Holding Greek flags,crosses, icons and banners reading “Freedon needs virtue and courage” protesters of the new identity cards (IDs) gathered in front of Alexander the Great statue in the promenade of Thessaloniki early Sunday evening. Among the 220-people estimated crowd were also members of the cleric. Speeches of the former …
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Church turned into classroom on Crete (video)
High school students in Herakleio, Crete, are forced to have lessons in a church, because there is not enough place, read: classroom, for them in the school building. The small chapel is located in the courtyard of Kapetanakeio school and has been converted into a classroom, since the school facilities …
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“Turkish nationalists” send threatening e-mails to Athens Airport, hospitals, church
Greek police was set on alert on Friday morning after new threatening e-mails were sent again to Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” as well as several hospitals and one church in the Greek capital. The e-mails warned of the existence of explosive devices, i.e. “mines” at the airport and the …
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“Exorcisms” in Thessaloniki? “Stay away!” says the Church of Greece
A little known sect organized an admittedly “unique” event on the central Aristotelous square in Thessaloniki: exorcisms performed outdoors. A big screen was displaying “exorcisms” and a crowd of people curiously watching a new …transcendental experience.The exorcisms were held also in English so that tourists could understand. Alarmed by the …
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Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios says Russian church has “disappointed us” over Ukraine
The Russian Orthodox Church has let Christian Orthodox fathers down by supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios, the spiritual head of some 260 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, said in an interview. Moscow calls its three-month-old invasion a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of fascists, an assertion Kyiv …
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Turkey converts another Hagia Sophia church into a mosque on Christmas Eve
Turkey has converted another Hagia Sophia church into a mosque. To stress yet another provocation towards the former Greek Orthodox community and Greece , Ankara held the opening ceremony on the Christmas Eve, on December 24. The 12th century church is located in the northwest province of Edirne on the …
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Holy Synod says Churches cannot monitor compliance with Covid-restrictions
The Holy Synod of the Greek Church said on Monday that churches cannot ensure compliance of the faithful with the government measures to contain the spread of Covid-19. The new restrictions in force since Monday morning, November 22, oblige the unvaccinated to show a negative Rapid test before entering churches. …
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Church on Crete to serve as vaccination center upon initiative of local priest
In a highly symbolic move, a church in Heraklio, Crete, will serve as vaccination center upon the initiative of the priest in charge, Father Andreas Kaliontzakis. Located in the village of Acharnes, around 20 minutes from the city of Iraklio, the Church of Panagia Acharnon will serve locals and non-locals …
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Emergency “pandemic” grant to be given to the Church of Greece, other religious entities
An extraordinary emergency grant due to the pandemic will be allocated to the Church of Greece, the Church of Crete, the Holy Metropolises of Dodecanese, the Central Israeli Council of Greece, Ecclesiastical Legal Entities and Religious Legal Entities, the Education & Religious Affairs Ministry decided on Wednesday. The allowance is …
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Gov’t tells Church: “Law cannot be applied as needed, sidestepped by those who disagree”
“The law cannot be applied as needed so that anyone who disagrees can sidestep it,” the government said in a response statement to the Church of Greece late on Monday. “Beyond a mere obligation, the implementation of preventive measures is also an act of social solidarity and responsibility, by all …
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3 injured when police goes to church illegally allowing believers inside
Tension between police, the son of a priest and two faithful went high on Sunday morning and ended with fines and arrests. The incident took place in the church of Riza, village in Halkidiki, northern Greece, when some neighbors reported to police that the church had opened its doors to …
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Sweeping police checks and fines across Greece on first lockdown day
Greek Police conducted sweeping checks for compliance with the measures of the second lockdown in the country. In a statement on Sunday, Police said that there were 55,724 police checks to ensure compliance with Covid-19 control measures on Saturday, November 7, the first day of the lockdown. Checks led to …
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When it comes to “blessed” crowding, Greece turns a blind eye (videos)
Greece’s ruling conservative party and local authorities gladly turn a blind eye when it comes to crowding in churches and the breaking of coronavirus restrictions in the nameof a higher, spiritual purpose. On the Eve of Saint Demetrios celebration day, the patron of Thessaloniki hundreds of faithful gathered at the …
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North Macedonia requests church autocephaly from Ecumenical Patriarch
North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski has appealed to the global seat of Orthodoxy in Istanbul to recognize the independence of his country’s Orthodox Church, Greek state-run news agency ANA-MPA reported on Monday. “I turn to you, on behalf of a large portion of my fellow citizens, who identify themselves as …
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Greece, EU condemn Turkey’s decision to convert Chora into mosque
The Greek Foreign Ministry described Turkey’s decision to convert the Monastery of Chora into a mosque as “another provocation against religious people everywhere in the world as well as against the international community that respects the monuments of the human civilization.” “After Hagia Sophia and despite the international reaction, the …
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Chora: Erdogan converts another historic Church into mosque
President Recept Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree on Friday morning that converts another historical Byzantine church in Istanbul into a mosque. After Hagia Sophia, the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora will also open for Islamic prayers and lose its status as a museum. The church in Chora is …
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Corfu mayor apologizes for church going, Bishop’s trial in May
Mayor of Corfu, Meropi Ydraiou apologized on Monday for her church going a day earlier although she claimed at the same time that she did not attend the religious service but the procession of Agios Spyridion inside the Church. Playing with words and semantics, she said that she stayed in …
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“No visits to relatives & friends over Easter,” warns Greece’s gov’t spokesman
This Easter will be different, without any traveling, gatherings or visits to the churches, while visits to relatives’ and friends’ houses to celebrate are not permitted, Greece’s government spokesperson Stelios Petsas warned on Monday, right at the beginning of the Holy Week. “We disapprove incidents like those in Koukaki and …
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Prosecutors file against priests in Athens and Corfu for violating lockdown
Greek state and religious authorities have launched investigation into two priests who share the Holy Communion to fiathful, despite the explicit ban by both authorities. It was a priest in Koukaki district in Athens, who gave the Holy Communion to children and elderly at the back door of the church, …
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Elderly church goers fined for defying lockdown after priest’s invitation
Dozens of citizens, mainly elderly, ignored the lockdown restrictions and followed the invitation of a priest to go to the church and receive the Holy Communion. Police intervened and fined the faithful for violating the measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The priest in Agia Triada Church in …
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