If you ever plan to visit Greece, I am sure you’ve heard about Mount Athos, alternatively “Holy Mountain” or “Hagion Oros” (Ἅγιον Ὄρος), an autonomous monastic republic. As you can see in the map, it is a large geographical area and if you want to visit it, you have to be…. a man! It is prohibited for all women to enter the Holy mountain according to the Avaton law (Άβατον in Greek). Most of the monks believe that the presence of women could be a threat to the religious spirit of the community as it might lead to sexual temptations, hindering thus their spiritual growth.
Controversies and trespassing: In the modern Greek history, several attempts have been made by women to trespass the Avaton. The most notable are 1) In 1948 women from the Nationalist guerrilla groups during the Civil War, 2) In 1954 a Greek journalist 3) in the same year, a group of female Byzantiologists 4) in 1969 five foreign tourists 5) in 1989 a German couple and 6) in 2007 a Greek left wing activist.
Despite the growing number of people who support that this ban should be lifted (obviously I am one of them), a big percentage still believes that in this mountain only men must be allowed to walk. The Greek church still holds a prominent position in the political and social landscape and many priests do not hesitate to spread ultra right-wing conservative propaganda with highly sexist and racist tendencies. There are several examples of Greek priests who declared “war” against immigrants who reside in Greece, particularly those who come from a country with non-Christian background. Many of them have openly supported that a person who is born in Greece by foreign parents should not have the same rights to a Greek child while the Greek nationality should be given only to those who are born and raised by Greek parents.
I can understand that this article may sound like a polemic against the Orthodox Church in general but it is not. Some may say “another Atheist article” well… I am not an Atheist (despite the funny cartoon on the right side). What I would like to point out is the irony of the statements of all these Christians fundamentalists in Greece who think that a certain geographical area belongs to a specific group of people with the same characteristics (gender, race, nationality etc). Did God created everything for everyone? Jesus Christ taught the people to love each other and to be tolerant towards those who are different which seems to be exactly the opposite of what the Greek Church does. Church people also reserve a huge amount of wealth which, as it is estimated, could be enough to solve almost all the economic problems of the country. How right Mohandas Gandhi was: “Oh, I don’t reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It’s just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ!”
Allegations with the Nazis that confirm powerlusting grandeur of the opportunist Greek church: 1) The theologian George Moustakis at 1963 found and translated an epistle where the Holy Supervision of Mount Athos (not some individual monks) ask Hitler to patronage and protect the land. (26 of April 1941, just one day before the nazi invasion in Greece). This epistle was published in the nazi newspaper “Der Sturmer“ which has been kept well for many years in the “Russian Monastery” (in Mount Athos). More specifically it says that “we ask from the King of the Kings and the Father of fathers, from our souls and deep from our hearts to give health and longevity to the glorious German nation”! The letter was written at the suggestion of a German Major and the attitudes of the monks attributed to the Bulgarian threat. The fascist Bulgarian army caused severe damages to some Greek monasteries. The Germans being stronger and more disciplined could guarantee a defense. The results, neither the German or the Bulgarian occupiers attacked the monasteries. A second epistle has been found also “To His Excellency the Head of the Third Reich, we congratulate you for the victory against the Soviet army”! The Greek Orthodox church has admited the originality of these two letters. 2) The German nazi authorities used to create films from different places showing that the local people support Hitler, in order to elevade the morale of their soldiers. A film with pictures of Hitler in Mount Athos have been found together with some priests who were openly offered their support and hospitality to the dictator!
