Church of Greece

Church of Greece
Founder(s)	Apostles
Autocephaly/Autonomy declared	1833
Autocephaly/Autonomy recognized	1850 by Constantinople
Current primate	Ieronymos II
Headquarters	Athens, Greece
Primary territory	Greece
Possessions abroad	—
Liturgical language(s)	Greek
Musical tradition	Byzantine Chant / Choral
Calendar	Revised Julian
Population estimate	10,000,000 [1]
Official website	Church of Greece

The Church of Greece, also called the Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the most important of the fourteen autocephalous churches of the Orthodox Christian communion, whose territory consists of the whole of Greece except for those parts which belong to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, such as the Dodecanese and Crete. Though bishops of the "new lands" (those that were liberated from 1912 and afterwards) are members of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, they refer to the Patriarch of Constantinople in the divine services.

Structure of the Church of Greece

See Main Article: Church of Greece Structure

Hierarchical Succession

The current primate of the Church of Greece is His Beatitude 2008, Ieronymos II (Liapis), Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.

See also: List of Primates for the Church of Greece

Holy Synod of Greece

See Main Article: Holy Synod of Greece

The Church of Greece is organised as a state church, similar to the pattern adopted in the Russian church under Peter the Great of Russia. The ultimate authority is vested in the Synod of Bishops under the presidency of the archbishop of Athens and all Greece. A second synod, with the same presidency, consists of 12 bishops, each serving for one year only. The first synnod deals with general ecclesiastical questions, whereas the second synod deals with administrative details. The church is divided into 81 small dioceses; some of these, are nominally under the jurisdiction of Constantinople. The majority of the church's priests in Greece do not have a university education, with very little formal training beyond two years at higher seminaries after high school. An up-to-date listing, in order of seniority of ordination, of the Holy Synod can be accessed at the Church of Greece's official website.

Churches and Monasteries

See Main Article: List of Greek Monasteries

History

The Greek Orthodox Church traces its history back to the time of St. Paul who was the first to preach Christianity in Greece. He visited Athens, Philipi, Thessaloniki, Veroia, Korinth and Crete. Christianity eventually spread through Greece from these cities. In these early days, the Church of Greece comprised of a diocese, with Korinth as the centre, known then as Achaia and considered a city of great importance.

The Church of Cyprus recognised its autonomy from the Church of Greece during the Council of Ephesus in 431. This was confirmed by the Emperor in 488.

When Constantine the Great divided the Roman Empire, Greece and Macedonia constituted the diocese of Eastern Illyricum, which was self-governing. By 733 AD, under Emperor Leo the Third, Greece was acknowledged as part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople but prior to this, it was subordinated to the Bishops of Rome.

During the Byzantine Empire and the subsequent Turkish occupation of Greece, the Christian church in Greece was under the administration of the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople. After the Greek War of Independence (1821-32), the provisional president of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias(1776-1831), began negotiations with the patriarch for the independence of the Greek church. The final decision was made when Otto I (1815-1867), the new king of Greece, feared the Turkish government might still be able to influence the politics of Greece through the patriarchate of Constantinople and as such the Greek church was declared autocephalous in 1833. The independence was formalised by Constantinople in 1850, with some limitations.

In 1864, the Ionian islands were added to the Church of Greece and in 1881 the diocese of Thessaly and parts of Epirus were also added. Also in this year, the first Greek Orthodox church was founded in America. Under an agreement made in 1908 between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Holy Synod of Athens, jurisdiction of the churches in America was given to the Church of Greece. In 1927, the statutes regarding the Church were modified resulting in the government controlling the church and attending the Holy Synod meetings. So during the 20s and 30s, the turbulent political events in Greece divided the Greeks of America and this resulted in Archbishop Athenaogoras of Corfu to be appointed to head the Greek Church in America.

Today the Church of Greece is governed by a Holy Synod, presided over by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Athens and assisted by four bishops chosen in regular succession. The Patriarch of Constantinople is still regarded as the spiritual head of the church and all of the Holy Chrisma used in Greece is consecrated by him.

See also: Timeline of Orthodoxy in Greece

Greek saints

See Main Article: Greek Saints

Over the centuries, the Church of Greece has been associated with many saints on the Church's calendar. Some of these include:

Andrew of Crete Demetrios of Thessaloniki Gregory Palamas Irene Chrysovalantou

Kosmas Aitolos Nectarios of Aegina Nicholas (Planas)

Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain Phanourios of Rhodes Raphael, Nicholas and Irene

Greek language on the church

The Greek language has been known as the "Sacred Language" of the church from the time of the Apostles and enjoyed its prominence mainly in the early history of Christianity. In scriptural study and to a great extend it is one of the original languages of the Scriptures (the New Testament).

... adsolent Latini homines Graece cantare oblectati sono verborum nescientes tamen quid dicant. [The Latins are accustomed to singing in Greek, delighted by the sounds of the words, but not knowing what they are saying.]

Greek Theologians

Note: Strictly, a "Theologian", in Orthodoxy, is a person who has first been sanctified by God and has been canonised as a "Saint" by the church. This type of "theologian" is listed in this section only.

• 1359 St. Gregory Palamas (1296-1359)
• 1770 St. Kosmas Aitolos (1714-1779)
• 1809 St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite (1748-1809)
• 1813 St. Athanasius Parios (1722-1813)

Modern Writers

• Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos
• Christos Yannaras
• Apostolos Makrakis

Source

• Church of Greece website

External links

Official Sites of the Church of Greece:

• The Church of Greece Official Site
• The Archdiocese of Athens Official Site
• The Online Library Site of the Church of Greece
• The Online Cultural Center of the Church of Greece
• Multimedia Releases Site of the Church of Greece
• Gallery Site of the Church of Greece
• Music Gallery Site of the Church of Greece
• Documentaries Site of the Church of Greece
• Discussion forum Site of the Church of Greece
• European Issues Site of the Church of Greece

Other Sites

• Representation of the Church of Greece to the European Union, official website

Church-State relations in Greece

• Anastasios Anastassiadis. Religion and Politics in Greece: The Greek Church's 'Conservative Modernization' in the 1990's. Research in Question, No.11, January 2004. (pdf format).

Non-Orthodox Reviews

• The Orthodox Church of Greece. CNEWA Papal Agency website.
• Library of Congress - Federal Research Division - Country Studies - Greece (See section on RELIGION: Orthodox Church of Greece).