Greek Orthodox Church ‘collapsing’ due to reliance on impoverished government

[Steve Hayes]

Greek Orthodox Church ‘collapsing’ due to reliance on impoverished government

Harry Papachristou, Reuters Apr 20, 2012 – 3:31 PM ET | Last Updated: Apr 20,
2012 3:34 PM ET
John Kolesidis/Reuters

ATHENS – Close links between the Greek state and the Orthodox Church are
turning from a blessing for the clergy into a curse as the debt-laden
government struggles to fund the ancient institution, just as impoverished
Greeks need its charitable work most.

Starved of money as the state makes huge spending cuts, the deeply
conservative church which grew from one of the earliest centres of
Christianity is seeking new sources of funds.

But despite a new spirit of enterprise, such as at one monastery which wants
to build a solar energy farm, numbers of priests are dwindling, those that
remain are suffering pay cuts, and the church is fighting to keep soup
kitchens open as unemployment soars and poverty deepens.

“The tills are empty and the system is collapsing,” said Ignatios
Stavropoulos, a modernizing priest who has his own page on LinkedIn, a social
website for professionals.

‘It’s a matter of survival for the Church’

Under a 60-year-old treaty, the state agreed to pay priests’ salaries in
exchange for large amount of church property, including land. But this means
more than 10,000 priests are now on the government payroll, putting a 190
million euro (US$250-million) annual burden on the country’s overstretched
budget.

Under the terms of an international bailout that saved Greece from bankruptcy,
the government is cutting pay which for a typical parish priest is about 1,000
euros a month. Athens will also fund only one new priest to replace every 10
who retire or die, causing shortages in remote parishes during a deep
recession when the flock most needs help.

In the cities, the church has stripped operations to the bone to save money
for the soup kitchens and charities it runs for the growing army of the
homeless and the unemployed.

Unlike in some European nations to the north where the influence of religion
is dwindling, the church plays a leading role in the life of the Greece.

Long-bearded priests, dressed in flowing black robes, are a common sight on
the country’s streets and the Orthodox faith is recognized by the constitution
as the official religion. When a new government was sworn in last year, the
Archbishop of Athens blessed the prime minister and cabinet in a colourful
ceremony.

According to opinion polls, about 80% of respondents believe in God. This
makes Greeks among Europe’s strongest Christians, although many are infrequent
church-goers.

MIXED FEELINGS

In a country where private charities and volunteering remain embryonic, the
main burden of helping the destitute and downtrodden falls on church
shoulders.

But attitudes towards the church are mixed and it often draws criticism for
being too close to the state.

Many citizens believe it still owns too much property, pays too little in
taxes, and generally fails to contribute its fair share as ordinary Greeks’
tax bills soar under the austerity demanded by the country’s bailout from the
EU and IMF.

The church dismisses such notions. “It’s a myth that we’re drowning in money,”
said Father Irinaios Laftsis, a priest in the northern diocese of
Alexandroupolis.

Over the past decades the church has transferred 96% of its property to the
state. It also paid 12.6 million euros in taxes in 2011, it said last month,
stressing that the church was treated no differently from any other non-profit
organization.

To cover the shortage of priests, some bishops are permitting laymen to take
services. These volunteers receive no state wages and don’t wear the
characteristic vestments.

For instance, a retired army officer recently started holding mass at Avantas,
a village close to the eastern border with Turkey, said Father Irinaios.
“Priests in small villages retire or pass away and there is nobody to replace
them,” he said. “We are going to have a huge problem.”

The church is already slashing its operating expenses to cope with the rising
costs of its social work. Last year, it spent almost 96 million euros on the
700-odd charities it runs.

“The crisis does not only affect our charities’ functioning, it also threatens
their very existence,” Bishop Efstathios of Sparta said earlier this month.
State pension funds had stopped paying contributions to the charities he runs
for almost a year, he complained.

Building or restoration work on churches, some home to ancient frescoes and
ikons, has often ground to a halt while many are not properly heated during
the harsh Greek winter to cut back on fuel expenses.

Economies are being made at all levels. Church orders for candles dropped 40%
this Easter season, a religious items merchant in the southern province of
Arcadia told Reuters.

OFF THE AIR

In February, the church briefly took its 23-year-old, cash-strapped radio
station off the air, depriving listeners of the daily mix of sermons and
cultural programs.

‘The crisis does not only affect our charities’ functioning, it also threatens
their very existence’

Spreading poverty is making matters even worse. Austerity-pinched believers
are cutting down on private donations while businesses are going belly up,
depriving the church of rental income and swelling the queues in its soup
kitchens.

“Needs are increasing while resources are falling,” said Father Vassileios
Hatzavas, who runs the Athens Archbishopric’s poor relief fund.

As Greek unemployment soars to record levels, soup kitchen rations more than
doubled in Athens last year to about 10,000 a day, not counting about 3,000
food packages sent to families each month, Hatzavas said.

As the government tightens its purse strings, the clergy are increasingly
looking to alternative revenue sources.

Short of cash and with much of its still abundant real estate tied up in
ownership disputes, the church is seeking cooperation with municipalities, the
army or private business to develop sites, Hatzavas said.

For the first time, the church sent an official delegation last month to a
religious tourism fair in Russia, the world’s biggest Christian Orthodox
country and a major tourism target. Also, Penteli monastery outside Athens is
planning to build a solar park to tap into subsidies for renewable energy
producers.

Some priests may have gone too far in their fund-raising zeal, such as Efraim,
abbot of the 1,000-year-old Vatopedi monastery.

Efraim masterminded a scheme six years ago under which monks at the monastery
on Mount Athos, a independent Orthodox peninsular enclave, persuaded
government officials to exchange cheap farmland for prime Athens real estate.

Efraim has been charged with a fraudulent deal which prosecutors say cost the
state tens of millions of euros.

Notwithstanding the Vatopedi affair, the crisis is offering the church a
chance to reduce its financial dependence on the state via legitimate business
enterprises, as other churches did decades ago.

“It’s a matter of survival for the Church,” Stavropoulos said.

http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/04/20/greek-orthodox-church-collapsing-due-to-reliance-on-impoverished-government/


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk