Population
10.3 million
98% Greek
Albanians
Turks
Slavic-Macedonians
Capital City
Athens
Leadership
Prime Minister
Kostas Simitis
Religion
98% Greek Orthodox
1.3% Muslim
0.7% other
Greek Ambassador
to the
U.S.
Ambassador
Embassy of Greece
2221 Massachusetts
Ave NW
Washington D.C. 20008
Phone: (202) 939-5800
Fax: (202) 939-5824
E-mail:
greece@greek
embassy.org
Web:
www.greekembassy.org
BIO
The Greek government and culture are very much dominated by the Greek Orthodox Church, with
which 98% of the population claim affiliation. This unspoken
level of influence and power sees advantages, as mem-
bers of the Orthodox church have certain privileges not
extended to outsiders. Oddly, while such privileges and
preferences are widely accepted, discrimination against
religious minorities is officially prohibited in Greece.
Minority faiths do enjoy some freedoms - but among them
you won't find proselytizing, considered
illegal in Greece.
And of course churches must obtain a permit
from the
Ministry of Education and Religion
to even hold worship
services. This is not unlike the
requirements found in other
countries, except that according to
International Christian
Concern, "there is no procedure for a new
religious
organization to apply for known-religion status. Currently,
the only way a group can obtain this status is if the Greek
government brings legal action against the group over
operating without a permit or their tax-exempt status and
the court rules in the group’s favor and deems the group's
beliefs and activities worthy of a known
religion."
One
recent example of such persecution was the arrest of
14 Pentecostals for alleged proselytizing
and illegal church
operation. Though the group was freed after
a judge
dismissed the case in December 2001,
evidence during
the trial indicated that two church members
were forced to
make false statements against the
Pentecostals, at the
insistence of both an Orthodox church
leader and a police
officer. It
is a sad day when we find Christians acting
against other Christians.
Can you recommend some
other Greece websites?