Page 6 - West_Aegean

Introduction

Orthodox Church and cemetery near Kastro on Sifnos

THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
For someone from the west, from the world of Roman Catholicism and
The interior of Greek Protestantism, the churches and the black-robed priests of the Greek
churches are always Orthodox church seem to constitute another religious world; and so
elaborately adorned
indeed it is. Until the last meeting of the Council of Nicaea in 787, the
western and eastern branches of the church had stumbled along together,
growing apart but outwardly united. Post-Nicaea the churches grew
apart, partly on doctrinal issues but mostly, one suspects, because of the
geographical and cultural isolation between Rome and Constantinople. In
Rome they spoke mostly Latin, in Constantinople Greek. In the west
priests were celibate, in the east they married. In Rome the Pope was
One of the 300 or so infallible, in Constantinople articles of faith were decided by a council of
churches of Skopelos bishops. In the west the spirit of God came from the Father and the Son, in
Mike and Lynda Gregory
the east from the Father.
The overthrow of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 had a far-
reaching effect on Orthodoxy, and the Russian branch finally severed its
connections with the Greek parent church. In Greece under the Turks the
church was allowed to continue, and it later became a focus of rebellion
against the occupiers.
Today the church, although much weakened in this secular age, still
permeates Greek life. For the Greeks the big event of the year is not
Christmas, but Easter, Paskha. The date of Easter is reckoned in a
different way to that in the west, and the celebration is focused on the
Resurrection rather than the Crucifixion. On Good Friday a service marks
the descent from the Cross and the Epitafion containing the body of
Christ is paraded through the streets. In some places an effigy of Judas
Iscariot is burnt or blown up. This latter can be a spectacular event, as
Greek men love playing with dynamite and the effigy is inevitably stuffed
with it. All Greek homes brew up a soup from the offal of the lamb which
is to be eaten on the Resurrection, but depending on your inclination the
soup may be tasty or you may have problems sampling even a
spoonful of assorted organs.
Late on Saturday night there is the Anestisi mass to celebrate Christ’s
return. In the church all the lights are turned out, and then from behind

6 WEST AEGEAN