MEPs Approve Resolution Seeking to Allow Women on Mt Athos

[demetrios karaolanis]

I just wonder what kind of true faithful orthodox woman would actually take advantage of something like this. it is against tradition there and the theotokos claimed it for herself. these politically correct councils and so on really burn my biskets.
I recently heard though that that was one of the clauses which the eu had to accept for greece to join the council and I think that it will not actually ever go into effect. if the traditions of the holy mountian are ever violated I will help build a barracade myself.

[Seraphim Reeves]

Things like this worry me, if only because they may be the beginning of something larger (and far worse than simply the violation of Mt.Athos.)

One thing I've always noticed about Europe, despite it's long term defection from Christ, is how it's "liberalism" (so called) is quite oppressive and intrusive. Rather than actually being "liberty" (as understood in the United States), with wide protections of personal freedoms, you have a situation where the state is just as "dogmatic" as Christendom ever was - the states are governed with a secular ideology, with limited tolerance for things not in line with this.

For example, in America, one can publish their ideas, no matter how offensive they may be to a particular group (or society in general). However, my understanding is that in many parts of Europe, there are some pretty clear cut "anti-hate" laws in effect. Thus why in Germany, there are a significant number of authors in prison for publishing "revisionist" material (typically denying the mainstream version of what happened to the Jews during WWII). Whether one gives any creedence to "Holocaust denial" or not isn't the point; what is relevent, is that secular Europe has it's own "orthodoxy", and defection from it is punished (even in the realm of thought.)

My concern is that, with time, perhaps Christianity in general (at least in it's more "conservative" flavours) may be perceived as a social irritant, an enemy of "progressive thought" and the so called "rights of man." As it stands, Europe is quite "post-Christian" and it's not as if most people have even a sentimental attachment to the Gospel (even in it's heterodox forms.)

In time, will there be a place for the "antiquated" zealotry of true Orthodoxy in the "new Europe"? Is the E.U.'s antagonism towards the traditions of Mt.Athos simply the beginning of things to come?

Seraphim

[demetrios karaolanis]

It all starts with this feeling they all seem to have about needing to be politically correct on everything and not take a stand for anything but evil. the modern world seems to just be sinking like a ship. modernism will continue to bring it's heresies toward us, all we can do is fight it withall of our strength

[尼古拉前执事]

STATUS OF THE HOLY MOUNT ATHOS AND ITS WAY OF LIFE WILL STAY UNCHANGED

Speaking at a Europarliament session, the Greek Minister of Culture Evangelos Venizelos made a special statement on the future of monasteries on Mount Athos.

He commented on a recent Europarliament resolution lifting the traditional ban for women to visit Mount Athos. He stressed that the Statute of the old monastic republic was not to be changed, because it had been legally fixed in the acts of the European Union and the Constitution of the Republic of Greece.

Analyzing the arguable resolution, he emphasized that on Mount Athos there were no public places at all which could be off-limits to women, as twenty monasteries have the exclusive possession of this self-governing region of Greece. "There are neither state nor public lands on the Athos Peninsula," he stressed.

Mr. Venizelos expressed his perplexity at the fact that it was the way of life of the Orthodox monastic communities on Athos that attracted attention of the European parliamentarians. Instead, they could have focused their attention, for instance, on the ban for women to participate in the forming of the cabinet and to exercise their suffrage in the Vatican, which is a member of the Council of Europe.

He reminded the deputies that the special status of Athos was not only officially recognized and fixed in Article 105 of the Greek Constitution, but also legally confirmed in the special Athens Treaty clause specifying conditions on which Greece has joined the European Union. The competence of the clause had been reconfirmed in a special statement attached to the Amsterdam Treaty.

However, the Europarliament Culture Committee regarded it for some reason as necessary to hark back to the settled issue closely linked with the religious and cultural tradition of Orthodoxy that is fully entitled to respect and worthy representation in the united Europe.

Spiridon Hatzaras
Press Councilor of the Greek Embassy in Moscow

[Brigid of Keldare]

Users of this site might be interested to know that the Moscow Patriarchate now has its own offical representation to the EU.

The Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European Institutions in Brussels was created by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on 17 July 2002. It succeeded the Permanent Delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European Union, which was led by the Most Reverend Archbishop Longin of Klin, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Moscow.

The Representation is currently headed by the Right Reverend Dr Hilarion Alfeyev, Bishop of Podolsk, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Moscow. Formerly Secretary for Inter-Christian Affairs of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, he was appointed head of the Representation to the European Union by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on 17 July 2002.

