The greek orthodox church and the greek finacial crisis.
October 4, 2012 at 6:42 pm
(This post was last modified: October 4, 2012 at 6:47 pm by Something completely different.)
I just read this article in the current edition of a weekjournal called "Der Spiegel".
http://www.spiegel.de/
It enraged me quite a bit and i will try to translate the article, or at least it`s most importent points into english:
The metropolitan bishop Anthimos of Thessaloniki has to repay taxes. He has recieved a letter showing to him the taxes he has evaded, by the greek minestry of finance. The letter also tells him, that because of the current financial situation he should accept that the goverment salary he receives will be cut from 2200 euros (2700 us dollars) to 1930 euros (2731 us dollars) a month.
The metropolitan bishop is one of the most konservative voices in greece, he is notorious for his verbal attacks against other faiths, the political left, immegrants and homosexuals. He keeps talking fear into greek believers, by telling them of "illegal imegrants" who steal all their money and foreign creditors who then demand that money - and who no one can control.
He`s affraid of "intellectuals", who recently started to demand that the greek church too had to pay it`s part in this time of need (the financial crisis).
"We are already paying a price!" Anthimos insists.
But it is a fact, wich has enraged many greeks that up to 2010 the church hardly payed any taxes at all and until now gets very big EU subsidations, and additionaly to that recieves subsidations by the greek goverment.
Addmitst the crisis eaven the tax priviliges of the church haven`t been abolished. Untenanted properties still remain tax-free for the church.
As late as 2010 a income tax was interduced wich only falls on properties wich are used economicaly (buisnesses). Before that the church didn`t have to pay any taxes on profits it had made through it`s buisnesses.
The greek orthodox church is the second largest land owner in greece, it is not clearly known how much land it actualy owns, but experts believe it`s about 130 000 hectars: forests, fields and estates in all major greek cities.
The left wing representative for the greek parament Grigorios Psarianos states that the missing seperation of state and religion lies at the core of this problem;
"In no other country in Europe is religion and state so entangled as in Greece, a lot of politicians depend on the churches assistance to be sucessfull and a lot of priests interfere in greek poitics."
This has a historic reason, for centuries the greek orthodox church was the keeper and preserver of greek culture, identety, language and and religion, under turkish ottoman rule.
A lot of wealth came into the ownership of the church during that era.
After the greek war of independence (1821-1829), the faith was celebrated and a lot of greeks rejoined the church. 97 percent of the greek population count themselves as members of the greek orthodox church.
Hardly anywere in Europe is a church as present in public life as in Greece Jesus and Maria icons hang in each school and public building, every primeminister, president, and parlamentary representative has to swear a religious influenced oath in presence of the bishop of Athens.
"The crisis in Greece" Psarianos states "is therefor also a crisis of the church, and that church was certainly not less corrupt as the rest of sociaty"
Bishop Pateileimon of Attika, for example,has alegedly defalcified and transfered 2,5 million euros (3072500 us dollars) church property on his private accounts, he stated this money to be "a retirement arrangement".
A other bishop is currently being investegated fo alleged conections to the drugmafia.
But the most spectacular case, is the case of concerning the "monch`s republic" in the monestry Vatopedi. In outgoing year 2011the abbot, who also is Vladimir Putins confessor, was arrested and put under housearrest.
He had used almoust a thousand year old dubious golden ampulleas to claim property ownership to a lake in the northeast of Greece, he then swapped that property for valuebal state-owned estates. The sale of these estates made profits for the monestry worth a 100 million euros (122 900 000 us dollars).
A goverment spokesman and one minister had to resign, this scandel certainly contributed that primeminister Kostas Karananlis cabinet broke appart and a reelection had to be held.
"The Vatopedi scandel was a turning point" says Grigorios Psarianos.
"More and more greeks demand that the church had to take responsibility and make cuts during those times of need."
His party the left-socialist Dimar party, wich is also in the current coalition goverment now wants to seperate state and religion - it`s coalitionpartners Pasok and Nea Dimokratia are not happy about this.
For the metropolitan bishop Anthimos, this would be a "devlish" thing to do:
"Between greeks and the greek church there is a holy alliance, No one shall ever seperate that alliance!"
-end of translation-
Hitchens, when debating subjects like violence caused by religious people and circumcicion, always said
"religion is a excuse to get away with thee worst crimes."
I assume that if he were alive he would have to say the same about this, financial crime.
It realy reads like a bankscandel, worse, it reads like several financial crimes commited by one single bank over a long period of time, and no one did anything about it because the bankers were members of a church!
