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Kath’ Odon 15, “State and Church”, 1999, p. 104

            The 15^th volume of Kath’ Odon with the title “State and Church” contains 10 main articles which analyze the different options and parameters of the theme.

            The first article is written by Nikos Zacharopoulos and has the title “State and Church. Looking for the relation and the differences in today’s reality”. The author is approaching the theme historically and he concludes that the secularization of the Church in Greece and its oppressive embrace with the state is an undeniable fact with consequences to her spirituality and other dimensions of her life. 

            Savvas Agouridis in his article “Ecumenicity of Orthodoxy and Ecumenicity of Hellenism” is analyzing the ecumenicity of both, orthodoxy and Hellenism, and he raises some questions concerning the misunderstanding of the term ecumenicity and the development of “a political Orthodoxy”.

            In his article with the title “Man, State, Church”, Ioannis Petrou is presenting his main reflection for the need of a new regulation of the relation between the state and the church.

            In the next article, Kostas Beis is analyzing the theme of the relation between state and church in connection with the religious conscience and the participation of the person in the religious community, the ecclesiastical organization, the transition to the ecclesiastical power and authority, the phenomenon of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Greece as the predominant religion in Greece etc. He closes his article with his reflection on the future.

            M. Stathopoulos presents the constitutional fortification of religious freedom and the relation between the State and the Church.

            In his article Kyriakos Kyriazopoulos raise the question of why the constitutional term “the predominant religion” seems to mean “the first among equal” and he analyzes the forgotten right of the equality before the law.

            Georgios Poulis is writing about the constitutional fortification of the canons of the Church as the starting point for the understanding of the relation between the Church and the State.

            N. Bougatsos in his article, examines the presupposition of a good relation between the Church and the State.

            Sofia Karakosta is examining the relation between the Church and the State in the Byzantine era and its influence on the determination of the political ideology of that period.

            Moustafa Moustafa is referring to the issue of the State and national minorities.

            The volume contains three poems written by Dimitris Tsinikopoulos and Georgios Tsinalakis. Additionally there are events in moment as such: the 5^th General Assembly of the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women, El Escorial- Madrid, 4-10 June 1988 and the 8^th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches, 3-14 December 1998, Harare Zimbabwe. The volume closes with the new recent editions.

Kathodon,The Challenge of Multiculturalism, issue 16 (2000), pp. 128.

The 16^th issue of the journal Kath’ Odon contains themes regarding the challenges of multiculturalism in modern society. There are 10 articles printed in total, which analyse various aspects of the phenomenon of multiculturalism.

Petrou presents in brief the long process and the way in which modern societies have gradually taken shape making multiculturalism a real social event.

Karavidopoulos analyses the religious pluralism present at the time of the emergence of Christianity, as it is presented through two epistles by St. Paul to Thessalonians and attempts a biblical approach of today’s pluralism having as a departure point the general positions of St. Paul.

N. Matsoukas displays the complexity of modern societies and the responsibility of Christian churches for the practice of a real struggle which will offer humanity progress in an open and dramatic course.

Manitakis examines the position, role and presence of the Orthodox Church of Greece in the modern public sphere of Greek society and suggests its transformation from the institution of the State to a voluntary religious organisation, as equals, to “civil society”.

K. Hatzikonstantinou presents critically the views of F. Fukuyama about the end of History and of S. Huntington about the clash of civilisations and in parallel examines the phenomenon of globalisation and the Islamic religious fanaticism.

K. Kyriazopoulos refers to the wide alliance for the free practice of religion in the USA, which is made up of local, incongruous religious groups and groups of civil rights which have placed aside their ideological differences, and work for religious freedom for all American citizens.

L. Martin suggests instead of “comparative” as the dominant characteristic element of hellinistic culture, the “consolidation of power” and indicatively examines the consolidation of royal and religious power during the Hellenistic period.

Z. Papadimitriou presents the history of the Institute of Social Research of the University of Frankfurt and in particular the development and the course of “critical theory” formed effectively from the “School of Frankfurt”.

P. Vasiliadis describes the convocation “Orthodox Liturgical Renaissance and the Visible Unity” in the Monaster of N. Skiti and its conclusions, stressing in particular the fundamental principals of Christian worship and its consequences for modern Orthodoxy and ecumenical worship.

A. Gkitsi approaches multiculturalism theologically, focusing particularly on the issue of unity through difference and the role of Churches and religions in modern societies.

Kathodon, The course of Religion, issue 17 (2001), pp. 96.

In the 17th volume of Kathodon magazine there are subjects developed with regard to the course of Religion in the Education through 7 articles. Another 3 articles are included in the volume concerning related and broader issues of religion and education.

             Metropolitan Theoklitos of Thessaliotitha indicates 6 proposals and ideas as the frame of dialogue between Church and State and also for inward reflection on essential and valid support of ecclesiastic education with concrete proposals.

              N. Matsoukas, refers to the relation of Orthodoxy and culture by stressing gnoseological dimension of the course of religion, and also to the value of the Bible and, at extension, the need of renewal of the course that should be actualized based on texts and in the spirit of criticism and dialogue.

             N. Zacharopoulos attemps through 8 concrete proposals to answer the question whether religious education should be practised in the young persons today and in what way by studying historically the phenomenon of spreading of religious ideas.

             I. Petrou investigates the place of the course of religion in the Greek educational system and focuses in the discussion that took place after the change of polity.

            In the 5^th text Pantelis Kalaitzidis poses the issue of change of physiognomy and character of the religious or “cultural” class, explaining the contemporary theological and cultural situation and the presuppositions needed for such a change to take place.

            In the 6^th text Stamatis Sakellion insists on the clarification of the ideological elements of the course, given that the Orthodox church is a minority in the European Union, and also to the fact that student progress and expression of faith should not be connected.

            In the 7^th text Panayiotis Onoufriou Tamvakis suggests a radical change of the course of religion: The course should be the first one in public education without attendance register, grading and exams.

            In the 8^th text Yannis Konstantinou deals with the 1^st part of article 3, paragraph 1 of the Greek Constitution which qualifies the religion of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ as the predominant religion in Greece and attempts the interpretation of this formulation.

            In the 9^th text Paris Papageorgiou speaks for the greek-orhodox ideology which does not identify with Orthodoxy and the reformed evangelical faith in the greek-speaking area.

            In addition, Charta Oecumenica is published in greek translation by Ioannis Petrou. 

The issue is completed with the column “Writers and Books”.