Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens

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Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens : biography

January 17, 1939 – January 28, 2008

Ecumenical relations

Christodoulos consented in 2001 to the Greek government’s decision to allow Pope John Paul II to visit Greece. He commented that he would not "close the door" on the Pope, because he was coming to the country as a pilgrim. The two men met for discussions during the Papal visit in May 2001, though they did not pray together. Christodoulos’ decision led to major controversy in Greece, where many Orthodox Christians regard the Pope (and the Catholic Church as a whole) as a schismatic heretic., BBC News, 2001-05-03 He also consented in 2002 to the construction of a mosque in Athens, to end the fact that Athens is the only EU capital without a Muslim place of worship. On the other hand, he asked that the mosque will be outside the city center, a wish that was granted by the government who chose a site 20 km outside Athens against the wishes of the Muslim community., BBC News, 2002-10-29 By 2009 the mosque hasn’t been built yet., To Vima, 2009-04-12

Archbishop Christodoulos visited Pope Benedict XVI in Rome in 2006. They issued a common proclamation together that included the statement that: "We look forward to a fruitful collaboration to enable our contemporaries to rediscover the Christian roots of the European Continent which forged the different nations and contributed to developing increasingly harmonious links between them. This will help them live and promote the fundamental human and spiritual values for all people, as well as the development of their own societies"

Role of the clergy in Greek schools

In 2006, Greek newspapers reported the archbishop’s displeasure at a decision by the centre-right government of New Democracy under Kostas Karamanlis to discontinue the practice of allowing Greek Orthodox priests to use public schools for confessionary purposes. Until then, calling in priests to hold private confession sessions within schools, was at the discretion of local educational authorities; the sessions took place on a voluntary basis for children. Greek media reported that the Archbishop characterised the move a "hostile act" against the Church, while the Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church, presided by Christodoulos, sent a letter of complaint to the Ministry for National Education and Religious Affairs under Marietta Giannakou. The decision, however, was applauded by representatives of the Greek Teachers’ Association, who supported it as a measure that safeguarded freedom of belief and fostered respect for cultural and religious differences in schools.

Greek politics

Christodoulos supported views on Greek politics and culture that were criticized by the New York Times, an American newspaper owned by the Sulzberger family, as conservative and nationalisthttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/world/europe/28iht-greece.4.9555449.html and supported by others as "standing up" for Greece and Greek culture. He led protests in 2002 against Greece’s version of the television programme Big Brother, urging followers to "pray for the young kids" on the shows and to "turn off our television sets"., BBC News, 2002-03-22.

Greek history

The Archbishop attacked the authors of the Greek elementary schools’ official state sixth grade history book, accusing them of attempting to "enslave Greek youth" and conceal the Church’s role in defending Greek national identity during Ottoman occupation. In reference to the same issue, he has castigated the "yannisaries" (i.e. traitors to the Greek nation) "who dare raise an audacious head and question unimpeachable things". The state issued textbook was later removed in 2007 by the Greek Government, after the Athens Academy, a Legal Entity of Public Law supervised by the Ministry of National Education and Religion, as well as a number of Greek historians and intellectuals also criticised the book for historical inaccuracies.

Globalization

The Archbishop was intensely critical of globalisation, to which he referred, on repeated occasions, in disparaging terms as a global, or alternatively, "foreigner" plot to deprive people of their national identities. In 2004 he criticized globalisation as a "bulldozer that is out to demolish everything, on account of those who want to rule the world without resistance or obstacles", adding that Greeks live in a paradise compared to other Europeans, because "they have a strong faith, they build churches, follow traditions, and resist globalisation". In 2006, he castigated globalisation as a "crime against humanity" and "a vehicle to Americanise the life of all humankind". He has also claimed that "globalisation wants to turn us into gruel, soup, sheep, or better yet, turkeys, so that we may be led with a cane".