Greeks stun – for a good reason: the body of a dead bishop was put on a cleric throne and was taken through the streets of Lamia. The throne was carried by other priests who had gathered to pay the last respect to the Bishop of Fthiotida and Thavmakos, Kallinikos.
The procession of the deceased Bishop through the streets and thus not in a coffin but on a throne was an unusual move with a rather spectacular effect and all Greek media report about it on Friday.
After the procession and the funeral service, the deceased was buried the traditional way.
Bishop Kallinikos, 91, was member of the Greek Old Calendarists, a group of Old Calendarist Orthodox Christians that remained committed to the traditional Orthodox practice and are not in communion with many other Orthodox Churches such as the Orthodox Church of Greece, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, or the Church of Cyprus. The split began with a disagreement over the abandonment of the traditional Church Calendar (also called the Julian Calendar) in preference to the adoption of the Papal Gregorian Calendar and over other liturgical reforms that were introduced.
Touching really.
ktg I think you haven’t been to many greek funerals outside Athens.
nope – also processions with the deceased on thrones/chairs?
The bishop’s “throne”, in all Orthodox Churches, is symbolic of his pastoral role. Each church will have a throne, used only by the diocesan bishop. When the bishop is not physically present, that throne symbolizes the bishop’s pastoral responsibility to the local parish. When the bishop is present for a worship service, part of the time he will be on his throne.
Yes, the carrying of the bishop from the church to the grave, enthroned, is a very unusual practice, but I could see where the clergy might make the procession with the bishop “enthroned” to symbolize his physical passing from enthronement in his mortal life to his body’s final resting place, awaiting the Second Coming.
possible but : the whole ended in a grand flop, when organizers -the Church x.y.- uploaded the photos on its FB page triggering a twitterstorm and many nasty comments following photoshopped pictures that in the end they ridiculed the poor deceased bishop. the biggest PR FAIL ever.
So this guy used to celebrate Christmas in late January, on the same date as the Serbs? Seems a bit funny to me — especially when one considers that the date was invented and has no relation with the actual birth of Jesus, which was in the summer. Traditional hocus-pocus — a large part of why Greece does not fit into modern Europe very well.
u make connections where there are not
The Serbs celebrate Christmas in January. The Russians also do this I think. And then there is also Orthodox New Year, also in January. Of course, there is also catholic Christmas in December and New Year on the first of January. Then there is Saint Nicolas on the 19th of December (Saint day) and another one somewhere in the beginning of January. It is safe to say that from half of December to half of January these countries are busy with some celebration. So very expensive time and also a time where little gets done.
Not that people actually live like Christ or anything. But people believe that going to church twice per year while the rest of the year live in ‘sin’ and take advantage of your fellow human being will give them a ticket to the afterlife.