The conflict in Arcadia between the Church and the believers of the Twelve Olympian Gods continues to rage.
The first temple dedicated to Zeus and Pan is being built on a 150-acre private plot of land in Gortynia, Arcadia, near the village of Kalliani. In January, it was announced that the temple would be for liturgical purposes and welcome those who believe in the ancient Greek religion.
However, Metropolitan Nikiforos of Gortynos and Megalopolis is opposed to the creation of this temple. In fact, he issued a statement, saying, “This news, which has already provoked discussions and reactions, requires our careful response as the Church of the Living God.”
“This specific action, which attempts to restore practices and perceptions of a religiosity of bygone eras, causes us sadness and concern. It is not a return to a bright and glorious past, as its followers claim, but a regression to a dark world, dominated by human passions and demonic works,” the Metropolitan continued.
“It is not a Greek phenomenon, but a foreign one, which attempts to be forcibly transplanted into Greek reality. Our glorious ancestors had themselves realized the inadequacy of their religion and were searching for something better, which they discovered in Jesus Christ,” the statement added, among other things.
Police arrested Evangelos Bexis, an archaeologist and the supervisor of the creation of the Temple of Pan, on February 24 following an order from the prosecutor. Bexis revealed on social media that the prosecutor decided to release him but that a trial date would be scheduled.
In a video taken in front of the temple dedicated to Pan in Kalliani, Bexis says he was arrested for being in charge of the construction and told that the site must be closed off.
Among other things, he stressed in a video, “It is an act of aggression that cannot be ignored. We are at war in every way. They ordered us, in a state where we are supposed to have religious freedom, that on March 8th we should not celebrate in honor of our Gods because we are illegal.”
“I told the police, ‘we will celebrate, come and arrest me.’ On March 8th, something huge will happen, and I want you all to be here. They will not stop us. We are many, we are strong, we must come forward,” the archaeologist added.
See the video:
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