Stuffy robes ruin marriage chances, say Greek priests

BBC ^ | Saturday, October 3, 1998 Published at 20:40 GMT 21:40 UK | BBC

[Spar]

I am not certain but I think the long hair and beards and the black cloth is a tradition that was adopted to mourn the martyrs of the Church. In that part of the world (I do not know if it is a multi-cultural tradition or one originating with the Jews) when a relative dies you do not shave your facial hair or cut your own hair for a period of time. Divorce and remarriage is allowed in the Orthodox Church for all up to 3 times but no more.

I think it is unfair to Catholics that Uniate Catholic priests can marry and in that Papal recognized church divorce is allowed just as in the Orthodox rite, but it is denied to the Roman Catholics of the Latin tradition.

[Spar]

PS: This is only a curiosity to me. I am not much turned on by religion beyond studying it.

[Jeff Chandler]

I think I saw that movie. Is that Ringo Star?

[crystalk]

This post smells of April Fool and British prankery to me.

It is almost certainly bogus.

[Spar]

No, isn't this is Ringo Star??

[Spar]

This article is very true and a few years old.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It is almost certainly bogus.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Pulling our legs. Since when do Greek women looking for a mate care about whether the potential husband is wearing an ornate costume.

[Jeff Chandler]

I think that's his father.

[xm177e2]

Archbishop says priests can wear earrings
...
In a surprise move last month, he even told young men they could wear earrings when they visit their pastors.

I would assume the first sentence is wrong, and the latter correct.

[Jeff Chandler]

He said they have acute hearing.

[Jeff Chandler]

Hey Spar, let's cross-link this sucker!  Pope: Priests Must Stay Celibate

[Spar]

Miss Greece 2001

[Spar]

Just one word to consider: GROUPIES

Greece is the word for pop monks

Wednesday, 13 March, 2002, 16:06 GMT

The group's first CD went platinum in Greece

A group of black-robed Orthodox monks of the Saint Augustine and Seraphim Sarof monastery in Greece want to become Europe's most unlikely pop stars. They are hoping to break into a wider market with their third album, which contains English-language songs.

The band's manager Father Nektarios said the group wanted to save young people from the temptations of modern life and bring them closer to God - by using the same tools as the devil.

By Your Side, the group's third CD, was launched at a concert in Athens on Monday.

It contains an English-language club remix of I learned To Live Free, a song which established the act in their home country in 2000.

The song came from their first CD, which sold 60,000 - platinum sales in Greece.

Their songs have titles like Anarchy And Rock and Pal, I'm Down and appear to have struck a chord with Greek youth.

The monks have said they are also supported by Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece, who has tried to reverse dwindling church attendance with fiery speeches - and reversed church policy by allowing boys to wear ear-rings.

'Boiling'

The monastery is near the coastal town of Nafpaktos

The monks claim support from Archbishop Christodoulos

Group member Father Panteleimon, 30, has said: "We have many messages - on human relationships, the dead-end young people find themselves in.

"We are all boiling in the same pot under the new world order."

Now, says Father Panteleimon: "We want to let people outside Greece know what we are about.

"That's why we translated it into English."

The 12 members of the group, all between 18 and 30, hail from a monastery in the village of Trikorfo near the central Greek town of Nafpaktos.

[pgkdan]

Father Efstathios Kollas, head of the union of parish priests

They have a UNION???

[Spar]

It seems so. Why not? They draw a salary.

[De Fide]

Papal recognized church divorce is allowed just as in the Orthodox rite, but it is denied to the Roman Catholics of the Latin tradition.

Can you back that up? I don't have a copy of the Code of Canon Law for the Eastern Churches right on hand... but I'd be very interested to know.

[trevorjohnson]

I thought that men were more attracted to looks and women to status. If that is the case, these old guys in ornate robes can land some pretty bodacious Greek babes!! "Hey babe, I have a congregaton of 1,500 and I uphold a 2,000 year tradition...money? I preach the invaluable Word of Life, better than riches or gold..." If these guys are not married...they are not trying.

[Spar]

It is to me a great double standard: Eastern Rite churches are communities of eastern Christians in union with the Roman Catholic church. Also known as Uniate churches, they retain their own distinctive spiritual, liturgical, and canonical traditions. In addition to differences from the Roman (Western) rite in liturgy, many of the Eastern Rite churches permit a married clergy.

[AdA$tra]

The Greeks don't want no freaks.