Archbishop Christodoulos in traditional robes - but is it a turn off?Posted on 04/21/2002 12:54:01 AM PDT by Spar
Saturday, October 3, 1998 Published at 20:40 GMT 21:40 UK
World: Europe
Stuffy robes ruin marriage chances, say Greek priests.
Archbishop Christodoulos in traditional robes - but is it a turn off?
Greece's Orthodox priests say their long black robes, pipe hats and overgrown beards are ruining their marriage prospects.
And they are calling for a makeover in an attempt to increase their chances of attracting a wife.
Father Efstathios Kollas, head of the union of parish priests, says only 3,000 of Greece's 11,000 priests are married.
"If the robes create an obstacle for finding a wife, and you know they do, then the church's leadership must do something to modernise our appearance," he added.
Father Kollas, who favours a more simplified frock, argues that the frumpy cassocks are also discouraging educated Greeks from becoming men of the cloth.
He says many candidates for the priesthood fear they will repel potential partners with such attire - not to mention the obligatory long whiskers.
Archbishop says priests can wear earrings
The priests' plea to shed their head-to-foot robes comes ahead of a meeting of the Holy Synod, the Greek Church's governing body.
But it is not yet certain whether Father Kollas's call to revamp the strict dress code will come up for discussion.
The 10-day meeting to begin on Tuesday will be presided over by Archbishop Christodoulos, who at 59 is the youngest archbishop to head the Greek Orthodox Church.
Since his election in April, he has stressed the need to modernise the church, a bastion of conservatism, without abandoning its age old traditions.
In a surprise move last month, he even told young men they could wear earrings when they visit their pastors.
More than 90% of all Greeks are baptised Greek Orthodox, which is the country's official religion.
Unlike Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy permits priests to marry.
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.
|
|
I think I saw that movie. Is that Ringo Star? |
It is almost certainly bogus.
I would assume the first sentence is wrong, and the latter correct.
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.
They have a UNION???
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.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
Miss Greece 2001