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Church of Greece

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Orthodox Church of Greece" redirects here. For the Old Calendarist church by that name, see Orthodox Church of Greece (Holy Synod in Resistance). For the larger body of Eastern Orthodox Christians referred to by a similar name, see Greek Orthodox Church.
Greek Cross
Church of Greece
Ancient Greek: Ἐκκλησία τῆς Ἑλλάδος
Modern Greek: Εκκλησία της Ελλάδος
Seal of the Church of Greece
TypeAutocephaly
ClassificationChristian
OrientationGreek Orthodox
Scripture
TheologyEastern Orthodox theology
PolityEpiscopal
PrimateIeronymos II of Athens
Bishops101
Priests8,515
Monastics3,541
Monasteries541
LanguageGreek (Katharevousa)
LiturgyByzantine Rite
HeadquartersMetropolitan Cathedral of Athens and Petraki Monastery, Athens, Greece
TerritoryGreece (except Crete and the Dodecanese), Mount Athos, and Greek Orthodox churches in the Diaspora[1]
FounderDionysius the Areopagite (tradition)
Origin
Achaea, Roman Empire
Independence1833
RecognitionAutocephaly recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1850 (Tomos dated June 29, 1850)
SeparationsGreek Old Calendarists
(Orthodox Church of Greece) (1979)
Members10,000,000[2]
Official websiteecclesia.gr

The Church of Greece (Greek: Ἐκκλησία τῆς Ἑλλάδος, romanized: Ekklēsía tē̂s Helládos, IPA: [ekliˈsi.a tis eˈlaðos]), part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Its canonical territory is confined to the borders of Greece prior to the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 ("Old Greece"), with the rest of Greece (the "New Lands", Crete, and the Dodecanese) being subject to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. However, most of the dioceses of the Metropolises of the New Lands are de facto administered as part of the Church of Greece for practical reasons, under an agreement between the churches of Athens and Constantinople. The primate of the Church of Greece is the archbishop of Athens and All Greece.

Prevailing religion of Greece

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According to the Constitution, Greek Orthodoxy is the prevailing religion of Greece; this is reinforced by displays of the Greek flag and coat of arms at church properties.[3]

Adherence to the Eastern Orthodox Church was established as a definitive hallmark of Greek ethnic identity in the first modern Greek constitution, the "Epidaurus Law" of 1822, during the Greek War of Independence.[4] The preamble of all subsequent Greek constitutions simply states "In the name of the Holy, Consubstantial, and Indivisible Trinity" and the Orthodox Church of Christ is established as the "prevailing" religion of Greece.

Mainstream Orthodox clergy salaries and pensions are paid by the State, at rates comparable to those of teachers. The church had previously compensated the State by a tax of 35% on ordinary revenues of the church but, in 2004, this tax was abolished by Law 3220/2004. [5] By virtue of its status as the prevailing religion, the canon law of the Church is recognized by the Greek government in matters pertaining to church administration. Religious marriages and baptisms are legally equivalent to their civil counterparts. All Greek Orthodox students in primary and secondary schools in Greece attend religious instruction.[6]

Liaisons between church and state are handled by the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs.

Church hierarchy

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The religious jurisdictions of the Church of Greece (in blue) in Greece

Supreme authority is vested in the synod of all the diocesan bishops who have metropolitan status (the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, Greek: Ἱερὰ Σύνοδος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς Ἑλλάδος, romanized: Hierà Sýnodos tês Ekklēsías tês Helládos [ieˈra ˈsinoðos tis ekliˈsias tis eˈlaðos]) under the de jure presidency of the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece. This synod deals with general church issues. The Standing Synod is under the same presidency, and consists of the Primate and 12 bishops; each members serves for one term on a rotating basis and deals with administrative details.[7]

The church is organized into 81 dioceses, of which 36, located in northern Greece and in the major islands in the north and northeast Aegean, are nominally and spiritually under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.[8] The Patriarchate retains certain privileges over and in them—for example, their bishops have to acknowledge the Patriarch as their own primate during prayers. They are called the "New Lands" (Νέαι Χώραι, or Néai Chōrai) as they became part of the modern Greek state only after the Balkan Wars, and are represented by 6 of the 12 bishops of the Standing Synod. A bishop elected to one of the Sees of the New Lands has to be confirmed by the Patriarch of Constantinople before assuming his duties. These dioceses are administered by the Church of Greece "in stewardship" and their bishops retain their right of appeal (the "ékklēton") to the Patriarch.

