Church of Greece

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The Church of Greece (Greek: Eκκλησία της Eλλάδος Ekklēsía tês Helládos, IPA: [ekliˈsia tis eˈlaðos]) is one of the fifteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches which make up the Eastern Orthodox Communion. Today it is one of the most important autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, churches of the Eastern Orthodox communion. Its canonical territory encompasses the pre-1833 borders of Greece, approximately half of Greek territory (the rest of Greece is subject to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople, however due to an arrangement agreed between the churches of Athens and Constantinople, most of those dioceses are de facto administered as part of the Church of Greece for practical reasons).

Prevailing religion of Greece

The Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ is established by the constitution as the "prevailing" religion of Greece. The Orthodox Church is insufficient and financially supported by the government and exercises significant political and economic influence. By virtue of its status as the prevailing religion, the canon law of the Church is recognized by the Greek government.

All Orthodox students in primary and secondary schools in Greece must attend religious instruction.

Church hierarchy

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

The church is organised into 81 dioceses; 36 of these, in northern Greece and in the major islands in the north and northeast Aegean, are nominally under the jurisdiction of Constantinople which 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" (Νέες Χώρες, Neai Chorai) and are represented by 6 of the 12 bishops of the Standing Synod. The dioceses of Crete and the Dodecanese and the Monastic Republic of Holy Mount Athos are under the direct jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Archdiocese of Crete in particular 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 (triprosōpon) drawn by the Greek Ministry of Education from among the incumbent Metropolitans of Crete.

Clergy and religious

As in all other Eastern Orthodox Churches, graduates from seminaries run by the church may be ordained as deacons and eventually priests. They are allowed to marry before their ordination as deacons, but not afterwards. Alternatively they may enter monasteries and/or take monastic vows. If they possess a university degree in theology, they are eligible as candidates to the episcopate.

Old Calendarists

A split 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 the Julian date 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. They themselves have suffered several schisms, and not all Old Calendarists comprise one Church. They refer to themselves as "Genuine Orthodox Christians", and the largest group associating itself with the Old Calendarists is the Synod of Archbishop Chrysostomos II (Kiousis). This Synod has obtained government recognition as a valid Orthodox Church, although this is not generally recognized by the State Church of Greece or the other local Orthodox Churches.

History

The Church was formerly a part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. It was declared autocephalous in 1833 in a political decision of the Bavarian Regents acting for King Otto, who was a minor. It was only recognized as such by the Patriarchate in 1850, under certain conditions with the issue of a special "Tomos" decree which brought it back to a normal status. As a result, it retains certain special links with the "Mother Church".

See also

• Church of Greece structure
• List of Archbishops of Athens
• Religion in Greece
• History of the Eastern Orthodox Church
• Christianity in Jordan

Bibliography

Tomkinson, John L., Between Heaven and Earth: The Greek Church, Anagnosis (Athens, 2004) ISBN 960-87186-5-1
Online Greek Orthodox Typikon http://www.e-typikon.com

External links

• "Church of Greece" on OrthodoxWiki
• The official website of the Church of Greece
• Anagnosis Books Greek Church Pages
• Map of Old & New Lands (Greek)
• Online Greek Orthodox Typikon Provider

Greek Orthodox Christianity Patriarchates Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople | Patriarchate of Alexandria | Patriarchate of Antioch | Patriarchate of Jerusalem Autocephalous and Autonomous churches Church of Greece | Cypriot Orthodox Church | Albanian Orthodox Church | Orthodox Church of Mount Sinai