In Defense of Archbishop Christodoulos
by Theodoros Georgiou Karakostas
There has been a great deal of criticism aimed at Archbishop
Christodoulos of Athens for recent statements he has made asserting
that Turkey should not be allowed to join the European Union. Critics have asserted that the Archbishop is meddling in politics. The fact of the matter is that the statements made by the Archbishop are not only not political or partisan, they are firmly consistent with the tradition and teachings of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Since the days of Byzantium, the Greek Church has been a Church
of the people and has expressed its solidarity with the nation in times of crisis. During the seventh century, when the Emperor Heraclius was away defending Asia Minor from the Persians, the Avars threatened
Constantinople. Ecumenical Patriarch Sergius holding an Icon of the
Theotokos led a procession to inspire the defenders of the city and
asked the Mother of the Lord to protect the city and its inhabitants.
During the fifty-five day assault on Constantinople by the Turks in
1453, Monks and other clerics ably assisted the defenders of the
city, and worked to repair damage done to the walls of the city.
In 1821, the standard of revolt against the Turks was raised by
Archbishop Germanos of Patras. In Cyprus, the Archbishop was
executed by the Turkish authorities because of his sympathies
for Greek independence. Likewise, the Patriarch was executed at
the Phanar in Constantinople.
During the First World War, the Ecumenical Patriarchate protested
the massacres and deportations of Asia Minor Greeks. Greek
Orthodox Metropolitan Chrysostom was prevented from being
a candidate for Patriarch because of his outspoken stance against
Turkish Genocide. As Bishop of Smyrna, Metropolitan Chrysostom
supported the rights of his flock by embracing the Greek liberators
who entered Smyrna in 1919. When the Turks recaptured Smyrna
in 1922, as a result of being armed and supported by the great
powers, the Metropolitan refused to leave the Greek population and
was subsequently butchered by forces loyal to the founding father
of modern Turkey.
Upon becoming Ecumenical Patriarch in 1920, Meletios Metaxakis
openly supported the Greek Army in Asia Minor, and called on the
western powers to cede Constantinople to the Greeks. During the
Second World War, Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens took part in
actions that the German authorities considered political. He used his authority to protect and hide Greek Jews from the Germans, as did
the Metropolitan of Zakynthos. In 1955, Archbishop Makarios of
Cyprus supported the aspirations of his flock and led the
movement for enosis.
In context, the comments of Archbishop Christodoulos are entirely
justified. The Turkish State has been built over the corpses of
Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Orthodox Christians. American
Consul General George Horton in his memoirs, "The Blight of Asia,"
noted the destruction of Christianity in Asia Minor under the Turks.
There is nothing improper or false, or political, in a Greek Orthodox Archbishop condemning the barbarism that continues without
hindrance up to the present time in Turkey.
The Turkish State has ethnically cleansed the Greek populations of
Constantinople, Imbros, and Tenedos. Turkey is guilty of waging a
war of aggression in Cyprus, and of violating the human rights of
Greek Cypriots. Turkey is guilty of ethnically cleansing over one
million Kurds in occupied Kurdistan, and of sponsoring death squads
and various terrorist organizations.
Archbishop Christodoulos has done what a religious leader must
do. He has denounced a country that is responsible for perpetrating
crimes against humanity, for waging wars of aggression, and violating religious freedom for Greek Orthodox Christians. As such, the
comments of the Archbishop are entirely appropriate. What is
genuinely surprising are not the Archbishop's comments, but the
complete indifference by the political establishment in Athens,
Washington, and the world toward a Turkish government that
remains entirely committed to invading neighboring countries,
and exterminating their populations.
