By Evi Tsakali,
Giannis Lagos has recently been arrested in Brussels since his immunity was lifted after the vote of the vast majority of the European Parliament. With Lagos arrested, there is another member of the Golden Dawn that needs to be put behind bars; Christos Pappas. Investigations by the police authorities in order to locate him are still in progress, however they are focusing on the scenario that Pappas has gone to Serbia, as a monk. The fact that the possibility of a convict, member of a neo-nazi criminal organization, has found shelter as a fugitive in a monastery, intrigued me to write this article, an article about Golden Dawn’s relations with the Church; a relation of love, hate, and everything in between.
Golden Dawn’s early years
When it was founded, Golden Dawn was, in fact, a pagan and anti-Christian organization. Germenis, one of the organization’s former MPs, was reportedly a member of a death metal band that released songs with lyrics such as “God sent his bastard son” or “The fucking church”… Nevertheless, when its goal became to enter the Greek Parliament, Golden Dawn had to become mainstream; and to become mainstream, they needed the Church by their side and not against them. That is when Golden Dawn became, or at least pretended to be, more Christian than Christ Himself.
Since the turning point of 2011
Since its gradual “conversion”, Golden Dawn was suddenly all about preserving Greek Orthodox Christianity by all means and was notably disturbed by events of so minor importance, such as the fact that the mayor of Athens at the time, Giorgos Kaminis, did not cut a piece for Christ at the municipality’s vasilopita. More and more regional offices of the organization sprung throughout Greece; and most of them, with the presence and blessings of some members of the clergy. After Golden Dawn entered the Parliament for the first time in 2012, some members of the Greek Orthodox clergy did not hide anymore; they expressed their fondness towards the organization with audacity… Some examples include:
-Andreas, the Bishop of Konitsa who, in an event in Vitsi, addressed the members of Golden Dawn (some of which were present) as “the good kids that are fighting hard”.
-Ambrossios, the Bishop of Kalavrita, who reportedly called Golden Dawn “a sweet hope for the desperate citizen and a soft power in this rotten system”. He also stated that if the Parliament ever outlawed Golden Dawn, he would be the first to “give a kick” (if only he knew…).
-Serapheim, the Bishop of Piraeus, who pressed charges against the theatrical play “Corpus Cristi”, which he had not even seen, along with high-rank members of Golden Dawn such as Ilias Panagiotaros and Christos Pappas (the fugitive). The play was directed by Laertis Vassiliou, who was born in Albania. The photos of the bishop with Golden Dawn’s MPs speak for themselves; a few days later, the attacks in Chytirio took place… What is even sadder is that Serapheim reconsidered his support towards Golden Dawn not due to the beatings of journalists and innocent people during the attacks in Chytirio or any other of the horrendous crimes committed by the organization; it was when he suspected that Golden Dawn may have links with the Ancient Greek pagan religion.
When the Greek Church had to finally take a side
For years, the Holly Synod was urged to take a stance on the issue and to limit the action of members of the clergy who -discreetly or not- supported the Golden Dawn, but the Holly Synod chose to retain a rather passive, neutral position. However, there would come a night -that of the 18th of September 2013- that the Holly Synod would have to break its silence; the night Pavlos Fyssas was murdered.
The Holly Synod made an official announcement condemning violence which “has no place in our democracy”. Despite that, there were still leaks and expressions of allegiance to Golden Dawn within the Church. During the days that followed Pavlos Fyssas’s death, the Bishop of Glyfada stated that “they imprison the victims instead of the perpetrators”. One year later, it was as if the announcement of the Holly Synod had never been made. During the inauguration of the organization’s regional offices in Acharnae and Thrakomakedones (where, and I am ashamed to say it because I live there, Golden Dawn had an extremely high number of voters at the time) there was a special sanctification by priests followed by fiery speeches of Golden Dawn members on how our area is “full of filthy jypsies, Albanians and Pakistanis”. As if that was not enough, Ambrossios made his return in 2018, in the context of protests regarding the Prespes Agreement, where he took photos with Ilias Panagiotaros and Giannis Lagos. When he was characterized as nationalist and fascist by the media, he responded: “I prefer being called a nationalist and a fascist, because they are notions associated with our beloved homeland; I would prefer to be called a nationalist and a fascist rather than a leftist, an insurgent, or a traitor”.
Some exceptions and why Golden Dawn may have relations with the Church, but certainly not with Christianity
In spite of it all, there was a figure of the Greek Church who dared to openly oppose the Golden Dawn when no one else would. It was Pavlos, the Bishop of Siatista, whose words I will cite as they speak for themselves: “It would be preferable to be an atheist, rather than a Golden Dawn supporter. He who says that he loves God but hates his brother is a liar. You cannot love God, who you haven’t seen, but hate your brother who you see every day”. He received phone calls threatening his life after that day, but that didn’t stop him. He later stated “you can’t be an Orthodox Christian and a Golden Dawn supporter, pure and simple”. I include that example, basically to his honor -because he could not have said it better- but also in case you, dear reader of this article, feel the urge to tell me “not all priests” (like some people like to say “not all men” these days…). The technique Golden Dawn followed to ascend in the political ladder was apparent; they sought the support of the Church to gain its legitimacy. They would give the hands and the Church would give its prestige. But for whoever needs to hear this, Golden Dawn is not, and has never been, a Christian organization. And I do not claim this because of its pagan past, but for the sake of the numerous innocent souls that were injured or died in their bloody hands, for their loved ones that wept for them, for the trial that took eight years to be completed, for their audacity to think that their neo-nazi mentality had a place in our democracy; and in the name of what God? Because the only god they know is Hate; the hate they give.
References
- «Οι χρυσαυγήτικες περιπέτειες της Εκκλησίας», Άρης Δημοκίδης: Μικροπράγματα (Lifo podcasts). Available here.
- Ζουμπουλάκης, Σταύρος. Χρυσή Αυγή και Εκκλησία. Εκδόσεις Πόλις.
