Greek Orthodox Church Responds to Criticism of Finances

The Church of Greece has responded to widespread criticisms of its financial support by the Greek state - an arrangement made when the latter took the Church's lands (it's main financial support until then) at the time of Greece's independence from the Ottoman Empire - by noting that since 2010 its clergy have been paying taxes on their salaries together with the rest of the country. More here.

GOAA Clergy-Laity Congress Passes Resolutions Supporting Greece, Middle Eastern Orthodox

The biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, has passed resolutions calling on the US government to protect the Orthodox Christian minorities native to Syria and Egypt. The Congress also appealed to all Americans to help Greece as it continues to struggle with the effects of its economic crisis. More here.

Greek-Americans Establish Relief Fund for Greece

The Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has established the Relief Fund of the People of Greece to provide assistance to the Greek people as living conditions in Greece continue to deteriorate due to the country's ongoing economic crisis. More here.

Greeks Call for Church Properties to be Taxed

As protests continue against the Greek government's austerity measures there is a spreading call for the Church of Greece to pay higher taxes on its properties, which when grouped together make the Greek Orthodox Church the second largest landowner in Greece after the national government. More here. Hat tip to Ad Orientem!

Athens Mosque Plans Approved

The Greek Parliament has approved plans to build a mosque for the large Muslim minority in Athens, which until now has been without adequate spaces for their Friday prayers. More here.

Greek Foreign Minister Visits Turkey

Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis has begun a state visit to the Turkish island of Imbros, where he met with representatives of the island's Greek community, among them Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople, and expressed his support for Turkey's application for membership in the European Union. Lambrinidis' visit was occasioned by the 50th anniversary of the ordination of Patriarch Bartholomew to the priesthood. More here.

At the time that Imbros was awarded to the modern Turkish state by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 its population was 95% Greek and Orthodox Christian. Although Turkey committed to guaranteeing the security of the island's population, over the decades following the treaty it settled large numbers of Turks on the island, prompting many of its native inhabitants to immigrate. The island's population today is 97% Turkish.

Photo of the Day: Papal Divine Liturgy in Greece

Pope Theodoros II (Horeftakis) of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church celebrating the Sunday Liturgy in one of the churches on the Greek island of Amorgos.

Kinshasa Metropolitan Visits Greece

Metropolitan Nicephorus of Kinshasa of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church has begun a visit to Greece, yesterday celebrating the Divine Liturgy in St. Parasceva's Church in the northern Greek city of Berea. The metropolitan, who is responsible for much of Central Africa, will be in Greece for several days before returning to the DRC. More (in Greek) here.

Pope Theodore Visits Ormylia Monastery

As part of his ongoing visit to Greece Pope Theodoros II (Horeftakis) of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church has visited the women's Monastery of the Annunciation in Ormylia near Mount Athos. During his time at the Ormylia Monastery Pope Theodoros met with the abbess and sisterhood of the monastery as well as the abbot of the Simonopetra Monastery on Mount Athos, of which Ormylia is a dependency. More (in Greek) here.

In Memoriam: Metropolitan Dionysius of Chios

Metropolitan Dionysios of Chios of the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church in Greece has fallen asleep at the age of eighty-four. The newly reposed metropolitan was born on the Greek island of Evia and studied law and theology before being ordained to the deaconate and serving as such in the Greek Navy and Athens.

In 1960 the future metropolitan was ordained to the priesthood and given oversight of the Greek chaplaincy before being elected in 1979 as Metropolitan of Chios by the Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople. In total Metropolitan Dionysios served his flock faithfully for more than three decades.

Metropolitan Dionysios was hospitalized in Athens and reposed in the Greek capital. His funeral is to be served later this week by Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of Athens in Chios' metropolitan cathedral. More (in Greek) here. May Metropolitan Dionysios' memory be eternal!

Pope Theodore, Archbishop Jerome Meet in Athens

Pope Theodoros II (Horeftakis) of Alexandria has begun a visit to Athens, meeting with Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of Athens to discuss relations between the Alexandrian and Greek Orthodox Churches and to thank him for all of the support provided by the Church of Greece to the missionary and pastoral work of the Orthodox Church in Africa. More (in Greek) here.