The dioceses of Crete (Church of Crete), the Dodecanese, and the Monastic state of Holy Mount Athos remain under the direct jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople; they are not part of the Church of Greece.[9] The Archdiocese of Crete enjoys semiautonomous status: new bishops are elected by the local Synod of incumbents, and the Archbishop is appointed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate from a three-person list (the triprósōpon) drawn by the Greek Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs from among the incumbent Metropolitans of Crete.

Clergy and monastics

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As in other Orthodox Christian churches, male graduates of seminaries run by the church (and financed by the Greek State) may be ordained as deacons and eventually priests. They are allowed to marry before their ordination as deacons, but not afterwards. The vast majority of parish clergy in Greece are married. Alternatively, they may enter monasteries and/or take monastic vows. Monastics who are ordained as priests and possess a university degree in theology are eligible as candidates for the episcopate (archimandrites). Women may also take monastic vows and become nuns. In 2004, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece voted to reinstate the female diaconate, but limited ordaining women as deaconesses to monastic communities.[10]

Monasteries are either affiliated to their local diocese, or directly to one of the Orthodox Patriarchates; in the latter case they are called "Stauropegiac" monasteries (Stayropēgiaká, "springs of the Cross").

Old Calendarists

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A split (schism) occurred within the church in 1924 when the Holy Synod decided to replace the Old Calendar (Julian) with a hybrid calendar—the so-called "Revised Julian Calendar"—which maintained a modified Julian dating method for Pascha while adopting the Gregorian Calendar date for fixed feasts. Those who refused to adopt this change are known as Old Calendarists (palaioimerologites in Greek) and still follow the old Julian Calendar.[11] They themselves have suffered several schisms, and not all Old Calendarists comprise one church. They refer to themselves as "Genuine Orthodox Christians".

History

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Main articles: Orthodoxy in Greece and Greek Orthodox Church
Saint Paul delivering the Areopagus Sermon in Athens, by Raphael, 1515.
Dionysius the Areopagite, first bishop of Athens
Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens
St Andrew's Cathedral, Patras

Greece was an early center of Christianity. The Apostle Paul was involved in the founding of several early Christian communities: Paul's letters to the churches in Thessalonica, at Philippi, and at Corinth are included in the New Testament.[12]

Upon formation of the Patriarchate, the Church was formerly a part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Under Ottoman rule, the Muslims exercised no control over the church. With the establishment of the Greek kingdom, however, the government decided to take control of the church, breaking away from the patriarch in Constantinople. The government declared the church to be autocephalous in 1833 in a political decision of the Bavarian Regents acting for King Otto, who was a minor. The decision roiled Greek politics for decades as royal authorities took increasing control. The new status was finally recognized as such by the Patriarchate in 1850, under compromise conditions with the issue of a special "Tomos" decree.[13]

In 1833, Parliament dissolved 400 small monasteries having fewer than five monks or nuns.[14] Priests were not salaried; in rural areas they were peasant farmers themselves, dependent for their livelihood on their farm work and from fees and offerings by parishioners. Their ecclesiastical duties were limited to administering the sacraments, supervising funerals, the blessings of crops, and exorcism. Few attended seminaries. By the 1840s, there was a nationwide revival, run by travelling preachers. The government arrested several and tried to shut down the revival, but it proved too powerful when the revivalists denounced three bishops for purchasing their office. By the 1880s, the "Anaplasis" ("Regeneration") Movement led to renewed spiritual energy and enlightenment. It fought against the rationalistic and materialistic ideas that had seeped in from secular Western Europe. It promoted catechism schools and Bible study circles.[15]

Zoë movement

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The 20th-century religious revival in Greece included the Zoë movement, founded in 1911. This movement operated independently of the Greek Orthodox Church, with a decentralized structure based primarily in Athens. Its membership included both laypeople and some clergy. Activities of the movement encompassed publications, a nationwide Sunday School program in approximately 7,800 churches, and educational outreach to around 150,000 students. Zoë also sponsored various affiliated organizations, including groups for professionals, youth, parents, and young women nurses. The movement promoted the distribution of Bibles, religious literature, and pamphlets, and encouraged greater lay participation in the Eucharist.[16]

