8,921
edits
Changes
→Third Hellenic Republic (1974-Present): 2002
*2000 Government of Greece orders removal of compulsory reference to religious affiliation on state identity cards, despite campaigns against this from the [[Church of Greece]] and the majority of the public.
*2001 Death of Elder [[Haralambos Dionysiatis]], teacher of [[Jesus Prayer|noetic prayer]]; on the first trip to Greece by a Pope since AD 710, Pope John Paul II of Rome [[Fourth Crusade#Papal Apology to Orthodox Church|apologizes to Orthodox Church]] for [[Fourth Crusade]]; a day earlier some 1,000 Orthodox conservatives took to the streets to denounce his visit; in March, Abp. [[Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens]] blessed the ''Hellenic Genocide Petition Effort'', which urged that the government not violate Law 2675/98 by deleting the term "genocide" when explaining the destruction of Hellenism in Asia Minor; Abp. [[Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens]] visits the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]], being also received by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
*2002 The Holy Synod of the [[Church of Greece]] rejected a proposal to introduce Modern Greek into the [[Divine Liturgy]] (similar to what the Second Vatican Council did for the Roman Catholic Church by allowing the use of the vernacular for the Mass), opting to keep [[Koine Greek]] as it was spoken 2,000 years ago and used in [[New Testament]] texts;<ref>''"Greek Orthodox ban modern Greek in liturgy. (News in Brief: Greece)."'' '''Catholic Insight'''. Nov. 2002: 27+.</ref> [[Metropolis of Glyfada]] is established as a new [[metropolis]] separating from [[Metropolis of Nea Smyrni]]; Abp. [[Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens]] consented to the construction of a mosque in Athens to end the situation of the Greek capital being the only EU capital without a Muslim place of worship; Ecumenical [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Patriarch Bartholomew I]] of Constantinople declared the monks of [[Esphigmenou Monastery (Athos)]] as being in [[schism]] with the [[Orthodox Church]].
*2003 Orthodox Churches in Europe commemorated the 550th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople in May; the Greek Minister of Culture Evangelos Venizelos informs Europarliament session that the status of the monasteries on Holy [[Mount Athos]] and its way of life will remain unchanged, citing official recognition of this status fixed in Article 105 of the Greek Constitution and also legally confirmed in the special Athens Treaty clause specifying conditions on which Greece joined the European Union; in February, the Holy Synod of the [[Church of Greece|Greek Orthodox Church]] issued a statement opposing the threat of war in Iraq.
*2003 Abp. [[Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens]] has falling out with Ecumenical [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Patriarch Bartholomew]] over who should have the final say in the appointment of bishops in northern Greece, but rift is mended four months later; the proposal to build a mosque outside Athens before the 2004 Olympics was blocked due to opposition from residents and [[Church of Greece|Greece's Orthodox Church]] which disagreed with the location and plans for the funding for the multimillion-pound mosque to come from Saudi Arabia's King Fahd; Abp. Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens inaugurated the Office of the [http://www.regue.org/index.asp?lang=1 Representation of the Church of Greece to the European Union] in Brussels.
