ATHENS – Close
links between the Greek state and the Orthodox Church are turning from a
blessing for the clergy into a curse as the debt-laden government struggles to
fund the ancient institution, just as impoverished Greeks need its charitable
work most.
Starved of
money as the state makes huge spending cuts, the deeply conservative church
which grew from one of the earliest centres of Christianity is seeking new
sources of funds.
But despite a
new spirit of enterprise, such as at one monastery which wants to build a solar
energy farm, numbers of priests are dwindling, those that remain are suffering
pay cuts, and the church is fighting to keep soup kitchens open as unemployment
soars and poverty deepens.
“The tills are
empty and the system is collapsing,” said Ignatios Stavropoulos, a modernizing
priest who has his own page on LinkedIn, a social website for professionals.
‘It’s a matter
of survival for the Church’
Under a
60-year-old treaty, the state agreed to pay priests’ salaries in exchange for
large amount of church property, including land. But this means more than
10,000 priests are now on the government payroll, putting a 190 million euro
(US$250-million) annual burden on the country’s overstretched budget.
Under the
terms of an international bailout that saved Greece from bankruptcy, the
government is cutting pay which for a typical parish priest is about 1,000
euros a month. Athens will also fund only one new priest to replace every 10
who retire or die, causing shortages in remote parishes during a deep recession
when the flock most needs help.
In the cities,
the church has stripped operations to the bone to save money for the soup
kitchens and charities it runs for the growing army of the homeless and the
unemployed.
Unlike in some
European nations to the north where the influence of religion is dwindling, the
church plays a leading role in the life of the Greece.
Long-bearded
priests, dressed in flowing black robes, are a common sight on the country’s
streets and the Orthodox faith is recognized by the constitution as the
official religion. When a new government was sworn in last year, the Archbishop
of Athens blessed the prime minister and cabinet in a colourful ceremony.
According to
opinion polls, about 80% of respondents believe in God. This makes Greeks among
Europe’s strongest Christians, although many are infrequent church-goers.
MIXED FEELINGS
John
Kolesidis/Reuters
Greek Orthodox
believers attend the Orthodox Christian Easter service in the Church of Stavrochori
village in northern Greece, April 14, 2012.
In a country
where private charities and volunteering remain embryonic, the main burden of
helping the destitute and downtrodden falls on church shoulders.
But attitudes
towards the church are mixed and it often draws criticism for being too close
to the state.
Many citizens
believe it still owns too much property, pays too little in taxes, and
generally fails to contribute its fair share as ordinary Greeks’ tax bills soar
under the austerity demanded by the country’s bailout from the EU and IMF.
The church
dismisses such notions. “It’s a myth that we’re drowning in money,” said Father
Irinaios Laftsis, a priest in the northern diocese of Alexandroupolis.
Over the past
decades the church has transferred 96% of its property to the state. It also
paid 12.6 million euros in taxes in 2011, it said last month, stressing that
the church was treated no differently from any other non-profit organization.
To cover the
shortage of priests, some bishops are permitting laymen to take services. These
volunteers receive no state wages and don’t wear the characteristic vestments.
For instance,
a retired army officer recently started holding mass at Avantas, a village
close to the eastern border with Turkey, said Father Irinaios. “Priests in
small villages retire or pass away and there is nobody to replace them,” he
said. “We are going to have a huge problem.”
The church is
already slashing its operating expenses to cope with the rising costs of its
social work. Last year, it spent almost 96 million euros on the 700-odd
charities it runs.
“The crisis
does not only affect our charities’ functioning, it also threatens their very
existence,” Bishop Efstathios of Sparta said earlier this month. State pension
funds had stopped paying contributions to the charities he runs for almost a
year, he complained.
Building or
restoration work on churches, some home to ancient frescoes and ikons, has
often ground to a halt while many are not properly heated during the harsh
Greek winter to cut back on fuel expenses.
Economies are
being made at all levels. Church orders for candles dropped 40% this Easter
season, a religious items merchant in the southern province of Arcadia told
Reuters.
OFF THE AIR
In February,
the church briefly took its 23-year-old, cash-strapped radio station off the
air, depriving listeners of the daily mix of sermons and cultural programs.
‘The crisis
does not only affect our charities’ functioning, it also threatens their very
existence’
Spreading
poverty is making matters even worse. Austerity-pinched believers are cutting
down on private donations while businesses are going belly up, depriving the
church of rental income and swelling the queues in its soup kitchens.
“Needs are
increasing while resources are falling,” said Father Vassileios Hatzavas, who
runs the Athens Archbishopric’s poor relief fund.
As Greek
unemployment soars to record levels, soup kitchen rations more than doubled in
Athens last year to about 10,000 a day, not counting about 3,000 food packages
sent to families each month, Hatzavas said.
As the
government tightens its purse strings, the clergy are increasingly looking to
alternative revenue sources.
Short of cash
and with much of its still abundant real estate tied up in ownership disputes,
the church is seeking cooperation with municipalities, the army or private
business to develop sites, Hatzavas said.
For the first
time, the church sent an official delegation last month to a religious tourism
fair in Russia, the world’s biggest Christian Orthodox country and a major
tourism target. Also, Penteli monastery outside Athens is planning to build a
solar park to tap into subsidies for renewable energy producers.
Some priests
may have gone too far in their fund-raising zeal, such as Efraim, abbot of the
1,000-year-old Vatopedi monastery.
Efraim
masterminded a scheme six years ago under which monks at the monastery on Mount
Athos, a independent Orthodox peninsular enclave, persuaded government
officials to exchange cheap farmland for prime Athens real estate.
Efraim has
been charged with a fraudulent deal which prosecutors say cost the state tens
of millions of euros.
Notwithstanding
the Vatopedi affair, the crisis is offering the church a chance to reduce its
financial dependence on the state via legitimate business enterprises, as other
churches did decades ago.
“It’s a matter
of survival for the Church,” Stavropoulos said.
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