Of course not all the priests are the mirror of the heart of darkness! We should not forget that Father Prokopios, a priest of the Agios Panteleimonas [*] church (in Athens) has received death threats by Greek neonazis because he offered help to a group of exhausted migrants. Agree or disagree with the organized religion we have to admit that Prokopios did the right thing saving the lives of people who would confront police brutality or even violent deportation. At times several priests argued that this prohibition against women entering Mount Athos should be relaxed, keeping thus a more reformist stance. In fact the presence of a woman does not threaten the religious purposes of the monks. Sexual attraction is also seen among people of the same sex which is absolutely natural! Of course I do not blame the monks for choosing to isolate themselves in order to fulfill their religious goals. It is their life and they have the right to spend it as they want but the Greek Church must understand something very simple: “Your freedom ends where mine begins” which means that everyone who wishes to have an asexual life can achieve it by simply staying home (or anywhere else) and avoid contact with persons of the opposite sex (or the same, depending on his/her sexual orientation) and if this tactic will fail, simply she/he can lock her/himself home and throw the keys from a window!!! Every personal choice is fully respected but no one has the right to plan her/his life at the expense of other people. If the conservatives still insist that a women should not be allowed to walk in the whole peninsula of 335.63 km2 because their presence threatens spiritual asexual life of the monks (let’s pretend that homosexuality does not exists), then should I demand my local supermarket to move away from the area I live because all the chocolates they sell are irresistibly delicious and this could threaten my health?
Together with this religious lunaticism I would like to condemn the European Union’s stance on this issue. (A number of EU politicians have called for Mount Athos to be opened to women). Crocodile tears? How can a bunch of bureaucratic capitalists rely on equal rights while at the same time they send thousands of soldiers to the Middle East to spread death? In fact, you cannot sort out the problem of authority with… more authority. Could anyone save a house that caught fire by throwing grenades at it? It’s time to openly and actively condemn any sort of organized religion with authoritarian and repressive features (see Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Islam…). It’s time to teach to the young people to deal with things that actually exist (sciences, arts, technology) rather than talking to an “ivinsible friend”. Organized religion and theocracy have been severely destructive. Let’s put an end to this backwardness! No land belongs to men or women only! Solidarity is the key!
[1]Agios Panteleimonas is maybe one of the biggest red zone areas in Athens. Last year serious racist attacks took place there. Members of the neonazi group “Golden Sunrise” (Χρυσή Αυγή) also have been charged with arson attacks against asylum seekers.
(If you agree with the above, please sign for the petition: free women’s access to Mount Athos).
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02/09/2010 @ 09:30
@nicholas –
Εδώ να δεις τί λένε!!!
Frankfurter Allgemeine: «Οι Έλληνες δεν κατάγονται από Έλληνες»
Οπότε λοιπόν όλοι να προβούμαι σε test DNA! Να δούμε πόσοι απο εμάς είναι πόσοι είναι άμεσοι απόγονοι του Σωκράτη και πόσοι οι “μούφες”. Και όσοι το DNA τους δεν ταυτοποιείται με αυτό της Μύρτιδος ξέρουν οι Γερμανοί που θα τους στείλουν έτσι δεν είναι;
01/09/2010 @ 23:41
by the way did you see this:
http://tvxs.gr/node/64865
“Αγανάκτηση προκαλούν οι δηλώσεις Τσόκλη περί βιασμού”
01/09/2010 @ 20:22
@nicholas –
Thanks for your contribution… one word more I didn’t mean that all of the ancient Greeks were great, of course slavery existed in Athens, Sparta was a sort of Gestapo style society… but as you say, a few of them were just great. However I still think that the Byzantine empire was much worse than the ancient Greek style of town-states (πόλεις κράτη). Of course that does not mean there were no butchers and murderers in power at that time, more than what they want us to believe.
01/09/2010 @ 20:14
I cannot be driven in a discussion of what might be or might not be, had some things happened or not. I can also not be driven in a discussion in ancient religions since I don’t know about it more than what is taught in schools.
I can comment though that although ancient Greek (the Athenians as you say, though they were probably a minority in the ancient world) they did have customs which we despise today, although it continues in one form or other.
ie slavery.
