Post by Senbecc on Jun 25, 2007 21:03:43 GMT -5
GREECE: Civil Disobediance!
Pagans dare to pray in public
as hundreds of riot police protect Christian Orthodoxy.
For the first time since Emperor Theodosius outlawed the Olympic Games in 394 c.e., Pagans dared to worship publicly at the Temple of Olympian Zeus, across from the Acropolis in Athens. The outlaws had applied for a permit to worship, which was issued by the cultural ministry but later revoked because the Orthodox Greek church condemns all non-Christian worship.
What did the Greek Orthodox Church so fear that they needed a small army?
Thirty white-robed members of Ellinais came to pray to the Twelve Olympian Gods. Several ceremonially lay down Spartan armor as a symbol of the peace bond which blessed Pagan Greece every four years in honor of Olympian Zeus. A tunic-clad priestess, Doretta Pepa recited a hymn to Apollo, 'Kleithii meth efhomenou... Listen to me Apollo, god of the sun, I who pray to you with an open heart in favor of the all the people."
They prayed to for world peace and that the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be unmarred by terrorism. Then they released a pair of doves.
Who are these dangerous people?
Ellinais is a group mostly made up of highly educated Greeks who have reclaimed the religion of their ancestors and follow a calendar making time from the first Olympiad in 776 BC. Like the English speaking Hellenismos organization, Ellinais is a scholarly reconstructionist group. [Greek-speaking Pagans in late antiquity called themselves "Hellenists," meaning those who respected traditional Greek religious values.] They estimate about 1,000 worshippers of the Twelve Olympians in the country.
Re-enactment has been done every 4 years for the last century at the lighting of the Olympian torch. That's tolerated in Greece as an antiquarian and theatrical matter, and good for the tourist business. While the Ancient Olympics were profoundly religious rituals, the modern ones are not regarded as a religious ceremony, except by the Greek Orthodox Church. Their representatives of the church do not attended the lighting of the Olympic flame ceremony at the Shrine of Olympian Zeus because of the reference is made to Apollo, the ancient God of the healing and music.
The Greek Ministry of Culture sent out the riot police because the scholars of Ellinais AREN'T JUST SCHOLARS; the Orthodox Church has condemned Ellinais' activities as "pagan." And so the cultural ministry revoked their permit at last moment, by declaring all ancient monuments off limits to any kind of organized activity.
In 2003, Ellinais had attempted to perform an unauthorized ceremony at the Temple of Hephaestus, God of the forge and volcanic activity. Ministry of Culture staff chased them off.
The priestess Pepa argues, "The government says these are monuments, but they are actually our temples, and they should be used by the followers of our religion because it is within our civic rights to do so.
Ellinais then went to court, where a decision was made in 2006, officially recognizing the Ancient Greek religion. They argued, 'We are perhaps the only religion in Europe that is not allowed to function - we want the Greek government to recognize our faith as an official religion. But for years these requests have been ignored in violation of European Union human rights laws."
Since the legal victory, the Greek government has continued to deny them their religious rights. Pepa is demanding the government register its offices as a place of worship, so that Ellinais could be permitted to perform weddings and other rites. Until their rights are honored, Ellinais will proceed with further court action. "There should be respect for people who want to express their religious freedoms in a different way that is not the typical Orthodox or Christian way," said Pepa.
Click for more information on Ellenais
This story is partly based on the source material By Christine Pirovolakis Jan 22, 2007, © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur and published on the Internet at lifestyle.monstersandcritics.com/religion/features/article_1249863.php/
Worshippers_fight_for_the_right_to_use_Greek_temples
Pagans dare to pray in public
as hundreds of riot police protect Christian Orthodoxy.
For the first time since Emperor Theodosius outlawed the Olympic Games in 394 c.e., Pagans dared to worship publicly at the Temple of Olympian Zeus, across from the Acropolis in Athens. The outlaws had applied for a permit to worship, which was issued by the cultural ministry but later revoked because the Orthodox Greek church condemns all non-Christian worship.
What did the Greek Orthodox Church so fear that they needed a small army?
Thirty white-robed members of Ellinais came to pray to the Twelve Olympian Gods. Several ceremonially lay down Spartan armor as a symbol of the peace bond which blessed Pagan Greece every four years in honor of Olympian Zeus. A tunic-clad priestess, Doretta Pepa recited a hymn to Apollo, 'Kleithii meth efhomenou... Listen to me Apollo, god of the sun, I who pray to you with an open heart in favor of the all the people."
They prayed to for world peace and that the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be unmarred by terrorism. Then they released a pair of doves.
Who are these dangerous people?
Ellinais is a group mostly made up of highly educated Greeks who have reclaimed the religion of their ancestors and follow a calendar making time from the first Olympiad in 776 BC. Like the English speaking Hellenismos organization, Ellinais is a scholarly reconstructionist group. [Greek-speaking Pagans in late antiquity called themselves "Hellenists," meaning those who respected traditional Greek religious values.] They estimate about 1,000 worshippers of the Twelve Olympians in the country.
Re-enactment has been done every 4 years for the last century at the lighting of the Olympian torch. That's tolerated in Greece as an antiquarian and theatrical matter, and good for the tourist business. While the Ancient Olympics were profoundly religious rituals, the modern ones are not regarded as a religious ceremony, except by the Greek Orthodox Church. Their representatives of the church do not attended the lighting of the Olympic flame ceremony at the Shrine of Olympian Zeus because of the reference is made to Apollo, the ancient God of the healing and music.
The Greek Ministry of Culture sent out the riot police because the scholars of Ellinais AREN'T JUST SCHOLARS; the Orthodox Church has condemned Ellinais' activities as "pagan." And so the cultural ministry revoked their permit at last moment, by declaring all ancient monuments off limits to any kind of organized activity.
In 2003, Ellinais had attempted to perform an unauthorized ceremony at the Temple of Hephaestus, God of the forge and volcanic activity. Ministry of Culture staff chased them off.
The priestess Pepa argues, "The government says these are monuments, but they are actually our temples, and they should be used by the followers of our religion because it is within our civic rights to do so.
Ellinais then went to court, where a decision was made in 2006, officially recognizing the Ancient Greek religion. They argued, 'We are perhaps the only religion in Europe that is not allowed to function - we want the Greek government to recognize our faith as an official religion. But for years these requests have been ignored in violation of European Union human rights laws."
Since the legal victory, the Greek government has continued to deny them their religious rights. Pepa is demanding the government register its offices as a place of worship, so that Ellinais could be permitted to perform weddings and other rites. Until their rights are honored, Ellinais will proceed with further court action. "There should be respect for people who want to express their religious freedoms in a different way that is not the typical Orthodox or Christian way," said Pepa.
Click for more information on Ellenais
This story is partly based on the source material By Christine Pirovolakis Jan 22, 2007, © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur and published on the Internet at lifestyle.monstersandcritics.com/religion/features/article_1249863.php/
Worshippers_fight_for_the_right_to_use_Greek_temples