Elias Mosialo is the Greek representative to the World Health Organization. He has angered Greek Orthodox bishops, priests, monastics, and faithful because of a picture he posted on Facebook. Without getting into the specifics, the picture included a caption that blasphemed the most holy Theotokos. He has since refrained from offering apologies to Christians. In addition, a member of the Greek Parliament

representing the leftist SYRIZA party compared angry Orthodox Greeks with jihadist terrorists.

Many elitists do not seem to be able to tell the difference between extremism and righteous anger. Christians are justifiably angry at the insult directed at the Panagia. Mr. Mosialo ridiculed Christians for believing that the Theotokos was a virgin. Throughout the western world we are seeing greater intolerance directed toward Christians by secularists in prominent positions such as government and media. In

America and Europe there is a war on traditional Christian morality as can be seen by a recent scandal at a school in California where teachers targeted minors in order to teach them about transgender ideology in complete defiance of the wishes of parents.

Mr. Mosialo ridiculed the most holy Theotokos. We Christians can respond by pointing out that some scientific and academic institutions in America and Europe would have us believe that men can get pregnant, that there are more than two genders, and that gender is a social construct that has nothing to do with biology. The book of Genesis tells us that “male and female he created them.” In addition, we

have the writing of Saint Paul, who wrote “for the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:25).

Greek Orthodox can respond to Mr. Mosialo by reminding him of the crucial role that the Greek Orthodox Church has played in protecting and sustaining the Greek world in times of crisis and turmoil. History has shown us that the most Holy Theotokos protected Constantinople from invaders during the Byzantine era. During the centuries of Ottoman Turkish occupation, the Orthodox Church sustained the Greek

language and Greek national consciousness, making it possible to endure horrific and appalling suffering. Archbishop Germanos of Patras raised the standard of revolt in 1821 and throughout the next century the Greek bishops played prominent roles in the liberation of Greek territories from the Turks.

We have the examples of Saint Chrysostom of Smyrna who rejected opportunities to leave his flock and remained to be martyred with them. We have the example of Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens who defied the Nazis and gave shelter and protection to the Jews of Greece. We have the example of Archbishop Spyridon who alone among prominent Greeks in September 1955 condemned the anti-Greek pogroms in Constantinople by the Turks and the American and European indifference to them.

Most recently we had the example of Archbishop Christodoulos of blessed memory. It is Archbishop Christodoulos who comes to mind in the aftermath of the recent insults from Mr. Mosialo. The late Archbishop challenged the secular elitists of his own day such as Prime Minister Costas Simitis. When Prime Minister Simitis sought to remove religion from Greek identity cards in 2000, the Archbishop rallied

the faithful in Athens and Thessaloniki to protest. The late Archbishop was a great visionary who understood the eventual consequences  of anti-Christian fanaticism.

The Archbishop lamented the intervention of the European Union in Greek internal affairs and the failure to mention Christianity in the European constitution. The Archbishop was looked down upon by the socialist party and other secular elites, much as the professor today mocks our Greek Orthodox faith. In 2017, the SYRIZA government in Greece proceeded to legalize same sex marriage and transgender identities for minors. Such policies are detrimental to the institution of the Greek family and it should be remembered that the family was instrumental in keeping Hellenism alive during the centuries of Ottoman Turkish occupation.

The mockery of the Panagia is intolerable to Orthodox Greeks.

We are seeing the emergence of anti-Christian policies in America

and Europe. The extension of these anti-Christian policies and attitudes to our beloved Greece is intolerable! The European Union has provoked anger in Roman Catholic countries such as Poland and Hungary by seeking to impose on them radical policies of social engineering. One of the reasons why tensions exist between the West and Orthodox Russia is because the West sought to promote

LGBT ideology to Russian school children several years ago.

Greek Orthodox Christians everywhere are entitled to a very sincere and humble apology from Professor Mosialo. A little respect is in order for the people of Greece and for the Orthodox Church whose contributions to the preservation of Hellenic identity and the building of modern Greece are indisuptable!