SPECIAL TO IN DEFENSE OF COMMUNISM.
This
is not a post about religion and faith. Historical materialism, as it
has been analyzed in the works of Marx, Engels, Lenin and others,
represents our perspective on the “opium of the people”. However,
this article focuses on the Greek Orthodox Church as an institution
and her high ranking representatives. Before going to our major
issue, let us remind the following: a) according to article 3.1 of
the Constitution of Greece (Hellenic Republic) “the prevailing
religion in Greece is that of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ”,
b) the Church of Greece is, in fact, an institution tied to the
bourgeois Greek state, as long as priests (of all ranks) are civil
servants and their salaries are paid from the State. c) the Church of
Greece, with an estate of billion euros, is largely benefited by a
series of tax exemptions.
The
reactionary and regressive role of the Church of Greece through
history is, more or less, known. Since the formation of the
independent Greek state in 1830, the Orthodox Church has been always
part of the establishment- from the Ottoman rule to the formation of
the Kingdom of Greece and from the 1940s Nazi occupation to the
1967-1974 military dictatorship, the leadership of the Greek Orthodox
Church played its role as a staunch ally of the established order.
Having
said the above, let's proceed to the article's major issue: the
existence of extreme, hate speech in the high rankings of today's
Greek Orthodox Church. If you think that hate speech is an exclusive
characteristic of the ISIS assassins, of neo-Nazis and far-right
racist groups in Europe and the USA, you are wrong. Just a day ago,
in an outburst of racist rhetoric, Bishop Marcos of Chios said:
“There are no refugees; they are all illegal immigrants”. Such
anti-refugee, anti-immigration statements have been quite frequent
within the high rankings of the Church, especially after the
beginning of the refugee crisis in the Aegean Sea. The case of Bishop
Marcos comes as another episode of xenophobic, racist hate statements
by high ranking priests.
They
are paid as priviledged civil servants, they dress with expensive and
flamboyant vestments, they move around with luxurious cars and
security guards- this is the “humble” life for the vast majority
of the “Holy Synod” members. In the following text, we will see
three cases of prominent Greek Orthodox clergymen who have championed
in bigotry, racism and hate against minorities, immigrants, refugees,
LGBT people and all those who they regard as “enemies of
Orthodoxy”.
CASE
1: Bishop Anthimos of Thessaloniki (born Dionysios Roussas, 1934- ).
Anthimos,
the Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, is a high-profile priest of the
Orthodox Church in Greece and a favorite figure for Greek media.
Broadly known for his ultra-nationalist, ultra-conservative stance in
numerous social issues, Anthimos frequently speaks against muslim
immigrants in his sermons. Last February, Anthimos was among the
major organizers of an anti-immigration, anti-refugee gathering in
Thessaloniki, in which he was also the keynote speaker. In a
xenophobic rant aganst refugees, Anthimos said that Greece faces the
threat of “islamization” because of the large number of muslim
refugees who remain in the country. On August 2014, Metropolitan
Anthimos had fiercely reacted against the foundation of an Islamic
Studies faculty at Thessaloniki's Aristotle University. “This
attempt is, according to my opinion and the feeling of Thessaloniki's
people, a criminal act” he said.
Anthimos
frequently transforms his sermons into nationalist political
speeches. On May 2015, in one of his usual sermons, he unleashed an
attack against Greece's neighbouring people, including Turks,
Albanians and Slavs who- according to him- want to conquer parts of
Greek territory.
The
racist rhetoric of Anthimos isn't limited to refugees, immigrants and
neighboring countries. The LGBT movement has been in his target
numerous times- he has publicly called homosexuality a “deadly
sin”, being a fierce critic of the city's annual Pride Festival
which he regards as a “disgrace and provocation”. Last year, he
publicly called Orthodox Christians to participate in a vigil against
the Gay Pride.
