Timeline of Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece (1974–2008)

This is a timeline of the presence of Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece from 1974 to 2008. The history of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically, as well as the territory now composing the modern state of Greece.

Third Hellenic Republic (from 1974)

1974 Metr. Seraphim of Ioannina is elected Archbishop of Athens and all Greece (1974–1998);"Seraphim, Archbishop (Vissarion Tikas)." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009. the Cathedral of Saint Andrew in Patras is inaugurated, being the largest church in Greece, housing the relics of Saint Andrew the Apostle; Άγιος Ανδρέας Πάτρας . Patras Info. Retrieved: 24 July 2013. Esphigmenou Monastery (Athos), a stronghold for the conservative Greek Old Calendarists, withdrew its representative from the common meetings of the Holy Community at Karyes (the administrative center of Mount Athos), accusing the Patriarchate of being ecumenist, and refusing to commemorate the Patriarch; death of Blessed Sophia of Kleisoura (Myrtidiotissa in Schema), the ascetic of Kleisoura, Fool-for-Christ.Very Rev. Dr. Edward Pehanich. St. Sophia the Righteous . American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A. Retrieved: 21 December 2013. Οσία Σοφία η εν Κλεισούρα ασκήσασα. Ορθόδοξος Συναξαριστής. 06/05/2013. Η οσία Σοφία της Κλεισούρας και η δια Χριστόν σαλότητα στην Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία . AHDONI (blogspot). Σάββατο, 7 Σεπτεμβρίου 2013. Retrieved: 21 December 2013.

