The great majority of Greeks are baptised in the Orthodox Church. Even non-practising Greeks take part in religious festivals, Easter, church baptisms and weddings, and celebrate their name day more than their birthday. The Constitution calls Orthodoxy the prevailing religion of Greece.
Origins
Christianity reached Greece very early: the apostle Paul preached at Philippi, Thessaloniki, Athens (on the Areopagus) and Corinth, and on Patmos, tradition says, John wrote the Book of Revelation. Under the Byzantine Empire Greek-speaking Christianity became the state religion. In 1054 tensions between Rome and Constantinople led to the split between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Great Schism, deepened in 1204 when crusaders sacked Constantinople.
During four centuries of Ottoman rule the Church played a decisive role: the Patriarch of Constantinople was the civil and religious head of the Empire's Christians, and priests and monks kept Greek language and identity alive. After independence the Church of Greece declared autocephaly in 1833, recognised by the Patriarchate in 1850.
Organisation
- Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Istanbul)
- Church of Greece, autocephalous: Archbishop of Athens and Holy Synod, about 80 metropolises
- Church of Crete, semi-autonomous
- Metropolises of the Dodecanese, directly under the Patriarchate
- Mount Athos, under the Patriarchate's spiritual jurisdiction
The metropolises of northern Greece, the "New Lands" annexed in 1912-1913, formally belong to the Patriarchate but are administered by the Church of Greece. Priests may marry before ordination, while bishops are chosen from among monks. Clergy salaries are paid by the state.
Differences from the Catholic Church
| Topic | Orthodox Church | Catholic Church |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Communion of autocephalous Churches; the Patriarch of Constantinople is "first among equals" | The Pope has primacy and infallibility in matters of faith |
| Creed | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father "and the Son" (Filioque) |
| Priests | May be married if the marriage precedes ordination | Celibacy required in the Latin Church |
| Baptism | By immersion, with chrismation and communion straight after | Usually by pouring, confirmation later |
| Eucharist | Leavened bread | Unleavened bread (host) |
| Images | Icons, no statues | Statues and paintings |
| Calendar | Easter by the Julian calendar | Easter by the Gregorian calendar |
Calendar and feasts
Since 1924 the Church of Greece has used the revised calendar for fixed feasts, so Christmas is on 25 December as in the West. Easter, however, follows the Julian calendar and usually falls one or more weeks after Western Easter; some years they coincide, as in 2025. The great summer feast is 15 August, the Dormition of the Mother of God. Every day is dedicated to one or more saints, whose names are celebrated as name days: all Georges on 23 April, Nicks on 6 December, Marias on 15 August.
Monasteries and icons
The most famous places of Orthodox monasticism are Mount Athos, the monks' republic, the Meteora in Thessaly, with monasteries perched on rock pinnacles, and the Monastery of St John on Patmos. Icons are not just religious pictures but "windows" onto the divine; worshippers kiss them on entering church, and almost every home has an icon corner with an oil lamp.
Church and society
Church and state remain closely linked, and the Church often speaks out in public debate. In recent decades the state has introduced civil marriage (1982), cremation (2006) and, in 2024, same-sex marriage, reforms the hierarchy opposed. Greece is also home to a Muslim minority in Thrace, Catholics (especially on Syros, Tinos and in Athens) and Jews, whose ancient community in Thessaloniki was almost entirely wiped out in the Holocaust.
See also Orthodox baptism, festivals and traditions and the Byzantine Empire.