FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HELLENIC ETHNIC RELIGION AND TRADITION

     

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat is the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes?

    The Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes (Ypato Symvoulio Ellinon Ethnikon – YSEE) is the official body in Greece currently representing the historically continuous Hellenic Ethnic Religion (and as of "2017" recognised by the Greek State as a known religion). The aim of YSEE is to restore the true (i.e. ethnic and polytheistic) Hellenic tradition, religion and way of life in modern-day society in Greece, which continues to be oppressed by the Christian Orthodox Church and subjected to a relentless byzantinism. YSEE was founded in July "1997" in the form of a non-profit civil partnership. It consists of supporters who are divided into two concentric circles. The inner circle consists of active supporters, while participation in the outer circle is limited to simply providing financial support for our activities. Ever since Greek law 4301/2014 passed through the Greek Parliament, finally allowing the establishment of legal persons of a religious nature, YSEE has been going through the required legal process to assume said form.

    Αρχή σελίδαςHow are the objectives of the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes described in its articles of association?

    According to its articles of association, the aim of the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes is to use all legal means to raise awareness among the people of Greece, to ensure the respect, preservation, physical and moral protection, restoration and promotion of monuments, symbols, ideas and living forms of the ancient Hellenic Tradition, in the sense of the broader view of the Cosmos, philosophical way of thinking, political understanding, ethnic religion, fine arts, mores and customs, language, Mythology, symbolism, Hellenic literature, as well as all other relevant areas.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhy "Supreme"?

    Because, as the official entity representing the Hellenic Ethnic Religion, the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes is its foremost administrative body. It was founded after long contacts, discussions and processes that started in "1993" among the oldest ethnic groups in Greece (Diipetes in Athens, Taleta in Sparta and Ethnic Hellenes in Thessaly). In "1995"-"1996", these groups had agreed upon a temporary formation, the "Omovoulion of Ethnikoi Hellenes", which was founded two months after a gathering on southern Olympus on 9 September "1995".

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhen was the Hellenic Ethnic Religion founded?

    Being natural, all ethnic religions have not been created by specific people and, by extension, they are not based on revelations. The foundations of all natural, ethnic religions are lost in the depths of the antiquity of each ethnos (nation). We are simply the modern-day embodiment of the Hellenic Ethnic Religion, which has been running its course throughout the ages without interruption, in many cases and for many centuries outlawed due to the persecutions by Christians.

    Αρχή σελίδαςIn "2017" you were recognised by the Greek State as a "known religion". Doesn't that contradict your previous statement that you do not wish to be recognised by a "semi-theocratic" State? What has changed for you to ask to be recognised by such a State?

    Up until "2014", Greek legislation did not provide for a process whereby religions could be officially recognised. In the past, this issue would be cast into a tangled web of bureaucracy and if any non-Christian person were to overcome said bureaucracy they would be denied recognition by the local orthodox bishop, even be subjected to the theological judgment of institutional bodies of the Greek State! In other words, the process in effect at the time was most degrading, whereby the existence of any religious community had to be authorised by the local orthodox bishop. The Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes had denounced this outrageous process and, via a Memorandum submitted to State authorities, had requested, among other things, the establishment of "religious legal persons" in Greece. When Greek law 4301/2014 finally provided for the establishment of religious legal persons in Greece, the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes exercised this right, as mentioned in the answer to the first question, and at the same time applied for a license to found and operate a place of worship

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhy do you call yourselves "Ethnikoi"?

    Because "Ethnikos" (ethnic) is everyone who has assumed a specific ethnic identity and lives by a specific ethos, as part of a so-called ethnic tradition and religion. In terms of religion, "Ethnikos" is everyone who has not denied all of the above as a result of the proselytising into non-ethnic, proselytic, "global", "universal" or world religions (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism). In other words, everyone who continues to follow their ethnic religion ("Ethnische Religion" or "Stammesreligion" in German, "Religion etnica" in Spanish and so on). The term "Ethnic Religion" - coined in the 19th century by James Freeman Clarke - is universally known and quite clear. Under normal circumstances, the term "Hellenes" should suffice to denote what we are now expressing with "Ethnikoi Hellenes". Unfortunately, however, the term "Hellenes" has been reduced to merely denoting citizenship of modern Greece rather than the Hellenic ethnic worldview (Cosmotheasis) and the Hellenic ethnic attitudes and aspirations.

