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.

In Memoriam: Metropolitan Meletius of Nicopolis

Metropolitan Meletius (Kalamaras) of Nicopolis of the Greek Orthodox Church has fallen asleep in the Lord. A native of the Peloponnese, as a young man Metropolitan Meletius studied theology in Athens before serving in the Metropolis of Messenia. In 1980 he was consecrated ruling hierarch of the Metropolis of Nicopolis and Preveza in southern Epirus, which he shepherded until his repose on 21 June at the age of seventy-nine. May Metropolitan Meletius' memory be eternal! More in Greek here.

Update (12:35pm): An English-language press release on Metropolitan Meletius' repose can be found here.

Greek Orthodox Church, Qatari Government Discuss Investment Projects

The Church of Greece is reportedly exploring potential investment projects with the Qatari government due to a decline in its rental incomes caused by the ongoing economic crisis in Greece. The news comes in the wake of the recent visit to Qatar of Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of Athens, the first hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. More here.

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Orders Assistance for Turkish Earthquake Victims

Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of Athens has ordered an NGO affiliated with the Church of Greece to provide every assistance to the victims of the recent earthquake in far eastern Turkey. More (in Greek) 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!

Greek Orthodox Metropolitans Debate Mandatory Retirement Age

The announcement of Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Zakynthos that he will retire this 1 September at the age of seventy-two has reignited a debate within the Greek Orthodox Church about whether a mandatory retirement age should be introduced for the Church of Greece's ruling metropolitans. Some support a retirement age, saying that the metropolitans need to be able to actively shepherding their flocks to remain the heads of their metropolises, while others defend the traditional system of leaving ruling metropolitans in place until their retirement or death because of the role of the metropolitan as the icon of Christ in the diocesan church. More (in Greek) here.

Thousands Celebrate New Style Dormition on Tinos

Thousands of faithful gathered today on the Greek island of Tinos to celebrate the new style feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the presence of her wonderworking Tinos Icon of the Annunciation. The services were concelebrated by five metropolitans of the Church of Greece. In addition to the many clergy and faithful representatives of the Greek national and local governments were also present at the festal services. 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.

In Memoriam: Fr. Philaret (Konstantakopoulos) of the Holy Lavra

The abbot of the Peloponnesus' Holy Lavra, Archimandrite Philaret (Konstantakopoulos), has fallen asleep at the age of fifty-five. Fr. Philaret was born in the southern Peloponnesus near the town of Messinia, eventually leaving his home as a youth to enter the Holy Lavra, where he was tonsured a monk at the age of nineteen. At twenty-one Fr. Philaret was ordained a deacon and at twenty-seven he was ordained a priest. He later served as chancellor of the Metropolis of Elassona in Thessaly before returning to the Holy Lavra in 1985 and becoming its abbot in 1993. Fr. Philaret's funeral will be served tomorrow at the Holy Lavra by Metropolitan Amvrosios of Kalavryta. More (in Greek) here.

The Holy Lavra is well known as the birthplace of modern Greece, being the site from which the first successful Greek uprising against Ottoman Turkish rule was launched in 1821. The Lavra dates to the 10th century and was burned down twice by the Ottomans and once by the Nazi Germans. More on the Holy Lavra can be found 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.

Metropolitan Hilarion Meets with Archbishop Jerome, Participates in Orthodox-Catholic Commission

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk has begun another visit to Greece, meeting with Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of Athens in the Greek capital to discuss relations between the Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches before proceeding to Crete to participate in a meeting of the working group of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. More here.

Metropolitan of Zakynthos Prepares for Retirement

Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Zakynthos has announced that he will retire this fall due to his age and to allow the Holy Synod to elect a younger shepherd for the Greek Orthodox Church on Zakynthos. More (in Greek) 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.

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.

Archbishop Jerome of Athens Hospitalized

Archbishop Jerome (Liapis) of Athens has broken his leg after falling during a visit to the Church of St. Christopher in Agrinion, Greece, on the Saint's new style feast and is undergoing surgery today to fix the break. More (in Greek) here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Meets with Archbishop Jerome, Celebrates Sunday Liturgy in Athens

On the first day of his visit to Greece Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk met with Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of Athens to discuss relations between the Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches, the preparations for a general council of the Local Orthodox Churches, and the Church's place and role in the world today. More on their meeting can be found here.

On the second day of his visit to Greece Metropolitan Hilarion celebrated the Sunday Liturgy in Athens' Church of St. Panteleimon, which ministers to the city's residents from the former USSR. The service, which was celebrated in both Slavonic and Greek and was broadcasted on Greek television, was attended by Archbishop Jerome of Athens. More here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Visiting Greece

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk has begun a visit to Greece with the blessing of Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of Athens of the Greek Orthodox Church. During his time in Greece Metropolitan Hilarion will meet with Archbishop Jerome and other hierarchs of the Church of Greece and also participate in the presentation of the Greek-language version of his book "The Mystery of Faith." More here.