Hence the Byzantine empire might have been butchers as you say, (I cannot really remember of historic facts to agree to that statement but thats another matter) but the ancient Greeks were not, how to put it, saints. They too killed and did wars one against another perhaps not in the name of their gods, but in the name of money and power.
I will stop here cause the discussion has deviated quite a bit from the topic.
01/09/2010 @ 17:55
@nicholas –
“But still it is them (the monks etc) who are at fault and should be ashamed not women.” Correct, that’s a straight up line. Even more not all the monks but the head officers of the Greek Church. Some monks I believe they are ok but they just have to follow the rules without being able do change them (if they don’t agree).
“Yes we didn’t make the crisis and we shouldn’t pay for it but most of us if not all were enjoying the “benefits” of the pro-crisis period one way or another. (καλά ήμασταν βολεμένοι,με άλλα λόγια)” Well said, excellent line I agree. I did not mean that we are not partially responsible. As I have said in this comment “Most of us could see some signs that the economy will confront serious problems someday but when the first serious scandals appeared instead of getting rid of these con-artists-politicians we supported them in the elections. Unfortunately in Greece a style of “customer relationships” between MPs and citizens keeps well. You see, it looks like all were driven by self-interest but why? Sureness and self-interest prevailed…” However it isn’t you and me responsible for billions of evasion. It’s the upper scale (Tv stars, Tv channel owners, journalists, doctors who require millions from their patients, bankers and other ruffians). We suffer the consequences with low or no development, rise of unemployment… that’s why I call the people to rise up before it’s too late and stop tolerating those con-artists anymore. Those who stole the money should give them back before everything will get worse for the ordinary people. This system is inhuman and I hope it will collapse someday but allowing more crooks to screw it over at the expenses of the working class people makes things really worse. It is one step backwards, (the rich richer, the poor poorer). Until then, we should not allow them to sell not any tiny stone as I said.
“But I still think those things should be regarded in the same manner.” I can’t really give the same value to the ancient Greek civilization (mainly the Athenian civilization) and the Byzantine one. The ancient Greek was anthropocentric while the Byzantine was an oppressive regime build up upon a mountain of dead “non believers”. I can’t really put Plato, Archimedes, Sofoklis, and others who have taught us self autonomy and so many valuable things alongside with religious butchers who put us into darkness for millenniums. Yes you are right, they are all Gods, but maybe, I say… maybe we are a bit misinformed about the ancient Athenian religion? Why Cornelius Castoriadis, Elias Petropoulos and many other claim that the ancient Greek religion was way different to what we think today? I think that the ancient Athenian, Egyptian and Roman civilization hide many secrets that we don’t know and as the history confirms, if the Alexandrian library would not had been destroyed, today we would maybe have the ability to live in a much more advanced society.
01/09/2010 @ 17:31
Pardon me but I don’t get it. What is the difference between a gold cup or a hagiogaphy or anything else in the cellars of Vatopedi made to praise God
and the Acropolis or whatever else in the archaeological museums which was made to praise Athena and the other gods. It is the same thing if you ask me.
Cultural Heritage is one cultural heritage is the other, built to serve the exact same purpose. Although used differently today.
If you don’t care if they sell the valuable objects they have stored through the centuries, why would you care if the acropolis is sold for whatever reason?
Agreed the acropolis belongs to the state and therefore to me and you, while perhaps church’s valuables do not. But I still think those things should be regarded in the same manner.
By the way there are stories too about illicit trade of antiquities in Athos.
Smoking is not a choice. Its an addiction. And yes its perhaps poor comparison, but while smoking harms me and you and the smoker in a physical way, not allowing women in Athos doesn’t harm me or you or the women or even perhaps the monks(that last one might not be true).
Perhaps it harms the perception of women or the idea of equality on sexes. But still it is them (the monks etc) who are at fault and should be ashamed not women.
Religion is exactly that something that someone said in the past was distorted, used and abused afterwards for the benefit of the few rather than the many.