    Αρχή σελίδαςSome people claim that the term «Ethnikos» is insulting. Is it not?

    Judaism uses the derogatory term goyim for all non-Jews. Greek-speaking Jews of Ptolemaic Egypt wrongly translated this term as "Ethnikoi" and, of course, later Christian theoreticians followed their example. But this is of no concern to us. In fact, it was quite unsurprising that Christian theoreticians used the term "Ethnikoi" in a derogatory sense, attributing to it all those features of pre-Christian humanity that they were unable to deal with in any other way, particularly the worldview of the then intellectually, mentally and spiritually superior Hellenism, its sublime system of values, its polyarchic nature, its cultural refinement and its tolerance. This is exactly what is to be expected from an expansionist, globalising religion that does not tolerate any ethnic deviations. As explained in the answer to the previous question, we are using the term in its true sense. Besides, up until the end of the 18th century, even the term "Hellenes" was used by Christians in a derogatory sense, denoting "idolaters" or "pagans".

    Αρχή σελίδαςSo you are not dodekatheists, pagans etc.?

    Of course not. The term dodekatheism is a construct of the Christian propaganda aimed at devaluing the Hellenic Ethnic Religion by depicting it as a naive faith in mythological persons or by identifying it with various antiquity-stricken people who perform ridiculous happenings. Our religion has, as an infinite increase of En (One), thousands of Gods. The Dodekatheon simply symbolises the perfection of the Cosmos, the eternal natural order of the universe via six "male" and six "female" Gods and Goddesses, the divine quintessence that completes and holds the Cosmos together. This quintessence is also symbolised by the "most perfect" of all of Pythagoras’ renowned polyhedrons, the Dodecahedron.

    Αρχή σελίδαςSo you are polytheists?

    We could say "yes", but not without stressing the fact that we are using the terms "monotheism", "polytheism" etc. only conventionally (the term "monotheism" was coined in 1660 by English theologian Henry More, and the term "polytheism" was coined in 1580 by Roman-Catholic French writer and lawyer Jean Bodin and was later adopted by Anglican priest Samuel Purchas in 1613). So we are using the term "polytheism" only conventionally, simply to make the distinction from the so-called "monotheism", given that normal humanity has never questioned the multiplicity of everything. En can only exist as the precondition for the many. Monotheism, which is a construct of part of the Judaic clergy during the so-called Babylonian captivity, is a misleading term as it has nothing to do with the number of the Gods, but with the fact that it places the Creative Cause outside the Cosmos. This implies that there can somehow be creation out of nothing (a most unscientific assumption) and, by extension, that the Cosmos has a beginning and, therefore, will end at some point in the future, whenever its maker so wishes. What is more, monotheism implies that the laws that govern the Cosmos have been set by this external (and sole eternal) Cause, which is entitled to exercise autocracy over its construct. By contrast, polytheism, i.e. ethnic religions, maintains that the Cosmos (as living matter) has emerged from itself and is eternal. There is no external creative Cause nor creation out of nothing, and the Gods (as an increase of the En into specific, self-existent entities) have been born from within the Cosmos to serve its own endless course.

    Αρχή σελίδαςDo you want to replace the one God of monotheists with many Gods?

    Of course not. Bringing the Hellenic Ethnic Religion into the forefront is not a mere issue of replacing one name with another or an absurd unit with a logical multitude. Most importantly, what needs to be changed is the currently dominant, twisted view of the Cosmos, as it is this view that in the end defines how people interact with their physical environment, with other people, as well as with their inner world. The so-called monotheism insists on a twisted, oppositional, confrontational relationship among Man, Nature and God. By contrast, according to the Hellenic view of the Cosmos, Man, Nature and the Gods exist as a constant and unbreakable unity.

