To become a cleric in the Orthodox Church in Greece, it’s necessary to be a man, single or married — but not, heaven forbid, a politician, an actor or a gynaecologist.
In drawing up new rules for the admission of candidates for the clergy, the church’s ruling synod says that people from certain professions will make most unsuitable clergymen.
Therefore, gynaecologists and coroners should not bother to apply, although other medical specialists are welcome.
Actors, representing as they do a calling that is “most soul-corrupting and harmful”, are also unwelcome, along with wine-shop keepers, members of the armed forces and, given a recent embarrassing series of corruption scandals, politicians and lawyers.
However, the synod says the church will open its arms to farmers, fishermen, beekeepers, candle-makers, carpenters and cobblers.
It will also welcome candidates from many modern professions, including seismology, meteorology, biology and astronomy.
The Greek clergy includes deacons, priests and bishops, each of which can include many different titles and degrees of responsibility. Parish priests are expected to be married men, but bishops are selected from among the unmarried clergymen, who usually reside in monasteries.
The synod says clergy should avoid lending money, gambling, dabbling in magic and visiting wine shops — “which can damage one’s soul”.
It also advises priests not to take orphans under their care “in order to avoid the scandals that arise from such cases”. — AFP