1975 Death of Papa-Dimitris (Gagastathis);Fr. Demetrios Serfes (Comp.). Blessed Papa Dimitrios Gagastathis : The Man Of God. Brief Life & Selective Writings 1902-1975 . Father Demetrios Serfes – Lives Of Saints. 3 October 1999. Retrieved: 24 July 2013.Papa-Dimitri Gagastathis A Simple Priest of Our Days. ROCA (Orthodox America). Comp. with excerpts from Papa-Dimitri Gagastathis, the man of God (1902-1975), Transl. and Ed. by Dimitrios N. Kagaris, Orthodox Kypseli Publications, Thessalonika, 1997. Retrieved: 24 July 2013. Article 3 of the Greek Constitution officially declares the prevailing religion in Greece as Eastern Orthodoxy under the authority of the autocephalous Church of Greece, united in doctrine to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. 1976 The Dimotiki (Demotic) language form of Modern Greek was made the official language, replacing the purified and formal Katharevousa language of Modern Greek which had been in use for nearly two centuries since foundation of the modern Greek state. 1977 Death of noted Greek theologian and professor Panagiotes N. Trembelas; conversion of French theologian and Cistercian monk Placide Deseille (fr), together with two other Cistercian monks, Séraphim (Pyotte) and Elie (Ragot), who received baptism from Igumen Emilian of Simonopetra on Mt. Athos, later accepting the schema and being ordained as hieromonks of the Simonopetra brotherhood, subsequently founding various Athonite Metochia of Simonopetra in France. 1978 Abortions are legalised in Greece but only under certain specific circumstances;"Greece: Abortion Policy ." UNITED NATIONS, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 13 February 2013. through the efforts of Metr. Panteleimon (Chrysofakis) of Thessalonica, the sacred relics St. David of Thessalonica (David the Dendrite) were triumphantly returned to Thessaloniki from Milan, Italy, after having been taken by Crusaders in 1236 AD;Great Synaxaristes: Ὁ Ὅσιος Δαβὶδ ἐν Θεσσαλονίκη . 26 Ιουνίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece founded the Integration Centre for Returning Migrants, Immigrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees (KSPM).Assoc Prof Inger Furseth, Professor Per Pettersson, Dr Helena Vilaça, Professor Enzo Pace. The Changing Soul of Europe: Religions and Migrations in Northern and Southern Europe. Ashgate AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Series. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2014. pp. 79-82. 1979 Martyrdom of Archimandrite Philoumenos (Hasapis) of Jacob's Well.Very Rev. Fr. Edward Pehanich. Father Philoumenos of Jacobs Well 1913-1979 . In: The Church Messenger, American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A. Volume LXIV, No. 1, 27 January 2008. Page 7. Great Synaxaristes : Ὁ Ἅγιος Φιλούμενος ὁ νέος Ἱερομάρτυρας. 29 Νοεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. 1980 Greece and the Holy See formally established diplomatic relations; Ιωάννης Ασημάκης. 25 ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ∆ΙΠΛΩΜΑΤΙΚΕΣ ΣΧΕΣΕΙΣ ΕΛΛΑ∆ΟΣ-ΑΓΙΑΣ Ε∆ΡΑΣ . pp. 193-224. Retrieved: 5 August 2013. death of Elder Philotheos (Zervakos) of Paros;Elder Philotheos Zervakos. ROCA (Orthodox America). Retrieved: 24 July 2013. Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue, 1st plenary, met in Patmos and Rhodes;Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Discuss Reunion. The Associated Press. 3 June 1980.WORLD NEWS BRIEFS. The New York Times. 4 June 1980. Section A; Page 5, Column 1. Extraordinary Joint Conference of the Sacred Community of Mount Athos, 9–22 April, resolved publicly to state the opinion of the Athonite fathers on the subject of dialogue with the heterodox; Greek priest-monk Fr. Athanasios Anthides travelled to India to begin a systematic Orthodox Mission in the rural area of Arambah, in West Bengal state, in eastern India;FOCUS ON INDIA . Orthodox Research Institute. Retrieved: 24 July 2013. death of Patr. Benedict I of Jerusalem, who had actively pursued a rehabilitation of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.Jerusalem's Patriarch dies of heart attack. The Globe and Mail. 11 December 1980. Page 4. Member State of the European Community (European Union) 1981 Greece becomes the 10th member of the European Community, 1 January;The Enlarging of Europe. The Economist. 18 December 1982. (U.S. Edition Pg. 58). conservatives of the Esphigmenou Monastery (Athos) refuse common market aid to Mt. Athos;"Zealots Spurn Common Market Aid to Mt. Athos Monastic Community." The New York Times. Sunday 19 April 1981 (Late City Final Edition). Section 1, Part 1, Page 8. Column 1. Adultery is decriminalized in the penal code.Jacqueline Swartz. "Greek Socialists keep respect, if not pledges." The Globe and Mail (Canada). Thursday, 28 October 1982. 1982 Death of Archimandrite Haralambos Vasilopoulos, founder of the Pan-Hellenic Orthodox Union in 1959 («Πανελληνίου Ορθοδόξου Ενώσεως» (Π.Ο.Ε.)) and its organ Orthodoxos Typos, and a faithful defender of the Orthodox Faith, Μιχάλης Τσώλης. Αρχιμ. π. Χαράλαμπος Βασιλόπουλος . Impankratoros.gr (Holy Monastery of Pantokratoros, Melisohori); from: «ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΤΥΠΟΣ» ΑΘΗΝΑΙ, 1996. Retrieved: 1 September 2015. being the author of over 300 publications including books exposing occultism and anti-Christian sects; Μιχάλης Τσώλης. Ο π. Χαράλαμπος Βασιλόπουλος ως Συγγραφέας. Impankratoros.gr (Holy Monastery of Pantokratoros, Melisohori); from: «ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΤΥΠΟΣ» ΑΘΗΝΑΙ, 1996. Retrieved: 3 September 2015. death of renowned lay preacher and Orthodox writer Dimitrios Panagopoulos (1916-1982); Αρχιμ. Εφραίμ. Ο Φιλομόναχος και Φιλαγιορείτης Δημήτριος Παναγόπουλος. Εν τη Ιερά Μονή Ξηροποτάμου Αγίου Όρους, 10η Φεβρουαρίου 1982. glorification of the Venerable Eugenios of Aetolia († 1682);Great Synaxaristes: Ὁ Ὅσιος Εὐγένιος ὁ Αἰτωλὸς . 5 Αυγούστου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. monotonic orthography was imposed by law on the Greek language,Diana Diaconou. 'Monotony' pleases Greeks. The Globe and Mail (Canada), 30 January 1982. however the Greek Orthodox Church continues to use polytonic orthography; civil marriage is introduced in Greece in 1982, although the overwhelming majority still marries in church and Orthodox clergymen sometimes refuse burial rites and other rights to those not married in church.George Mavrogordatos. "Orthodoxy and Nationalism in the Greek case." West European Politics. 1 January 2003. Vol.26. No.1. Pg. 117(22) .

