Thessaloniki, March 12, 2024
Photo: vimaorthodoxias.gr
The Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Thessaloniki is protesting movie posters advertising a film being shown as part of this year’s 26th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (March 7-17).
According to Metropolitan Philotheos, posters for the movie Stray Bodies by Elina Psykou, “exceed the limits of malicious provocation … under the guise of a dubious artistic approach.”
In particular, the poster features a topless pregnant woman hanging on a cross, reports Vima Orthodoxias.
Expressing his concern and distress as an Orthodox pastor, Met. Philotheos asked Elise Zalandos, the general director of the film festival, not to display the poster. The matter “has troubled [him] considerably,” he writes.
The hierarch writes:
Besides the fact that the [poster] seems unrelated to the content of the [film] －the exploration of bodily autonomy in the Europe of many freedoms－ as roughly mentioned in the program, even if one tries to make a liberating or morbid connection, it’s deeply provocative to the religious sentiment of the Christians of our city, regardless of denomination and confession: a cross with a semi-nude woman, possibly the Panagia, surrounded by the stars of the European Flag (referring to the Immaculate Conception icon of the Virgin Mary or the Virgin Mary of Lourdes, two globally respected Christian symbols?).
Such abuse of holy images has unfortunately become a trend among “artists” lately, “touching, and sometimes even exceeding, the limits of malicious provocation and malicious intent.”
The Metropolitan continues:
The Church, of course, does not act reactively, fearfully, or vindictively. After all, no one and nothing has the power to fundamentally stain or tarnish the sacred figures of the faith. However, we, the members of the Church, who in the person of Christ see a father, brother, Friend, He Who embraces fallen man, forgives anyone who wants to return to Him, and as a “manic lover” attracts every repentant soul, are obliged in the name of this love, but also the truth about Him and all the sacred figures of the faith, such as our Mother the Panagia, to testify and protest, even if some “Christianophobic” circles deny this right and turn a blind eye, attributing non-existent intentions to the Church and the expression of its positions, speaking of “darkness and division, sermons of hate, witch hunts, rejection, punishment, the Middle Ages, incitement to acts of violence.”
Despite all this, the Church and those of us who freely belong to It will continuously pray, not arrogantly and disparagingly, not distinguishing between “sinners” and “the saved,” not for “fire to fall,” but for the repentance of us all, our spiritual ascension and resurrection, the restoration of humanity to the original beauty of the Godhead.
In our Orthodox Christian tradition, freedom is not an idea, but a Person, Who is none other than the Person of Christ. Therefore, freedom as a conscious choice of life necessarily presupposes respect and responsibility, both for ourselves and for others. In this exact context, we ask you not to consent to offending the free disposition of our love for Christ, His Church, and the sacred persons of our faith, by displaying the poster for the documentary Stray Bodies.
Esteemed Madam General Director,
I am confident that you understand and comprehend my concern and distress as a Christian shepherd and spiritual father of the Orthodox Christians of Thessaloniki. I earnestly beseech you, in your prudent judgment and conscience, to do what is appropriate. Wishing the 26th Festival to be crowned with success and you personally to have God’s blessing in your life and good deeds, I remain,
With love and honor in the Lord,
METROPOLITAN
† Philotheos of Thessaloniki
In November, a concert by the blasphemous Polish black metal band Batushka scheduled for Belgrade was canceled after an outcry from faithful Orthodox Christians. In February 2022, three Orthodox hierarchs in Argentina protested the blasphemous disfigurement of an icon of Christ the Savior at the Enrique Larreta Museum of Spanish Art in Buenos Aires.
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The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival provides the following synopsis of Stray Bodies:
Robin is pregnant, but does not wish to become a mother. Katerina is not able to have a child, even though she wants to. Kiki's sole desire is to end her life with dignity. Unfortunately, abortion, in vitro fertilization and euthanasia are not legal in their respective countries. Stray Bodies explores the notion of body autonomy within Europe, a place where you are allowed to travel, work and consume freely, but not necessarily to live or die according to your wishes.
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