Religion in Greece at the beginning of the XXI st century

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Solodova Y.A.

Vladimirskiy State University named after the Stoletov brothers

Vladimir, Russia

June 20 Antonis Samaras, the new prime minister of Greece, an oath on the Bible in front of gilded Archbishop of Athens Hieronymus. After many months of political instability in Greece, finally, there was the government, and the scene photographed, filmed and broadcast worldwide.

Hot news and constant references to antiquity forced to forget about the power of the Orthodox tradition of the Greeks. In Greece, the Church, in spite of its autonomy, it is not separated from the state. Priests - state functionaries with long beards and black robes - there simply everywhere. They officially opened the school, praised sports victories, celebrate holidays. In 2012, about 95% of Greeks still call themselves Orthodox Christians.

The two pillars of the Greek society is the Army and the Church. So much so that in the autumn of 2011, the government George Papandreou freed charitable and religious property by a special crisis tax, which is paid by all the Greeks.

Under attack critics of the church was protected by some special status, and then began to wave the banner of social assistance - an undeniable financial contribution to the life of the needy.

"The State of frightened reaction of the Church, because historically it has always been an important part of the policy", - says Effie Fokas, a Greek sociologist and director of the Forum of Religions at the London School of Economics. orthodox church state religion

In 1821, revolution broke out in Greece against the Ottoman Empire. The War of Independence was, first of all, the battle of Orthodox Christians against Muslim invaders. Patras Bishop blessed the rebels took up arms, and some priests.

In the name of Orthodoxy, but also on the basis of geopolitical interests, Russian, with the support of the French and English, helped the Greeks to gain independence, which was declared in 1830 after the signing of the London Protocol.

The Orthodox Church, an active member of the Greek resistance, made from his great authority, and the institution, as well as a religious community since become associated with the national idea. "Historically, the church had great influence, and was the bearer of the Greek national identity" - confirms Effie Fokas.

"A beautiful story - probably a bit embellished. We always talk about the role of the Church as the savior of the nation during the war for independence - explains Effie Fokas. - So write in textbooks, but it is - only a subjective view of history. "

Since its founding, the Hellenic Republic, the educational system has been associated with the Church. In religion classes in public schools said almost nothing about Orthodoxy.

In Greece, the religious affairs are not relevant to the conduct of the Interior Ministry, as in France. Greeks have it - the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs.

Article 3 of the Constitution states: "The prevailing religion in Greece - the religion of the Orthodox Church." state religion status casts a shadow on other religions, while Greece is already ten years is facing large-scale immigration of foreigners of the Islamic religion.

Ahment, the representative of the Islamic community in Greece, set up sadly:

"When you ride the subway or go to the supermarket, people look at you differently ... We - not such rights as the Orthodox Greeks. Nothing from the government, no benefits. We - all alone. "

Orthodox culture encourages nationalist ideas. For the past year, the target of racist attacks by neo-Nazis of "Golden Dawn" (7% of the vote in parliamentary elections) are mostly Muslims.

The name of the second far-right parties - the Greek counterpart of the

National Front - translated as "Popular Orthodox Rally."

"Twenty years ago, the Greek society was very uniform, but the situation is changing," - explains the sociologist Theon Athens Statopulu, author of "Religious practices and beliefs on the background of the European landscape."

The Orthodox Church, which distributes food among migrants lean and tries to get closer to other religions, denies that within it there is a xenophobic tensions. However, its cultural influence is too strong, says Effie Fokas:

"In his speeches Church opposes ethnocentrism and division between ethnic groups, but in practice, nationalism is indeed very strong."

In Greece, most of the national holidays are religious holidays at the same time. 25 March, when the Greeks celebrate their independence, the church, in turn, is celebrating the Annunciation. In 2004, when the players of the national football team returned to victory after the European Championship, Archbishop of Athens hastily arranged ceremony in their honor.

For many years, the state has gradually trying to reduce estate and the privileged status of the Orthodox Church. In 1987, the government planned to nationalize all Church property, but abandoned this idea under the pressure of public opinion.

In autumn 2011, the then Prime Minister George Papandreou has introduced unpopular new property tax under the name "haratsi". Initially, the church was completely exempt from the new tax. On the internet immediately raised a wave of indignation. Group on Facebook called "overlaid church tax" gained 100,000 members. Then the government decided to apply the tax to property of the Church, but to release it from the religious buildings and charitable organizations.

Real estate of the Church (the second landowner in the country after the state) is still immense. In addition to the 8000 public law religious buildings as well as monasteries, which are independent of the Greek church (such as the monastery on Mount Athos) Church owns hospitals, private schools, hotels and luxury restaurants.

This is - the pre-revolutionary property, and it is destroyed over the years. "After the War of Independence, the Church began to transfer part of its property into the hands of the state. After the dictatorship of the colonels in 1974, she again refused to part of the goods. Today, the church belongs to only 4% of what she owned until 1821 ", - says the father of Chrysostom, the economic secretary of the Holy Synod of Greece.

Although the crisis hits and its finances, the Church today is opposed to the idea of selling their property, which is keen to seize the private sector. Thus, the mountain monastery of Penteli, north of Athens can be sold to investors for 1 billion euros - in order to create there a photovoltaic park.

