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Anastasia Balezdrova

Traditionally, August 15 is a feast in Greece when thousands of Greeks go to churches and monasteries named after Mary, to pray, to seek support or to thank for the successful ending of a serious health or another problem. There are numerous stories of the miracles that icons of the Mother of God made, which are most often associated with health problems and difficulties of conception in women.

For the meaning and symbolism of the great Christian feast, GRReporter talked with the secretary of the committee of publications, public relations and enlightenment at the Greek Holy Synod Father Timotheos Anthis.

What is the meaning of the feast of the Assumption to Orthodox Christians?

There is a perception that the Assumption is the summer Easter. This is a very important feast for the Orthodox faith as well as the other important feast which we celebrate on August 6 - Transfiguration of Jesus.

These feasts relate to the mission of our faith, which is the salvation of men. Jesus Christ came to Earth not to establish a kingdom or to meet the expectations of the people of that era for the coming of the Messiah, but to show people the true God and that they would be saved through faith in Him. Transfiguration is a very important event, because Jesus showed His divinity on the Mount Tabor.

On August 15, we honour the Assumption, because the Mother of God has come to the end of her earthly life as everyone else. But what is it that we observe? It is not her death - so the term we use is "assumption" - her ascension. I.e., that she ascended with her body to God. This is a very big event, because as theologians John of Damascus and John Palamas indicated, the Virgin does not expect the Second Coming as all other people and saints. For the saints, who performed miracles and whose bodies languish after their ascension, also expect the Day of Judgment. However, His mother Mary does not expect the Second Coming, because the Son of God was created in her body and she was filled with the Holy Spirit and became a saint. That is why she is called Panagia, because she dominates over all the saints. Her body could not languish, so it has ascended into heaven three days after the funeral. When the apostles went to worship at the grave of Mary, the Apostle Thomas, who had not attended the funeral, saw that her body was not there. The tradition and faith of our Church suggests that she has ascended into heaven, where she is now with her son. This is a great message for us because a person who truly believes in God can become a saint, live eternally and participate in the glorification of God.

The aim of the Orthodox faith and doctrine, and the appearance of Christ among the people is to save them and make them saints. This is the purpose of the Church too because we become sacred there. Therefore, we see that although it is summer and people are on vacation and need to rest, they always find a way to go to a temple on August 15 to light a candle, to bow before the icon of the Virgin and ask for her support and compassion. She is the only true mother of all people because she is the mother of God and people want her to help them cope with the difficulties in their lives. All we address her for any joyful or sad event in our lives as the young children seek support in their mothers.

Greece has a long Orthodox tradition. Do the Greeks have a strong religious feeling today?

The Orthodox Greek people keep this feeling deep inside, although sometimes the people are away from the church, they have no time for it or sometimes they are even wary of what is happening in it. Nevertheless, no one remains adamant to the sacred icon of Virgin Mary without saying a prayer or asking help or thanking for something.

This is very important because although we, the Greeks, are "involved" in this faith, there are events initiated by life itself, or even priests, which afflict us. Then, we turn away from the Church. Of course, this is not right. We do save our souls neither from the priests and their lives, nor from the actions of others. Our faith in God, the relationship we have with Him will save us. It is the essence to be able to realize our faith.

Today, we see many people who claim to be atheists. I recently read about a Christian pastor – a Protestant in Holland, who said he does not believe in what he preaches. I think the people who can say they are atheists are very small in number and they do so consciously. There are people who harbour doubts inside themselves and even challenges, if you wish. However, this happens to believers too. Everyone struggles to find his or her faith and this is a life goal.

Even the Disciples of Christ who lived with Him needed time to believe Him. I said in the beginning that Christ showed His divinity to three of Hs disciples - Peter, James and John. Exactly 40 days later, Peter betrayed Him. When Christ took the road to Calvary, some people told Peter that he was His follower and he replied "I do not know this man." In this way, Peter put into question their relationship, which lasted three years and was based on the contact with Christ, His miraculous actions and teachings. He made the miracle of Peter, who walked on the water in the sea. Yet Peter renounced Him at the time when Christ was persecuted. The human beings are weak and easily succumb to certain events and situations.

However, Jesus teaches us the opposite - to be strong, have courage, cope with the events in life, but not with any spirit but with the spirit of faith in Him. Peter, who lived with Jesus and then denied Him, has become the most dynamic preacher and His apostle after the Resurrection.

The Orthodox Church is the Church of the Resurrection. This is our message to the people. The fullness of our faith is that Christ rose from the dead. The apostle Paul said that if Christ has not risen, our preaching and faith are in vain. Assumption is so important feast for us, because we believe that Mary ascended from earth to heaven and so did her divine son. This is the foundation of our faith and our expectations.

What is the role of the Church in this difficult economic period? How does it help the people who need support?

The reason for everything that is happening is that people do not believe in God. States’ heads in the world are not believers. Justice and love for people in their countries are not in their inner feelings. The people who are elected heads of state today are not doing it to serve their people and to sacrifice for them, but for the opposite: to gain strength, popularity, money and decide the fate of people without any sense of justice. Things would have been quite different if these people are keeping God's message to love our neighbour, to sacrifice for him to give him anything we can. Then, we would not witness all these economic games, "battles" for power, imposition of political will and violation of state sovereignty.

Greece also is in this position because it did not do well. We did not learn to be prudent. The people from the first church fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays. Moreover, I mean that they did not eat at all and they gave the poor the money they saved. Who is doing this today? We have so many examples in the history of the people and church that can help us today but we left them aside.
 
And what have we achieved? Instead of getting free, we are becoming increasingly bound. We got so much money and there is no result. None of us, and I mean both ordinary people and churchmen, did not sit down to consider what should be done. We are fighting every day to have more and more goods of which there is no need. This boundless prosperity leads to these results, with which we are unable to cope. Thus, while claiming that we believe we become atheists in fact.

