Greece’s biggest failure? The Orthodox Church

ἄρα γε ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιγνώσεσθε αὐτούς (“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them”) – Matthew 7:20

And even I, myself [King Benjamin], have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne…” – Mosiah 2:14 [Book of Mormon]

My stock portfolio and I were very relieved to learn that Greeks had voted to save their economy by giving the New Democracy Party a narrow win over the delusional Syriza Party. Now that European governments have breathed a great sigh of relief, they can prepare to negotiate the final terms of the Greek bailout package. While I’ve seen plenty of reports on the country’s economic ills, few of them have highlighted the country’s spectacular moral failings. The sad truth is that almost all of them can be laid squarely at the gilded doors of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ, to which 98% of Greeks belong.

There is little de facto separation of church and state in Greece. Greeks don’t just have a constitution: its official title is “The Constitution of Greece – In the Name of the Holy and Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity.” This holy constitution establishes Greek Orthodoxy as the country’s “prevailing” religion, and the state pays for the clergy’s seminaries, salaries, and pensions. All of this largesse would be understandable if the government were getting inspiring moral leadership in return. Even a cursory review of Greek’s current situation shows that this is hardly the case.

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