In 2011, according to the center-right newspaper "Kathimerini", one of only renting the property of the Church allowed to earn 10 million euros. "The State of the Church Finance - bad. If she is going to pay more taxes, it will no longer be able to finance the charity, "- says a source close to religious circles.

Since the crisis began, the Orthodox Church is actively involved in social and humanitarian projects. According to the Holy Synod, between Jan. 1, 2010 and March 25, 2011 it spent 1.26 million euros for the daily distribution of 10,000 free meals in Athens. It financially supports the most needy families, providing clothes, covers the costs of treatment and provide moral support.

"The Greeks continued to turn to the Church does not seek financial assistance, and for psychological support", - says Teresa Rozaki-Nikolaidis, a teacher from Plaka.

In response to criticism of the media about the tax exemption and the giant state Church threatens to cut social assistance. However, philanthropy, in fact - quite recent and sudden phenomenon associated not only and not so much with the crisis.

Acting on the ground, next to the Greeks, the most affected by the crisis, the Church intervenes where the state no longer has the power, legitimizing thus, tax concessions and preventing scandals. Simply put, a few bishops who live as ministers and prosperity exempt from property taxes and balanced million hours that they spend "at the bedside" Greece, the crisis affected.

Public activities of the Greek Church during the crisis - a role the state should play - so justifies the issue of politicization of spiritual power. Historically, the Church has played a political role. Under the control of the Ottoman Empire, the priests acted as intermediaries with the authorities in Constantinople and played the role of a kind of village chiefs.

Since the 1830s, the church was again attached to the centralized state, and the priests received the status of civil servants. Twice in the history - in times of dictatorship of Metaxas (1936) and the dictatorship of the colonels (1967) - Church imposed the policies and views of the state. However, in other cases - in addition to these two authoritarian regimes - it has always maintained its functional independence.

In 2000, the popular and charismatic Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens rebelled against the government, which wanted to remove from the Greek passports column "religion."Clergy urged to organize large-scale demonstrations in Athens and Thessaloniki and has collected more than 3 million signatures on a petition - more than the number of votes that the ruling party PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) won the elections prior to the events described.

The Church has lost this battle, and the count was blocked out of the passports, but some political parties, for example - "New Democracy" began to seek electoral support from the Orthodox Church. He denied, however, that the Archbishop of Athens wants to play a role in politics. "Whenever the Church mixed the spiritual and the secular, he is lost", - says the father of Chrysostom.

After the episode with exemption from tax in the autumn of 2011 he was brought up for discussion the question of separation of Church and state. The government spends about 200 million euros to pay for the activities of 9000 of its priests. Father Chrysostom thoughtful:

"If the Church and the state will be divided, what will be the state alone? The church provides social balance, which reduces the scale of people's reactions.

This civil harmony. "

"The Church is all-pervasive," - says Teona Statopulu. In the political sense, believers consider themselves more to the right, and the criticism comes more from the left-wing circles, but clergy cope with such sentiments. Much more than any political organization, the Orthodox Church is associated with the history of the country, with social and cultural spirit of the nation.

"The Greeks know how to distinguish between Church and State", assures Effie Fokas, and the priests will be able to maintain popularity in the Greek culture. They drink ouzo in the villages, they are very pleasant and helpful in everyday life. And the ministers for the majority of Greeks are a symbol of deeply corrupt system, where there is deceit and demagoguery.

Nevertheless, the Church is not too far from the Greek nepotism, and she also has skeletons in the closet.Questions about corruption in the real estate sector in the bosom of the clergy rise for several years. A striking example - the recent case of Mount Athos.

In 2005, the monks gave the document the era of the Byzantine Empire and asked the state to return them to the lake Vistonida which they then resold for 100 million euros. The money was found in the account of his father Ephraim - one of the most important figures of Athos.

The main problem is not the state of finances of the Church. Today in Greece there is still no inventory. Accordingly, nothing is possible to measure the value of church property and the hypothetical state of the Greek Orthodox Church.

To find legitimate authority - as in the corridors of power, and in the kingdom of heaven - Greece will primarily rely on the transparency and legitimacy.

References

1. Heinrich A. Rommen - Church and State / Heinrich A. Rommen. The State in Catholic Thought: A Treatise in Political Philosophy. 2nd ed. St. Louis (MO): B.Herder Book Co., 1947, p.510-520, 563-570, 574-585. // URL:https://docviewer.yandex.ru/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hse.ru%2Fdata%2F051 %2F314%2F1234%2F2_4_4Romm.pdf&name=2_4_4Romm.pdf&lang=ru&c=58 8a31018b9f.

2. Church in Greece is stronger than State / INOSMI.RU // URL: http://inosmi.ru/world/20120713/194906956.html

3. Religion in Greece / ilovegreece.ru // URL: http://www.ilovegreece.ru/aboutgreece/tourist-handbook/general-information/religion-greece.

4. History of Christianity in Greece / PRAVMIR.RU // URL: http://www.pravmir.ru/istoriya-xristianstva-v-grecii.

5. Is there everything in Greece? The experience of Church of Greece / menswork.ru // URL: http://www.menswork.ru/?q=content/всё-ли-есть-в-греции-опытэлладской-церкви.

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