In Greece, everyone is paying the cost of the crisis except the Church.
Austerity measures are not making a dent in the tax exemptions for monasteries and Orthodox social activities.
Church assets have been spared from Greece’s financial manoeuvre and its new real estate tax.
And understandably, controversies are rife.
The debate over the Church’s taxation is to all effects and to all effects and purposes a debate over Greek national identity during a time of crisis, given that Orthodox Christianity is a fundamental component of the Country’s national identity and that of its public institutions.
As the screw of austerity tightens in Greece, in order for it to get Europe’s new financial rescue package, so controversy builds around the Country’s most important institution, which has escaped the government’s financial manoeuvre: the Greek Orthodox Church.
The Greek Minister of Finance, Evangelos Venizelos and Archbishop Hieronymos II are discussing ways in which to merge part of the Church’s real estate heritage into a joint fund, managed by the government and the religious authorities.
The State would thus do away with legal restrictions which are hindering the placement of such assets on the market and the proceeds would go to social services and Church management.
The Catholic weekly “Tempi” pointed out that “at first, it looked like the new real estate tax introduced by the Papandreou government was also going to affect Church property, now, however, it has been confirmed that temples of worship, monasteries and charity offices will be exempt.”
Only properties used for commercial properties will bear the new tax burden.
The fuse has now been lit however, and the Church must defend itself against accusations that it is a great financial and real estate power that is not doing its part to save the country from bankruptcy.
The Greek Orthodox Church hierarchy has responded to such attacks in two ways: on the one hand it has issued openly political declarations regarding the nature and responsibility of the current crisis, and on the other, it is publishing figures for its tax contributions.
Fr. Theoklitou, who is in charge of the Greek Church’s finances, declared: “The Church contributes to the State when the State functions. Otherwise, there is no reason whatsoever to do so. There is no war or natural catastrophe going on which requires contributions. We are invited to contribute to simple short-term economic policies. But it is not up to us to pay other people’s bills.”
Last December, the Holy Synod of Greek bishops defined the so-called “troika” that was visiting Athens, composed of representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank, as “a foreign occupation force.”
“In terms of numbers, the Orthodox Church said it had paid 2, 5 million Euros in taxes for the last tax year, when the government introduced a tax of 20% on earnings from Church commercial activities and between 5 – 10% on non anonymous donations. Just over one million Euros out of the total sum, would go towards real estate taxes,” the news magazine’s director, Luigi Amicone revealed.
The Archbishop of Athens, Hieronymos II, protested the presumed wealth of the Orthodox Church, saying it was “a myth”, because today, it is only in possession of 4% of the assets it owned before the declaration of Greek Independence in 1821, as a result of the State’s subsequent confiscations, the last of which took place in 1952.
According to an estimate given by the Bank of Greece, the Church’s current real estate assets are valued at 702 million Euros.
Critics, however, claim that this sum does not include assets owned by parishes, some of which are very rich indeed; neither does it include the property possessed by 80 of Greece’s episcopates, or the assets of 450 monasteries. Furthermore, the Greek land registry is practically inexistent, making any evaluation uncertain (for private as well as Church assets).
The Greek Orthodox Church holds 1, 5% of shares in the National Bank of Greece, and is the second land owner in the Country after the State, with130 thousand hectares of land in its possession.
The Church argues that this is mostly forest land or terrain that cannot be built on, although they do own some properties in the more elegant areas of Athens.
“The debate over the Church’s taxation is to all effects and to all effects and purposes a debate over Greek national identity during a time of crisis, given that Orthodox Christianity is a fundamental component of the Country’s national identity and that of its public institutions,” “Tempi” news magazine pointed out.
The Greek Constitution is proclaimed “in the name of the holy, consubstantial and indivisible Trinity” and establishes that the only acceptable translation of the Holy Scriptures is that which is authorised by the Orthodox Church, and the Country’s 10 thousand priests are paid by the State, as civil servants.
The Church contributed in a decisive way to the revolution against the Ottomans in 1821 and since 1833, it has been the national Church, after it separated itself from the Patriarchate of Constantinople and became autocephalous.
Aware that they cannot survive without each other, State and Church are on the search for new forms of collaboration, which do not involve the separation of the two entities for the moment.
The most interesting plan, involves the creation of a special Body for the valorisation of the Church’s property, whose revenue will go exclusively to charity.