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His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos Paraskevaides ( 1939 in Xanthi- 28.1.2008) is the prelate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece, a position to which he was elected in 1998. Since his elevation, he has attracted an amount of controversy, culminating in a major corruption scandal in 2005. Christodoulos was the youngest archbishop to head the Greek Church. He announced his intention to be a reformer and promised to modernise the Church as well as improving relations with other Orthodox groupings. The archbishop played a leading role in stoking public opposition to NATO and the Kosovo War of 1999 in which Greece, as a NATO member, played a significant (though largely non-interventionist) role. He also spoke out strongly against the European Union and the government's intention to follow EU directives even where they clashed with what he regarded as traditional Greek policies. [1] This led to a major clash between church and state in 2000, when the Greek government sought to follow an EU directive by removing the "Religion" field from the national ID cards carried by Greek citizens. Christodoulos opposed the decision, claiming that it had been "put forward by neo-intellectuals who want to attack us like rabid dogs and tear at our flesh." [2] He organised two demonstrations in Athens and Thessaloniki, alongside a majority of bishops of the Church of Greece. In 2001, Christodoulos prompted international criticism after claiming that the EU directive had been instigated by Jews. [3] It emerged the same year that despite Christodoulos' claims that he had no knowledge of or involvement with the Greek military junta of 1967-1974, he had been recorded on film and photographed swearing in the new regime [4] while acting in the role of Secretary of the Iera Sinodos (Ιερά Σύνοδος), the Council of the Greek Orthodox Church. [5] Despite earlier criticism of the Roman Catholic Church, 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. [6] He also consented in 2002 to the construction of a mosque in Athens, to end the anomalous situation of the Greek capital being the only EU capital without a Muslim place of worship. [7] Christodoulos has taken a highly conservative and nationalist view towards many aspects of Greek politics and 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". [8] In a rather more serious vein, he caused a major diplomatic incident in 2003 when he denounced proposals to let Turkey enter the European Union, calling the Turks "barbarians." [9] He has also encountered serious difficulties within the Greek Orthodox Church. In 2003, he fell out with Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, the head of the Church, over who should have the final say in the appointment of bishops in northern Greece. [10] The archbishop's problems within the church came to a head in early 2005, when a series of scandals emerged that severely damaged the church's image. Christodoulos himself was drawn into the scandal when he was forced to admit links with a priest imprisoned on charges of stealing icons and manipulating court judgments. He was also criticised for his connections with Apostolos Vavilis, a convicted drugs smuggler whom he had earlier denied ever meeting. Vavilis was said to have lobbied on Christodoulos' behalf for the election of Patriarch Eirinaios of Jerusalem, a Christodoulos supporter; Vavilis' tactics included distributing homoerotic pictures of the patriarch's leading opponent in an apparent smear campaign. [11] Despite calls for his resignation, Christodoulos vowed to stay on and "clean up" the church. [12]
Archbishop Christodoulos and Pope John Paul II Quotes Archbishop Christodoulos has been taped on record saying that he does not know or has heard anything about the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 or the torturing that was taking place, because those seven years he was busy studying to become a priest. The Archbishop was taped on film and photographed at the time, swearing in the new Regime, as, at the time, he was Secretary of the Iera Sinodos (Ιερά Σύνοδος), the Counsil of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Archbishop has also been on tape saying, referring to the Justinian era of Christianism: Early Greek Christians blessed and honored the Ancient Greek temples, in which pagans and heathens dwelled, by recycling the materials (stones and dirt) from the Ancient Greek Temples to build Christian temples".
A younger Archbishop Christodoulos in the middle behind G. Zoitakis Images of Christodoulos who died 28.1.2008 References
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
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