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And the next overly-powerful church begins to feel the winds of change blow over it."ATHENS, Greece - The leader of Greece's embattled Orthodox Church begged the nation for forgiveness Friday as allegations including trial-fixing and purported sex escapades battered the denomination's reputation as a guardian of Greek culture and honor.
The apology by Archbishop Christodoulos, made as senior clerics opened an emergency conclave aimed at instituting changes, showed the depth of the scandal enveloping the church.
Public outrage has reached such a level that some lawmakers and commentators have suggested stripping the Orthodox Church of its status as the official state religion - once an almost unthinkable proposal in a nation where church and political history are often intertwined. |
From Religious Freedom World Report: The Greek Constitution of 1975 recognizes the Eastern Orthodox Church as the prevailing religion of Greece. There are specific paragraphs within the constitution which relate to altering the text of the Sacred Scriptures (forbidden), translation of scripture, church government and disposition of church property, particularly the monasteries on the peninsula of Athos. The constitution guarantees freedom of conscience, belief and practice for people of "all known religions" except in the case of prosyletism. Prosyletism in Greece is illegal. The constitution also declares that one of the responsibilities of the education system is to "develop the national and religious conscience." Therefore, religious education is mandatory in public schools for Greek Orthodox students. Non-Orthodox students are exempt from this instruction. The constitution mandates that elected members of the Greek Parliament must take a religious oath before they can undertake the discharge of their duties. The wording of the oath is prescribed for Greek Orthodox members and begins, "I swear in the name of the Holy and Consubstatial and Indivisible Trinity..." The wording may be altered for members of other religions.
This is the chuch my parents go to (and i went to as a kid). Of course, any church that receives most of its funding from mandatory tax payments from the people of a country (in this case Greece) is just bound to be come too powerful and corrupt.
I've always said that it was disgusting they still had a state religion, as much as I love Greece, so if this stops that practice it's all the better.
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