics, University of Edinburgh). The EU's impact on the Orthodox Church of Greece. Paper prepared for the 2nd LSE PhD Symposium on Modern Greece: Current Social Science Research on Greece. 10 June 2005, LSE. p. 14.
^Pope meets with Greek Orthodox seminarians, urges them to work toward Christian unity.Associated Press Worldstream. 27 February 2006 Monday 2:21 PM GMT.
^Derek Gatopoulos. Greece to build euro15 million mosque in Athens to replace private prayer houses.Associated Press Worldstream. 6 October 2006 Friday 1:07 PM GMT.
^EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS (INFORMATION NOTE No. 93 on the case-law of the Court, January 2007). FENER RUM ERKEK LİSESİ VAKFI – Turkey (No 34478/97). Judgment 9.1.2007 [Former Section II]. p. 48. Retrieved: 22 May 2013.
C.M. Woodhouse. Modern Greece. 4th ed. Boston : Faber and Faber, 1986.
Charalambos K. Papastathis and Nikos Maghioros. "Greece: A Faithful Orthodox Christian State. THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC." In: Javier Martínez-Torrón and W. Cole Durham, Jr.. Religion and the Secular State: National Reports (Issued for the occasion of the XVIIIth International Congress of Comparative Law, Washington, D.C., July 2010). Published by: Complutense Universidad de Madrid, in cooperation with The International Center for Law and Religion Studies, Brigham Young University. July 2014. pp. 339–375.
Demetrios J. Constantelos. Understanding the Greek Orthodox Church: Its Faith, History and Life. 4th Edition. Brookline, Mass.: Hellenic College Press, 2005. ISBN9780917653506
Dimitri E. Conomos, Graham Speake. Mount Athos, the Sacred Bridge: The Spirituality of the Holy Mountain. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2005.
Effie Fokas. Religion in the Greek Public Sphere: Nuancing the Account. Journal of Modern Greek Studies. Volume 27, Number 2, October 2009, pp. 349–374.
Efthymios Nicolaidis. Science and Eastern Orthodoxy: From the Greek Fathers to the Age of Globalization. Transl. Susan Emanuel. Johns Hopkins University Press. 2011. 288 pp. ISBN978-1421402987
John Hadjinicolaou (Ed.). Synaxis: An Anthology of the Most Significant Orthodox Theology in Greece Appearing in the Journal Synaxē from 1982 to 2002. Montréal : Alexander Press, 2006.
^The ROC severed full communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2018, and later severed full communion with the primates of the Church of Greece, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the Church of Cyprus in 2020.
^ abcdefghAutocephaly or autonomy is not universally recognized.
^UOC-MP was moved to formally cut ties with the ROC as of May 27th 2022.
^ abSemi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church whose autonomy is not universally recognized.