    Αρχή σελίδαςAre you idolaters? If not, then how do you justify the presence of statues in your worship?

    From a scientific point of view, idolatry is every worship of the Divine using idols, i.e. conventional representations of the Gods in the form of images, statues or symbols. Naturally, this is the only serious method of approaching the Divine. Otherwise, without visible forms and representations that help interpret the unattainable and impersonal divine entities, it becomes impossible for people to comprehend them even in the slightest. This is the reason why most Christians also practise idolatry, as they have come to realise that the lack of visual representations does not lead anywhere (sadly, entire rivers of blood had to be spilt in the slaughters between iconoclasts and icon-worshipers for them to realise this simple truth). However, the terms "idolater" and "idolatry" were used in a purely insulting manner in the Christian polemic against the Hellenes, in an attempt to mock and devalue the religion of our most intelligent and free-thinking ancestors. The so-called Fathers of Christianity, utterly powerless to logically confront philosophical thinking and totally unable to transform the strong religious feeling of the Hellenes, tried to ridicule it by accusing our ancestors of worshipping the materials out of which the representations were made (stone, marble, clay, wood etc.). However, they were easily out-argued by Celsus (The True Word), who quite ironically informed them that the Ethnikoi know very well out of which material the representations of their Gods are made, but it just so happens that the object of their worship are the Gods themselves and not their representations. Of course, the Church’s actual definition of idolatry is not that which is put forward for their uneducated flock. After their Three Hierarchs, our Gods are no longer considered non-existent, but existing entities that supposedly fight against Yeshua and Yahweh. And it is at this point where Christians so obscenely insult our ethnic religion, our ethnic Gods and our ethnic religious symbols, by dismissing them as parts of an alleged worship of daemons.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat does the term "religion" mean to you?

    The term “religion” refers to every organised system of worship and theology, regardless of its organising structure. In the Hellenic language, the etymology of the word θρησκεία (thriskia – religion), σέβασμα (sevasma) according to Hesychios, Μυστήριο (mysterio) according to the Orphics (Πρώτος Ορφεύς Μυστήρια Θεών παραδέδωκεν, όθεν και Θρησκεία το Μυστήριον καλείται από του Θρακός Ορφέως) and θεοσέβεια (theosevia) according to Souidas dictionary, is derived from the verb θρησκεύειν (thriskevin), which, at least from the time of Herodotus (5th century BCE), means to recognise and perform a specific set of rites. Any further etymology for the verb θρησκεύειν is unclear and rather unimportant. That said, several etymologies have been proposed, e.g. from the verb θρειν (thrin – to protect), from the verb θρώσκειν (throskin – to rise), from the word Θεός (Theos – God) and the verb ρήσκειν (riskin – to speak), from the verb θρέομαι (threomai – to recite loudly or in a whisper, as in the word ηδύθρους (edithrus) which means he/she who speaks in a sweet voice) etc.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat does the term παράδοση (paradosi – tradition) mean to you?

    Tradition has nothing to do with the so-called local colour or folklore, nor with the various local customs recorded by folklorists. Tradition has to do with the origins and transfer throughout the centuries of a set of notions, perspectives and conceptions that help people who are a living part of the specific tradition to interpret both themselves and the natural and moral environment in a very specific way. Tradition is a way of seeing and the knowledge transferred from one generation to the next, passing through the filters of social and moral differentiations and reaching its partakers always accurate and respected. Tradition concentrates in its essence everything that has been; all the ways, the narratives, the unspoken, the myths, the rites that have been expressed within its context in the past and at the same time all that have not yet been expressed but exist in a state of potentiality. At any given moment, tradition is complete and at the same time has the capacity to evolve. It embodies internal knowledge that co-exists harmoniously with every aspect of life: personal, collective, political. It is universal transfer and universal experience, given that the only thing that may vary among its different partakers is the extent and quality of this transfer and experience. Tradition is always objective (contrary to the subjective, individual perception and view). It is always ancestral and ethnic. It can never be imposed from one nation to another. There is no tradition shared by more than one nation.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat do you mean when you say that your religion maintains historical continuity and that it has been passed on from one generation to the next?

