A dramatic incident unfolded at the National Gallery, with MP Nikos Papadopoulos at the center of the controversy. The MP from the NIKI party smashed glass panels and display cases in protest against an exhibition he deemed blasphemous.

According to reports, Papadopoulos has been arrested and is being transferred to the General Police Directorate of Attica (GADA) as part of the in flagrante delicto procedure.

Just a few days ago, Papadopoulos had sent a letter to the National Gallery’s administration, demanding the removal of the exhibits. He had also submitted a related question to Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni.

The Ministry of Culture responded by stating, “Acting always with the aim of protecting the country’s overall cultural and artistic heritage, we never engage in acts of censorship,” to which the MP answered that “while the Ministry of Culture speaks of protecting freedom of expression and avoiding censorship, at the same time, anyone who dares to publish an anti-abortion poster is labeled a fascist and a puritan.”

The MP’s Question

The periodic exhibition at the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum, running from January 22, 2025, to September 30, 2025, includes a work by a Greek artist that, among others, blatantly offends Orthodox Christian faith by directly insulting the sacred figures of the Virgin Mary and Christ, depicted in a distorted manner.

At a time when even atheists, facing insurmountable hardships, implore the help of our Mother, the Virgin Mary, this exhibition presents a deformed “icon of the Virgin Mary holding Christ (untitled).” Furthermore, another artwork by the same artist depicts Saint George as the “Butcher of the Avenue.”

Given that the prevailing religion in our homeland is that of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ (Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Greek Constitution), Minister Lina Mendoni’s response (noting that she took her oath of office with a religious oath on June 27, 2023) regarding this artwork was legally evasive and deeply misleading. Her response disregards the Constitution and at the same time profoundly offends the religious beliefs of the overwhelming majority of Greek citizens:

‘The Ministry of Culture, always acting with the aim of protecting the country’s overall cultural and artistic heritage, never engages in acts of censorship.’

As unbelievable as it may seem, this was the official response to the question I submitted.

It is worth noting that while the Ministry of Culture speaks of protecting freedom of expression and avoiding censorship, at the same time, anyone who dares to publish an anti-abortion poster is labeled a fascist and a puritan.

Thus, Minister Mendoni’s stance clearly demonstrates that the Ministry of Culture promotes everything except the Christian ideals of our people, becoming completely alienated from the vast majority of Greeks—people who wake up and go to sleep making the sign of the cross, with the name of our Mother, the Virgin Mary, on their lips, their only hope in both good and difficult times.

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Culture has aligned itself with the government’s anti-Christian narrative—the same government that closed churches and banned our people from participating in the Holy Passion of Jesus Christ, even altering the Resurrection service from midnight to 9 p.m., as if COVID-19 spreads at midnight but not at 9 p.m.

However, the Greek people, who overwhelmingly reject this totalitarian government, will soon rid themselves of the “orphans of Simitis” and the internationalists of To Potami party.

They will dry up just as “the river dried up” (a reference to To Potami’s dissolution) and will become a dark chapter in the history of the Greek nation.

Finally, enough with your so-called democracy, Minister Mendoni!