When the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) said that some groups have not borne the brunt of Greece’s economic crisis, the party didn’t just have wealthy businessmen in mind. The former Greek government’s single property tax (ENFIA) made exemptions for all places of worship and charitable organizations. Now, the time has come for the Greek Orthodox church – one of the richest organizations of Greece – to pay taxes on the 1,400 estimated property holdings it has across Greece. Nobody knows the exact worth, but estimations flow off the charts.

Bearing in mind SYRIZA’s interest in shifting the burden from the shoulders of more vulnerable groups to those who haven’t paid the price of the crisis until now, it is understandable that Anthimos, the conservative metropolitan bishop of Thessaloniki, said in a sermon prior to the referendum on July 5: “Vote whatever you like, that is your absolute right, but this time I too have the right to make a confession, I will vote for Europe.”

Further south in Volos, Bishop Ignatios said: “A person who thinks he knows everything cannot be a person who promotes unity… and such people exist, they are in leading roles, they are quarrelsome, ready to cause break-ups.” No doubt his harsh words were for the government.

Since the start of the crisis the church has come under fire for its holdings and unwillingness to bail Greece out of the crisis. A community petition on Avaaz.org is near its goal of gathering 50,000 signatures calling for Archbishop Ieronymos of Greece to pay off Greece’s debt. “We are asking for Archbishop Ieronymous to just give away a part of church property to pay off the entire Greek debt immediately,” call the petitioners. “The monastic assets alone are estimated at 2.5 to 5 trillion euros, that is six to 12 times the amount of Greek debt.”