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Heart and Soul: The End of the Holy Bond?: The End of the Holy Bond?

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Elder Macarios lights candle to the Virgin on the holy mountain of Mount Athos

07/03/2015 GMT

The End of the Holy Bond?

BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, The End of the Holy Bond?, The End of the Holy Bond?

Greece and its ancient bond with the church

Will Greece end its ancient bond with the church?

In February Greece elected Europe’s first radical left government since the World War Two. Syriza, the party at the head of the new coalition government, has said it aims to separate the state and the Orthodox Church which has been integral to society, education and politics of this southern European country. But how does the new governing party aim to cut the ties between civil and religious society and what would this mean in this country steeped in Christian tradition, where each school day starts with a prayer and priests are on the public pay-roll? 

John Laurenson hears from the unemployed and hungry on how the church has supported them, as Greece has been brought to its knees - the most high profile victim of the European financial crisis. He hears how the church has stepped into the roles that the Greek government can not fill, offering food, clothing and medical aid where the state has failed. But he also hears critics who say the Greek Orthodox church is too wealthy and too powerful, exerting undue influence over every aspect of life. As a result, the birthplace of democracy, is not actually a democracy at all. Thanks to the power of the Church, it is in fact a theocracy.

He meets one man, who criticised a church elder on social media only to find the police banging on the door of his house and who was later convicted of blasphemy. He also travels to one of the holiest places in the Orthodox world, Mount Athos, to meet a monk who lives on the peninsula where women are forbidden. The election of the new government has led to a re-thinking of the relationship Greece has with its European neighbours. But, more importantly, the whole relationship between Greek’s and their faith is being re-thought, and this could result in a more fundamental change.

Heart and Soul: The End of the Holy Bond?

BBC World Service

John Laurenson finds out how the Orthodox Church is facing the challenges of alleviating the effects of austerity in Greece.

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