During the 20th century, seminaries were established, but most graduates pursued careers in teaching rather than parish ministry. In 1920, only 800 of Greece's 4,500 priests had received education beyond the elementary level. By 1959, of approximately 7,000 priests, fewer than five percent had completed both university and seminary training. Monastic life declined but persisted in remote locations such as Mount Athos. Church life was further disrupted during World War II and the subsequent civil war, with damage to many churches and casualties among clergy and monastics.[17]

In a 2019 interview, Christos Yannaras stated to Norman Russell that, although he had participated in the Zoë movement, he had come to regard it as Crypto-Protestant.[18]

Administration and Hierarchy of the Throne

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Head of the Church of Greece and of the Holy Synod is Archbishop Ieronymos II (Ioannis Liapis), Archbishop of Athens and All Greece (2008–).

Metropolises and metropolitans of the Church of Greece

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Notes
1 In 2010 the Metropolis of Attica was split into 2 new Metropolises, the Metropolis of Kifissia, Amaroussion and Oropos (temporary Vicar: the Metropolitan of Mesogeia) and the Metropolis of Ilion, Acharnes and Petroupolis (temporary Vicar: the Metropolitan of Megara)
2 The Metropolis of Trikke was separated from the Metropolis of Stagi (and Meteora) in 1981 but still bears the titular name "Trikke and Stagi"

Titular metropolises and metropolitans

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Titular dioceses and bishops

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Metropolises and metropolitans of the New Lands

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(under the jurisdiction of Constantinople until 1928, then under Athens; except the Dodecanese)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Church of Greece". oikoumene.org. Le Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland: World Council of Churches. January 1948. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  2. ^ Alfeyev, Hilarion; Korytko, Oleg; Vasechko, Valentin (2018). History of Religions. ЛитРес. p. 244. ISBN 978-5-04-118995-2.
  3. ^ "Constitution of Greece". Hellenic Parliament. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  4. ^ Kitromilides, Paschalis M. (2013). Enlightenment and Revolution: The Making of Modern Greece. Harvard University Press. pp. 78–81.
  5. ^ "International Religious Freedom Report 2005". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  6. ^ Religious Education in Schools in Europe (Report). European Commission on Education and Training. 2007. pp. 42–44.
  7. ^ Ware, Kallistos (1993). The Orthodox Church. Penguin. pp. 317–320.
  8. ^ Roudometof, Victor (2014). Orthodox Christianity in the Modern Greek World. Routledge. pp. 89–92.
  9. ^ Angold, Michael (1995). Church and Society in Byzantium under the Comneni, 1081–1261. Cambridge University Press. pp. 154–155.
  10. ^ Zagano, Phyllis (7 February 2005). "'Grant Her Your Spirit': The restoration of the female diaconate in the Orthodox Church of Greece" (PDF). Hofstra University. pp. 18–21.
  11. ^ Ware, Kallistos (1993). The Orthodox Church. Penguin. pp. 321–322.
  12. ^ Tertullian, De praescriptione Haereticorum, 36; translated in W.H.C. Frend, A New Eusebius: Documents illustrating the history of the Church to AD 337 (London: SPCK, 1987), p. 164
  13. ^ Latourette, Kenneth Scott (1959). Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, II: The Nineteenth Century in Europe: The Protestant and Churches. Harper & Row. pp. 479–481.
  14. ^ "Monasteries". VisitGreece.
  15. ^ Latourette, Christianity in a Revolutionary Age (1959) 2: 481–483
  16. ^ Demetrios J. Constantelos, "The Zoë Movement in Greece," St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly 3, no. 1 (1959): 1–15 [1]
  17. ^ Latourette, Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, vol. 4 (1961): 523–527
  18. ^ "Metaphysics as a Personal Adventure". Church Times. Retrieved 24 December 2025.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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  • Aderny, Walter F. The Greek and Eastern Churches (1908) online
  • Fortescue, Adrian. The Orthodox Eastern Church (1929)
  • Kephala, Euphrosyne. The Church of the Greek People Past and Present (1930)
  • Latourette, Kenneth Scott. Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, II: The Nineteenth Century in Europe: The Protestant and Eastern Churches. (1959) 2: 479–484; Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, IV: The Twentieth Century in Europe: The Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Churches (1958)
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