Church Properties Exempted From Privatization Drive in Greece

Following a joint meeting between the lesser Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, it has been announced that the properties of the Church of Greece will be exempted from the privatization drive being initiated by the Greek government at the demand of its foreign creditors. The meeting also decided that the salaries of Greece's clergy will continue to be paid by the state. More here.

Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Visits Greece

Metropolitan Mor Gregorios (Yohanna) of Aleppo of the Syriac Orthodox Church has concluded a visit to Greece. During his time in Greece Metropolitan Mor Gregorios met with representatives of the Greek Foreign Ministry to discuss the ongoing unrest in Syria and also with Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of Athens to convey to him the greetings of Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatios Zakka I (Iwas) of Antioch and discuss relations between the Syriac and Greek Orthodox Churches. More (in Arabic) here.

Patriarch Bartholomew Visits Athens

Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople has begun a visit to Athens accompanied by several of metropolitans of the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch was received in the Greek capital by Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of the Greek Orthodox Church. More (in Greek) here.

Greek Orthodox Spokesman Fears Repeat of 1967 Coup in Greece

A spokesman of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira in the United Kingdom has compared the ongoing economic crisis in Greece to the conditions that in 1967 lead to the imposition of a military dictatorship on the country. More here.

St. John the Russian

Joyous feast! St. John the Confessor was born in the 1600s in what today is Ukraine and raised as a devout Orthodox Christian. Drafted into military service, the Saint fought the Ottoman Turks and was captured by them in 1711 and enslaved in the village of Procopia in Asia Minor. Although St. John's master beat him and sought to convert him to Islam the Saint refused, saying that, "Neither by threats, nor with promises of riches and delights you will turn me away from my holy faith. I was born a Christian, and a Christian I shall die."

Despite his mistreatment St. John served his master zealously and was mocked by his fellow slaves for his commitment to his duties. The Saint's master, seeing his faithfulness, offered to let him live as a free man and resettle him wherever he wished, but St. John preferred to remain in his service so that he could continue his nightly prayers in the stables.

When St. John fell asleep on this day in 1730 his body was given over to the clergy of Procopia, who buried it surrounded by the village's Orthodox Christian inhabitants. Three years later the Saint's relics, having been revealed to be incorrupt in a vision, were exhumed and enshrined in Procopia's Church of St. George, later being translated in part to Panteleimonou on Mount Athos in 1881 and in 1924 to the Greek island of Eubeia together with the residents of Procopia as part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.

Through St. John's prayers many are helped and in the past not only Greeks, but also many Orthodox Armenians and Turkish Muslims came to St. John's relics in Procopia to be healed. More on St. John's life can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!

Russian Orthodox Professor Expresses Support for Macedonian Autocephaly

A professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, Deacon Andrei Kuraev, has expressed his belief that the independent Macedonian Orthodox Church ought to be considered autocephalous by the world Orthodox Churches and that it is only political issues in Greece and Serbia that are keeping the Serbian and Greek Orthodox Churches from recognizing the independence of the Church of Macedonia. More (in Macedonian) here.

Greek Orthodox Hierarchy Divided Over Greek Economic Crisis, Disestablishment

As Greece continues to struggle through its economic and debt crisis there are growing calls within the hierarchy of the Greek Orthodox Church for its disestablishment to preserve the institutions and finances of the Church and free it from government regulation. A committee has been established to discuss how the crisis will impact the Church, but the hierarchy lacks a united voice as to how the Church of Greece in general should respond to the ongoing issues in Greek life, with some opposing any change in the status quo and others calling the crisis an opportunity for the Church to escape being part of the state. More (in Greek) here.

100,000 Protest Greek Government's Handling of Economic Crisis

Some 100,000 Greeks took to the streets of Athens and other major cities to protest the ongoing economic crisis in Greece and the Greek government's failure to deal with it in a way that protects the interests of the country's citizens. The protests received the support of Archbishop Anthimos of Thessalonica, the most prominent diocese of the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church in Greek-occupied southern Macedonia. More here.

Bank of Greece Governor Meets with Greek Orthodox Hierarchy

The governor of the Bank of Greece, George Provopoulos, has met with leaders of the Greek Orthodox Church to discuss the effects the ongoing economic crisis in Greece is having on the financial reserves of the Church of Greece, whose finances are largely provided by the Greek government as it remains the state church of Greece. More (in Greek) here.