1983 Death of Elder Arsenios the cave-dweller of Mt. Athos.Monk Joseph Dionysaitis. Elder Arsenios the Cave-dweller (1886–1983): Fellow Ascetic of Elder Joseph the Hesychast. Transl. Angela Georgiou. 2005. 1984 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission, 3rd plenary, meets in Khania, Crete;Catholic, Orthodox Talks in Greece End In Disagreement. The Associated Press. 8 June 1984. professor Georgios Mantzaridis publishes "The Deification of Man" , setting forth the theological and anthropological basis for the doctrine of deification as expounded by St. Gregory Palamas (1296-1359).Georgios I. Mantzaridis. The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and Orthodox Tradition: St.Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition (Contemporary Greek theologians series). St Vladimir's Seminary Press. 13 December 1984. (Amazon.co.uk). 1986 Root of Jesse icon of the Mother of God in Andros (the "Myrovlytissa"), begins gushing myrrh; Ιερά Μητρόπολη Μυτιλήνης. Παναγία ή Μυροβλύτισσα, στην Ιερά Πατριαρχική Μονή του Αγίου Νικολάου στη Νήσο Άνδρο . Retrieved 26 January 2013.The Miraculous Icon of the Theotokos "The Root of Jesse", or "Myrovlytissa", St. Nicholas Monastery, Andros. Full of Grace and Truth (blog). Thursday, 18 February 2010. glorification of Arsenios the Cappadocian (†1924) by the Patriarchate of Constantinople;Great Synaxaristes : Ὁ Ὅσιος Ἀρσένιος ὁ Καππαδόκης . 10 Νοεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. the performance of abortions was further liberalized by Law No. 1609 of 28 June 1986." 1987 In April, parliament approved a law to expropriate monastic land in order to redistribute some to poor peasants, and to take over administration of urban church-owned assets, however Abp. Seraphim (Tikas) of Athens was victorious in preventing the government from expropriating church landholdings, by allowing some land redistribution while opposing nationalisation of church and monastery land; on August 19 Patr. Pimen of Moscow and All Russia, and Ec. Patr. Demetrios I of Constantinople co-celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Transfiguration at the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Monastery, being the first concelebration in 398 years (since January 1589).John Garrard and Carol Garrard. Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent: Faith and Power in the New Russia. Princeton University Press, 2008. p. 1. 1988 Canonization of Eustathius of Thessalonica (†1197);Great Synaxaristes: Ὁ Ἅγιος Εὐστάθιος ὁ Κατάφλωρος Ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Θεσσαλονίκης . 20 Σεπτεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. Mount AthosMount Athos . © UNESCO World Heritage Centre 1992–2012. and the MeteoraMeteora . © UNESCO World Heritage Centre 1992–2012. are designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites; radio station "Church of Piraeus 91.2 FM" begins transmitting in October, through the efforts of Metr. Kallinikos (Karousos) of Piraeus (1978-2006); ΡΑΔΙΟΦΩΝΙΚΟΣ ΣΤΑΘΜΟΣ ΠΕΙΡΑΪΚΗ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ . Retrieved: 24 July 2013. death of Fr George Pirounakis, a turbulent cleric who opposed the right-wing dictatorship of 1967–1974, supported student uprisings against the junta, and later demanded that bishops who had succoured the tyrants should be held to account.Church and state in Greece: A new concordat? The Economist: Erasmus - Religion and Public Policy. 21 November 2014, 14:48 BY B.C. 1989 Hellenic Bible Society publishes a translation of the New Testament into the modern vernacular (Demotic Greek), The New Testament diglot, containing both the Patriarchal edition of 1904, along with a parallel translation in Today's Greek Version, having the blessing, approval and endorsements of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Pedagogical Institute of the Greek Ministry for Education and Religion; Η ΚΑΙΝΗ ΔΙΑΘΗΚΗ: Το πρωτότυπο κείμενο με μετάφραση στη δημοτική . Ελληνική Βιβλική Εταιρία, Αθήνα. Mystras is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site;Archaeological Site of Mystras . © UNESCO World Heritage Centre 1992–2012.