And although I don’t like this kind of (Capitalistic) stuff reading about the Soviet Union doesn’t make me to love them either. And I do not accuse you for being leftist or anything else.
Yes we didn’t make the crisis and we shouldn’t pay for it but most of us if not all were enjoying the “benefits” of the pro-crisis period one way or another. (καλά ήμασταν βολεμένοι,με άλλα λόγια)
and by the way where do I sign up for the economic-social revolution? I am all in for it.
PS Yes Greek education sucks. Yes Greece has a lot of problems to deal with and forgive me for saying that I don’t think that this one is among the various pressing issues.
01/09/2010 @ 16:56
@nicholas –
I am a person that does not pay too much attention to the what so called cultural heritage or anything like that. I don’t believe that a culture belongs to a specific group of people but I rather see that many cultural achievements are nothing more but the results of interactions between people that “belong” to different backgrounds. I honestly could not care less if they would sell some stuff like a gold cup or anything like that. Now if that makes me a “bleeding heart lefty”, a “traitor” or anything like that I simply don’t care. I would much more want our children to be able to live in a better society and I think it is time to stop thinking of what our “ancestors” did a few millenniums ago but what we have to do now. Can we give again our lights in the world, can we show to the people how to live in solidarity?
“In the same manner the state could sell Acropolis and erase 1/3 of the debt.” Ok, that goes too far now and in order not to be in that position we have to rise up. There is no other way. They didn’t share the wealth we will not share the pain. Further more, we should not allow them to sell even a tiny rock. It wasn’t me who cased the crisis, it wasn’t you so why we should allow them to laugh behind our backs. Read what Jim has said and I fully agree with his statement.
01/09/2010 @ 16:38
By the way in terms of church’s wealth.
I really don’t know if the church is rich.
Having for example a gold cup from the 10th century which a collector would pay 10.000.000 $ to own it doesn’t mean that the church has 10.000.000$ or even 1.000.000 to spend for poor people. Of course there are other types of exploitation (ie museums) but church is supposedly not about money. I assume they could sell such stuff but would you agree to something like that? Either one likes it or not it is our heritage.
In the same manner the state could sell Acropolis and erase 1/3 of the debt. But is that what we really want?
And Greece has other pressing issues to deal with too.
oh and about the terms and conditions have a look at this article, its quite hilarious.
01/09/2010 @ 16:17
@nicholas –
“I respect the right of people to smoke if they please out of my home, out of public places but not dictae them to do so in their home. Am I racist-sexist or something like that?” Still the same thing. You know that smoking is harmful, smokers know it of course, everybody knows it. A bad habit (perhaps not the worst) but it is still harmful. But the problem is not if people are smoking in the public places or not! What makes them not to stop this bad habit? Therefore, it makes no sense to me why people are still fighting between “smokers and no smokers”, who is right and who is wrong! Nobody is right, nobody is wrong! Have we tried to identify the roots of the problem that there are so many substitutes in our life?
And you cannot compare smoking with freedom of movement. It is a very bad comparison. Smoking is an action. You can overcome it. Being a man or woman in something that you don’t choose it. Determining if a woman should be allowed or not to cross one street it doesn’t have to do with respect others who don’t follow some bad habits. It is a serious form of sexism, perhaps one of the worst.
“And Athos is not exactly a public place. Why would you even want to go to Athos if they do not like women or if they wish to treat women like they did in the middle ages?” That sounds very elitist. It should be a public place or better say it a place more opened to the public (it isn’t a private property but a place under control of an institution as I said) which despite that I am not a wooman I will maybe never visit it again. But you cannot demand changes if you don’t fight the reasons that maintain this establishment.
So see all these religious leaders, kings, emperors, business multimillionaires… imagine them as the windows of the same building and the only difference between them is that one windows allows more the sun to come through than another which is located in a more windy place of the house and if you open it you get more wind blowing inside. What determines a social change is how we can knock down this building and build another!