And it amazes me where this organisation gets the balls, to , when the middle class in it`s comunity is falling apart, desperation over the bad financial crisis is all around them, to play arround with such vast amounts of money and then eaven to take money from the state wich needs every singe cent it can get.
it`s like burning bread infront of a person who slowly dies of starvaton, whilest watching you.
http://www.spiegel.de/
It enraged me quite a bit and i will try to translate the article, or at least it`s most importent points into english:
The metropolitan bishop Anthimos of Thessaloniki has to repay taxes. He has recieved a letter showing to him the taxes he has evaded, by the greek minestry of finance. The letter also tells him, that because of the current financial situation he should accept that the goverment salary he receives will be cut from 2200 euros (2700 us dollars) to 1930 euros (2731 us dollars) a month.
The metropolitan bishop is one of the most konservative voices in greece, he is notorious for his verbal attacks against other faiths, the political left, immegrants and homosexuals. He keeps talking fear into greek believers, by telling them of "illegal imegrants" who steal all their money and foreign creditors who then demand that money - and who no one can control.
He`s affraid of "intellectuals", who recently started to demand that the greek church too had to pay it`s part in this time of need (the financial crisis).
"We are already paying a price!" Anthimos insists.
But it is a fact, wich has enraged many greeks that up to 2010 the church hardly payed any taxes at all and until now gets very big EU subsidations, and additionaly to that recieves subsidations by the greek goverment.
Addmitst the crisis eaven the tax priviliges of the church haven`t been abolished. Untenanted properties still remain tax-free for the church.
As late as 2010 a income tax was interduced wich only falls on properties wich are used economicaly (buisnesses). Before that the church didn`t have to pay any taxes on profits it had made through it`s buisnesses.
The greek orthodox church is the second largest land owner in greece, it is not clearly known how much land it actualy owns, but experts believe it`s about 130 000 hectars: forests, fields and estates in all major greek cities.
The left wing representative for the greek parament Grigorios Psarianos states that the missing seperation of state and religion lies at the core of this problem;
"In no other country in Europe is religion and state so entangled as in Greece, a lot of politicians depend on the churches assistance to be sucessfull and a lot of priests interfere in greek poitics."
This has a historic reason, for centuries the greek orthodox church was the keeper and preserver of greek culture, identety, language and and religion, under turkish ottoman rule.
A lot of wealth came into the ownership of the church during that era.
After the greek war of independence (1821-1829), the faith was celebrated and a lot of greeks rejoined the church. 97 percent of the greek population count themselves as members of the greek orthodox church.
Hardly anywere in Europe is a church as present in public life as in Greece Jesus and Maria icons hang in each school and public building, every primeminister, president, and parlamentary representative has to swear a religious influenced oath in presence of the bishop of Athens.
"The crisis in Greece" Psarianos states "is therefor also a crisis of the church, and that church was certainly not less corrupt as the rest of sociaty"
Bishop Pateileimon of Attika, for example,has alegedly defalcified and transfered 2,5 million euros (3072500 us dollars) church property on his private accounts, he stated this money to be "a retirement arrangement".
A other bishop is currently being investegated fo alleged conections to the drugmafia.
But the most spectacular case, is the case of concerning the "monch`s republic" in the monestry Vatopedi. In outgoing year 2011the abbot, who also is Vladimir Putins confessor, was arrested and put under housearrest.
He had used almoust a thousand year old dubious golden ampulleas to claim property ownership to a lake in the northeast of Greece, he then swapped that property for valuebal state-owned estates. The sale of these estates made profits for the monestry worth a 100 million euros (122 900 000 us dollars).
A goverment spokesman and one minister had to resign, this scandel certainly contributed that primeminister Kostas Karananlis cabinet broke appart and a reelection had to be held.
"The Vatopedi scandel was a turning point" says Grigorios Psarianos.
"More and more greeks demand that the church had to take responsibility and make cuts during those times of need."
His party the left-socialist Dimar party, wich is also in the current coalition goverment now wants to seperate state and religion - it`s coalitionpartners Pasok and Nea Dimokratia are not happy about this.
For the metropolitan bishop Anthimos, this would be a "devlish" thing to do:
"Between greeks and the greek church there is a holy alliance, No one shall ever seperate that alliance!"
-end of translation-
Hitchens, when debating subjects like violence caused by religious people and circumcicion, always said
"religion is a excuse to get away with thee worst crimes."
I assume that if he were alive he would have to say the same about this, financial crime.
It realy reads like a bankscandel, worse, it reads like several financial crimes commited by one single bank over a long period of time, and no one did anything about it because the bankers were members of a church!
And it amazes me where this organisation gets the balls, to , when the middle class in it`s comunity is falling apart, desperation over the bad financial crisis is all around them, to play arround with such vast amounts of money and then eaven to take money from the state wich needs every singe cent it can get.
it`s like burning bread infront of a person who slowly dies of starvaton, whilest watching you.