We have a God who has given us His teaching about how to live, but we left His gospel aside. And it is not too hard to remember the Great Inquisitor by Fyodor Dostoevsky. People would have crucified Jesus again with great ease, because he does not satisfy their interests. We have learned to be people of interest. If we can exist with five pairs of pants, why should we have 15 in our wardrobes?

The Church is also part of this secular situation because it is composed of people. But the essence of the struggle is to be able to change this way of things. However, the Church must fulfill its duty and it is communicating the message of the resurrection. The truth is that God fed people first, and then taught them.

Today, the Church provides ten thousand free lunches for the homeless and people who need help only in the region of Attica. Their number is fifty thousand across the country. We also provide financial assistance to people to pay their bills for electricity or phone, medicines, clothing and tutouring to children, for treatment in hospitals, to release people from detention because some were detained for amounts like 100, 200 or 1,000 euro. The Church seeks to "cure" these cases and people provide for the resources when it does not avail the necessary funds.

The "bet" is to understand the message of Jesus in our lives because if we can reach it we will become much better people and live much better. There are people who have nothing, but because they believe in God, they really have anything, as odd as it may seem. Because Jesus is everything and when we believe, we will be able to find the things we need.

Today, there are many people begging outside, with closed stores. Our greed made them more than needed. We wanted plenty of everything. The abundance of food brought us a bunch of diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol. If we fasted during Lent, we would have none of that.

We see that luxury cars are sold at very low prices, but nobody wants to buy because gasoline is expensive, the tax is high, maintenance costs are high. It is not possible not to recall the words of the preacher Kozmas Etolos that "the time will come when you will have everything and you will be not able to get it." And all this happens because we are away from God and His teachings.

What is the attitude of the Church to cremation?

They say we should burn the dead bodies because cemeteries are full and there is no place elsewhere. But here's a big difference between other religions and beliefs. The Orthodox Church does not use the term "cemetery" but "kimitirio" ("the place of the dead"), because people are sleeping there until the resurrection when God will come to judge them. Therefore, our problem lies in the fact that we have lost our faith even for this. The world is huge, but we are unable to find a place to put our sleeping brothers and sisters. And this is because we forgot that the Orthodox faith is faith in the resurrection. We believe in it, not in death.

Some say that cremation is more civilized and correct manner. They argue that ancient Greeks and other ancient peoples burned their dead. However, I would like to add something. The ancient Greeks and other nations burned the dead after they indulged the honours imposed in that era. Then, they gathered the remains of their bodies, put them in special places and worshiped them.

Today, we are not talking about burning the dead. They call it so, but actually, it is about incineration and establishing crematoria. What do they do in them? After indulging the religious honours and removing all artificial parts such as pacemakers or metal parts, they grind the body so that it can be cremated at high temperature and then give it to us in the form of ashes in the urn. They say it is a tribute to the human body but here one uses all his knowledge to destroy it.

The Church can not think that way. After the funeral procession of Jesus on Good Friday, we read a prophecy of the Holy Prophet Hezekiel when we return to the temple. In it, he describes his conversation with God. He took the Prophet on a mountain where there were many remnants of human bodies. God told the Prophet to command the bones to connect with one another so that they combine with each other. He did it although he had doubts inside. So, the bones connected, then the same happened with the nerve connections and the flesh of any of the people there. We read this prophecy, because the funeral of our God is a preliminary message to His resurrection and the resurrection of every believing Orthodox Christian. If you do not believe, you are unable to understand these things and you take them as a very good story. But during its 2100 years of existence, the Orthodox Church has collected many results of that faith. We have saints, immortal remains that make miracles and they are all evidence of the resurrection. We can not agree with incineration, the cremation of people, as they say. A person could be a saint and his body remains incorruptible to make miracles and be a proof of resurrection. Our disagreement lies in this precisely.

The argument that the burial pollutes the soil and groundwater is not real, because the results of environmental studies show that crematoria pollute the environment much more. They have been talking about it for so many years but there is no crematorium in Greece yet.

They send the bodies in other countries.

Yes, but the atheistic communist regimes in these countries helped for the establishment of crematoria. I would say that people who had no faith created them. It is very easy to create such things when you do not believe in something.

It became clear a few days ago that the state would begin the construction of a mosque in downtown Athens. What is the position of the Greek Church on this issue?

This is a very serious matter. Like the late Archbishop Christodoulos, today’s Yeronimos and the Holy Synod are not against building a mosque. Both archbishops have repeatedly supported its construction. A special committee for immigrants and refugees chaired by me is operating in the Holy Synod. We held many meetings on this topic with imams and representatives of Muslims in Greece, some of which took place in the Christian parishes with the aim the communities to get to know each other.

The Muslims in Greece should be able to fulfill their religious duties freely. Some time ago, the Greek Church provided an area of ​​30 acres near Shisto for the creation of a Muslim cemetery not to have to send the dead to be buried in a cemetery in northern Greece, near Xanthi and Komotini. We even offered then to build a mosque near the cemetery.

Therefore, we are not in any case against the construction of a mosque where the Muslims will be able to perform their religious duties freely. I read the other day about the influence and lobbying by other countries to build a mosque in Athens. We can not agree with these actions. However, state authorities should resolve this issue and we have no interference.

What is the position of the Church to the marriage between people of the same sex?

I would say very simply and without any fear that this is a violation and disobedience to God's law and will. Everyone is free to dispose of his body according to his preferences and to act at his will. The Greek Orthodox Church can not agree with these people because what they do is contrary to the scripture in the Gospel. We love people, but we can not accept their sins. Our God came to earth to take away the sin, to purify the people and make them saints.