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| A photo from the years of the Greek Junta (1967-1974). [1] Colonel-Dictator Georgios Papadopoulos, [2] Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos I, [3] Colonel Stylianos Pattakos, [4] Anthimos. |
Although
he has denounced “all forms of dictatorships”, Anthimos has
publicly refered to the period of the brutal military dictatorship
(1967-1974) as “the era of Greece's strongest economy”.
CASE
2: Bishop Seraphim of Piraeus (born Christos Mentzelopoulos, 1956- ).
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| Metropolitan Seraphim with Nazi Golden Dawn's MPs Kasidiaris (up) and Pappas (down). |
The
Metropolitan of Piraeus, Seraphim, is known for his openly
anti-semitic, homophobic rhetoric. In a TV interview in 2010,
Seraphim burst into a conspiracy rant “Adolf
Hitler was an instrument of world Zionism and was financed from the
renowned Rothschild family with the sole purpose of convincing the
Jews to leave the shores of Europe and go to Israel to establish the
new Empire”.
In
2012, Seraphim- along with MPs from the Nazi-fascist 'Golden Dawn'
party- filled a lawsuit against the production of the theatrical play
“Corpus Christi” which depicts Jesus Christ and his apostles as
gay. The Bishop of Piraeus had lodged a lawsuit, charging those who
involved in the play for “insulting religion” and... “malicious
blasphemy”.
Except
from his anti-semitism and his (formerly) close ties with Golden
Dawn's neo-Nazi criminals, Seraphim is known for his extreme
homophobic rants. According to the Metropolitan of Piraeus,
homosexuality is the “dirtiest of all sins” (April 2015).
CASE
3: Bishop Amvrosios of Kalavryta (born Athanasios Lenis, 1938- ).
Bishop
Amvrosios of Kalavryta and Aegialea is currently the most extreme
case of hate and racist speech within the high rankings of the Church
of Greece. A champion of far-right rhetoric, Amvrosios has a known
fascist past: During the military dictatorship (1967-1974) he was
Chief of the so-called “religious department” of the gendarmerie.
For those who perhaps do not know, the gendarmerie was the
dictatorship's instrument of persecutions, severe violence and
torture against democratic fighters, leftists, communists etc. He is
widely regarded as a “priest in the service of Junta”. He has
publicly expressed admiration for the notorious fascist assassin
Nikos Dertilis (1920-2013), a Junta colonel.
Amvrosios
has openly expressed his support for the Nazi-criminal organisation
of 'Golden Dawn'. “If
you change your style, i.e. if you become mature, you will be able to
become a
sweet hope
for
the desperate citizens and a quiet force in the rotten political
system” he
wrote in his personal blog in 2012. When the neo-Nazi thugs opened
their party branch in the town of Egio, Metropolitan Amvrosios sent a
letter of advise to Golden Dawn's members on how to improve their
style and actions.
In
2015, Amvrosios unleashed a homophobic rant in one of his blog texts.
He wrote about homosexuals, among other things: “They
are not human! They are freaks of nature! Mentally and spiritually
sick! They are mentally insane! Don’t
hesitate, then! Wherever you see them, spit on them! Don’t leave
them in peace! They are dangerous!”.
Last
May, during the liturgy of Easter's Good Friday, Amvrosios publicly
cursed those who eat meat during Good Friday (a day of complete feast
for Orthodox Christians) by saying: “May they get a hole in their
stomachs”. In the same delirium of hate he called upon God to “rot
the hand” of Education Minister if he appends his signature to
measures downgrading the school's religious instructions.
This
“representative of God” has also a word for the refugees, which
he calls “islamists”! “We don't like their culture! We don't
accept their religion! We don't want our territory to be infected”
he wrote on his blog, calling the authorities to take the needed
measures against the... islamist hordes.
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| An "islamist" who consists a danger, according to Metropolitan Amvrosios... |
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| More "dangerous islamists"... |
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| The- according to Amvrosios- "Islamists"... |
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| Another "dangerous muslim" who is a threat for the Orthodox Church... |
