ATHENS—In the basement of St. Varvaras church, Rev.
Theodoros Georgiou issued instructions on a recent morning to volunteers
preparing hundreds of packages of food for local families, as two
phones on his desk buzzed with more calls about supplies for Greece's
growing ranks of the needy.
Alkis Konstantinidis for The Wall Street Journal
Women in the Athens suburb of
Argyroupolis prepare meals at a church soup kitchen in late November, as
church resources are strained by crisis.
"We do not solve the problems here," Father Theodoros said. "We put out fires."
As unemployment has mounted in recession-hit Greece, so have poverty
and hunger in Father Theodoros's once firmly middle-class parish in the
Greek capital. His congregation's philanthropic resources have been
stretched to the limit, he says, as it contributes to churchwide efforts
to feed 10,000 people a day across Athens—which in turn is part of what
Greek Orthodox Church officials say is the biggest mobilization to help
the disadvantaged here since the aftermath of World War II.
Critics complain that the church isn't doing enough, however. In a
country where the state is nearly bankrupt and its political forces are
splintered, the church remains a powerful and unifying institution—one
that these people say must reassess its contribution not only to the
nation's spiritual needs, but also to its worldly salvation.
"Greek people expect their church to go out of its way to help Greek
society endure and recover," said Aristides Hatzis, an associate
professor of law, economic and legal theory at the University of Athens.
"This is a national emergency."
Many critics have focused on the church's extensive holdings of
real-estate, as well as in blue-chip companies and government bonds,
saying the church can help the country financially.
"The church's contribution is limited to the operation of soup
kitchens and the distribution of food it has received from donations.
This is all just a drop in the ocean," said Grigoris Psarianos, a
lawmaker with the small Democratic Left party, part of Greece's
coalition government.
The church says it is doing the best it can, not only feeding
thousands of the hungry, but also helping to deliver health care
services and medicines. "What we can do is try to make sure people have
the basic necessities, so that we have a decent human society," said
Rev. Vasilios Havatzas, head of the Athens archdiocese's general charity
fund. "The church just couldn't sit and watch as the crisis erupted."
Critics, including Mr. Psarianos, want the church to pay more taxes
and to assume responsibility for paying its clergy, something that is
now done by the government.
Back in 1952, as Greece was struggling to recover from World War II
and its own brutal civil war, church and state struck a deal: The church
would hand a portion of its real-estate to the state and in exchange,
the government would pay clerics' salaries.
The church's annual payroll has swelled to about €200 million ($262
million) for its 9,000 staff, church officials say. As Athens needs to
slash costs to pare its mountainous debt, demands are mounting for the
church to pay its own way. Religious leaders say they are open to that,
if they can boost church revenue.
One obvious source of increased funds: Better management of the
church's sprawling property empire. The exact value of the church's
holdings isn't known. But it is the country's second-largest land owner
after the government, which has an estimated €300 billion property
portfolio.
Church leaders have asked the country's privatization agency for
advice on how to boost income from real estate, but it could take
several years to implement its suggestions.
More income from church property holdings should
also mean more tax revenue for the Greek government. Under a law passed
in 2010, Greece raised the amount of taxes the church must pay on its
earnings from commercial properties.
For example, the church owns prime beach-front land near Athens that,
if developed, would create jobs and raise tax revenue. Critics say the
church is holding out for more favorable development terms and improved
market conditions. The church says its investment plans are tied up in
red tape but declined to offer additional details.
There are limits to how far mainstream politicians are willing to
push the church, a guardian of national identity, language and religion
for centuries in a country where some 95% of people say they are
Orthodox. Religious icons adorn public schools, courts and even tax
offices.
Many politicians have traditionally sought to highlight their ties to
church leaders, who often weigh in on sensitive national economic and
political issues, and are loath to challenge them, fearing a backlash
from their churchgoing constituents.
But that may be changing, as the church's reputation has been dented
by scandals involving financial sins. Among the best known was a
land-swap with the Greek government engineered by a thousand-year-old
monastery that cost taxpayers tens of millions of euros and contributed
to the downfall of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis in 2009.
The head monk of the monastery, one of the country's richest and most
powerful, was accused of deceiving government officials in 2005 into
exchanging cheap farmland—including lakes—for prime Athens real estate.
He has denied a public prosecutor's charges that he incited officials to
commit fraud, perjury and money laundering. The matter has yet to be
heard.
Lawmakers have investigated several former government ministers over
the deal but the probe was dropped after it fell outside a statute of
limitations that applies to those who have held government office.
More recently, press reports of bishops having stashed millions of
euros in bank accounts at home and abroad have been multiplying. The
church and police are investigating.
The church says it is determined to pay the taxes required under the
law. It says it paid €12.6 million in taxes in 2011, and that its books
are audited just like other taxpayers'.
Church officials also say they are struggling to do more with less.
The costs of delivering food, clothing and health care to the needy are
rising as church revenue falls.
Not only are recession-hit worshipers putting less in the collection
box on Sundays, the church's 1.5% holding in the country's largest
lender,
National Bank of Greece,
hasn't paid any dividends since 2008—depriving the church of some €5
million a year that used to help fund church activities. Rental income
from its property portfolio has dropped to below €2 million annually
from about €4 million in 2007, the church says.
On the front lines, the clergy is also hurting from the crisis, alongside the faithful.
In a parish near Father Theodoros's in Athens, Rev. Nikolaos
Koutroumanis, who is 45 and supports his wife and 14-year-old daughter,
has seen his salary fall by 30% in the last two years amid cuts to
public-sector salaries. He says he hasn't gone shopping for clothes, nor
has his wife, in the last two years.
"I have trust in God and that he will prevent the worst," said the
bearded priest, dressed in a long black robe. "What I fear is that at
the same time, I won't be able to pay my bills and taxes."
Write to Stelios Bouras at
stelios.bouras@dowjones.com
A version of this article appeared December
27, 2012, on page A9 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal,
with the headline: Greek Church Fields Calls to Do More.
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Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has
been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have
spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New
York State Racing Law
bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has
ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could
easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You
should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau
OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable
logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to
take people’s bets?”
Elias
Tsekerides, president of the
Federation of Hellenic Societies of
Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and
Palm Sunday.
“I
don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the
Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or
not open.”
OTB
officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone,
with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and
Hawthorne running.
One
option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York
City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million
– and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy
money.