I receive their bulletin Europaica by e-mail and find it very useful as an EU citizen myself. You can find out more at the website
http://www.orthodoxeurope.org/

Brigid

[尼古拉前执事]

Greek govt speaks up in defense of Holy Mount Athos monasteries 
06.09.2003 - By Sergei Latyshev - ATHENS, September 6 (Itar-Tass) -

Greek government on Friday voiced its support to the status of the Holy Mount Athos, a de facto monastic republic in Northeast Greece, from attacks by the European Parliament, which is seeking an abolition of a millennium-old ban on women's trips to the Mount Athos territory.

The status of the area is linked to a thousand years of tradition, the Eastern Orthodox Creed, and monastic lifestyle, and a stereotyped application of the principles of equal opportunities for access, free trade and competition confronts the fundamental concept of Mount Athos, said Tassos Giannitsis, First Deputy Foreign Minister.

Georgios Katiforis, head of the PASOK ruling party's delegation to the European Parliament recalled in a letter to the parliament presidium that the special status of Mount Athos had been confirmed when Greece joined the European Union.

The European MPs cannot go back on that decision, Katiforis recalled. 
Greek made the demarches after the European Parliament had endorsed a report on the observance of human rights in the EU.

The document proposes, among other things, that Greece should abolish a law on prison terms of two to twelve months for the women trying to penetrate the Mount Athos area.

The European Parliament also demanded that Greece abolish punishments for religious proselytism and allow construction of mosques and Moslem cemeteries.

Eastern Orthodoxy is a de facto state religion in this country.

[Daniel]

Here is the article on Mt. Athos from the 2001 Greek Constitution.

SECTION VI
ADMINISTRATION

CHAPTER THREE
Regime of Aghion Oros (Mount Athos)
Article 105

1. The Athos peninsula extending beyond Megali Vigla and constituting the region of Aghion Oros shall, in accordance with its ancient privileged status, be a self-governed part of the Greek State, whose sovereignty thereon shall remain intact. Spiritually, Aghion Oros shall come under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. All persons leading a monastic life thereon acquire Greek citizenship without further formalities, upon admission as novices or monks.
2. Aghion Oros shall be governed, according to its regime, by its twenty Holy Monasteries among which the entire Athos peninsula is divided; the territory of the peninsula shall be exempt from expropriation.
   The administration of Aghion Oros shall be exercised by representatives of the Holy Monasteries constituting the Holy Community. No change whatsoever shall be permitted in the administrative system or in the number of Monasteries of Aghion Oros, or in their hierarchical order or in their position to their subordinate dependencies. Heterodox or schismatic persons shall be prohibited from dwelling thereon.
3. The determination in detail of the regimes of the Aghion Oros entities and the manner of operation thereof is effected by the Charter of Aghion Oros which, with the cooperation of the State representative, shall be drawn up and voted by the twenty Holy Monasteries and ratified by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Parliament of the Hellenes.
4. Faithful observance of the regimes of the Aghion Oros entities shall in the spiritual field be under the supreme supervision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and, in the administrative, under the supervision of the State, which shall also be exclusively responsible for safeguarding public order and security.
5. The afore-mentioned powers of the State shall be exercised through a governor whose rights and duties shall be determined by law.
   The law shall likewise determine the judicial power exercised by the monastic authorities and the Holy Community, as well as the customs and taxation privileges of Aghion Oros.[/i]

Eastern Orthodoxy is a de facto state religion in this country.

SECTION I
The form of Government

SECTION II
Relations of Church and State

Article 3

1. The prevailing religion in Greece is that of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ. The Orthodox Church of Greece, acknowledging our Lord Jesus Christ as its head, is inseparably united in doctrine with the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople and with every other Church of Christ of the same doctrine, observing unwaveringly, as they do, the holy apostolic and synodal canons and sacred traditions. It is autocephalous and is administered by the Holy Synod of serving Bishops and the Permanent Holy Synod originating thereof and assembled as specified by the Statutory Charter of the Church in compliance with the provisions of the Patriarchal Tome of June 29, 1850 and the Synodal Act of September 4, 1928.
2. The ecclesiastical regime existing in certain districts of the State shall not be deemed contrary to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
3. The text of the Holy Scripture shall be maintained unaltered. Official translation of the text into any other form of language, without prior sanction by the Autocephalous Church of Greece and the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople, is prohibited. [/i]