Greek hierarch speaks out against blasphemous exhibition in Athens

Metropolitan Nektarios. Photo: romfea.gr

Metropolitan Nektarios of Kerkyra (Corfu) has sent a letter of protest to the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Cabinet members, and Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, regarding the re-exhibition at the National Gallery of works that blaspheme the Orthodox faith.

In his statement, the hierarch emphasized that the exhibits on display are not art but rather represent “a crude, blasphemous and outrageous insult to our Orthodox faith, shamelessly desecrating our holy and sacred things and insulting in a provocative and brutal manner the venerable person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos and the Saints of our Church.”

The Metropolitan described the re-exhibition of these works in the country’s main cultural institution as “a deeply offensive act, which the Church cannot remain silent about”.

He stressed that under the guise of alleged “artistic freedom”, these exhibits “express neither culture nor creativity, they constitute a direct attack against the body of the Church,” violating the religious freedom of Orthodox Greeks and undermining “our national ethos.”

Particular attention is drawn by Metropolitan Nektarios to the participation of the artist in gay pride parades, where he “dared to attach images of Christ and the Theotokos to his genitals,” which the Metropolitan called “a deliberate distortion of the notion of artistic expression.”

“In the name of an uncontrolled "freedom", it turns public exhibition into a platform for tasteless provocation, immorality, blasphemy and shame. And most worryingly: this is done under the auspices and with the positive contribution of the State,” the Metropolitan stated.

He continued: “Among these provocative and obscene exhibits are works that present the all-reverent form of the Most Holy Theotokos in obscene and degrading depictions, as well as references to the Holy Clergy in the form of mocking, insulting depictions, showing them in garbage cans.”

“The desecration of the cassock constitutes not only an insult against the clergy, but against divine Grace herself, who mysteriously acts in the Church through Her ordained ministers,” noted the hierarch. According to him, such portrayals “deeply wound the national self-consciousness,” since the priesthood has always been “the irreplaceable support of our people in times of slavery, occupation, famine and moral decay”.

The Metropolitan underscored: “The Church, as mother and nurturer of the Nation, cannot remain silent in the face of the systematic attempt to uproot our spiritual roots and undermine our moral standards.”

He criticized the Greek state for indulging in “postmodernist culture” and turning “insult into a sign of progress,” instead of “promoting true culture honoring the sacred things of its people and preserving social cohesion.”

“In the name of ‘progress’ and ‘freedom,’ the Holy Tradition of the Nation is being trivialized and the spiritual contribution of the Church to the formation of the national and moral identity of our people is being effectively nullified,” said Metropolitan Nektarios.

In conclusion, he appealed to the authorities: “I therefore call on the competent State authorities, the Prime Minister, the Ministers, the Government in general, to reflect on their responsibilities; to immediately withdraw the exhibits in question; and to restore the order, respect and spiritual dignity that our people and their History deserve.”

The Metropolitan expressed hope for “a sincere reflection, not only on this specific incident, but on the negative direction our society as a whole is taking.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to Metropolitan Nektarios, conscience is the unwritten Law of God.

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