The priests of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Thebes and Livadia said they would refuse to perform funeral services for people who were cremated. “We will not bury those who are cremated. The Church does not accept the incineration of the body for its members. This is not obscurantism,” the clerics said in a resolution made public on Tuesday.

“Incineration indicates a lack of faith and hope as it means the complete annihilation and obliteration of man,” an excerpt in the statement read.

“The burial of the dead human body in earth presupposes and implies faith in the Resurrection of the Dead at the Second Coming and signifies the hope and eschatological expectation of the life of the future century” the statement read.

“The Church does not accept the incineration of the body for its members, for this is a temple of the Holy Spirit, an element of the image of the fallen man in the likeness of God and surrounds it with respect and honour as an expression of love to its anointed member and as a manifestation of faith in the resurrection shared by all. It is inconceivable for an Orthodox Christian to deny burial and opt for incineration” the statement continued.