    We mean that, despite having suffered systematic persecutions for centuries, our historical continuity has never been broken. Many of our sacred texts have been preserved by enlightened Hellenes (called Ελληνομνήμονες [Ellinomnemones], meaning those who remember and preserve the Hellenic way), such as Dimitrios Kavakis Rallis, who preserved part of the works of Georgios Gemistos Plethon that had officially been burnt by Gennadius Scholarius, the first ecumenical patriarch of Ottoman Constantinople. Our religion simply went into stealth mode and became invisible to the eyes of its persecutors. It managed to survive and move forward in an orderly fashion thanks to different families in Greece and Italy, as well as to Plethonian mercenary warriors of the diaspora (the so-called stratioti, 15th and 16th century) and their descendants.

    Αρχή σελίδαςYou claim that you carry the torch of the Ancient Hellenic Religion that has never ceased to exist to this day. Given that your claim is not backed up by literature, why would anyone believe that your religion has indeed been passed on from one generation to the next? This way anyone can claim anything.

    It is true that anyone can claim anything. However, if one has the ability to accurately assess situations and/or people and applies good judgment, they can easily distinguish between the natural expression of an ancestral religion that has been passed on from one generation to the next from selective misappropriations of said religion’s ancient past by individuals or groups of people who loot an ethnic past or incorporate it into their pursuits, while at the same time denying the term "Ethnic". We carry the torch of our Ethnic Religion and this does not concern any outside curious or cynical deniers or plunderers, but only ourselves, who embrace our own tradition. Whoever is looking for references in literature for an invisible historical path can easily put a tombstone over an imaginary grave of Ethnic Hellenism with the year "529" inscribed on it; i.e. when Justinian sealed off Plato's Academy in Athens. We will not stand in the way of whoever agrees with the view that Ethnic Hellenism died in the 6th century, implying that Plethon made an arbitrary connection with a dead ancient past and that, in turn, we made an arbitrary connection with Plethon's dead ancient past. We are not going to attack them nor are we interested in convincing anyone about their errors. Tradition is limited to texts only when it has been looted and its signifiers have been taken away or it has died. Equally dead is any tradition that feels obligated to explain or prove its constituting elements to outsiders. When a tradition is alive and continues to live on without interruptions throughout history, each generation picks up the torch and passes it on in the form of inner truth, as a continuing historical optimism that does not err, staying true and just to the utmost extent that the current historical conditions allow. A living tradition does not have to answer to nor converses with outsiders; it does not speak in the language of its deniers and, most importantly, it cannot be fragmented and broken down into historical periods nor sealed off into individual interpretations and evaluations. Confronted with a living tradition, one either accepts it in its entirety or remains an outsider who is indifferent, laughs at it or tries to loot it.

    Αρχή σελίδαςΟDoesn't the way you define "living tradition" cancel the concept of dialogue?

    All types of dialogue take place at the level of views not at the level of actual experience. For example, you cannot hit someone and then enter into a dialogue about whether they were hurt, claiming that, in your view, they weren’t. A few decades ago, a French philosopher said the following about tradition:
    Tradition is powerful and active when it is not felt as such. By contrast, it goes in decline from the moment it feels obligated to explain itself. What tradition represents can only be perceived as an object of actual experience. In other words, it is the psyche that comes into play, not the spirit. In this sense, tradition is a set of elements that people of a specific ethnos, in a specific time and place, collectively feel as theirs and it allows them to be who they are. It goes without saying that the respect of traditions, even silent respect, is connected to the respect of those who founded them and passed them on.

    Αρχή σελίδαςCan someone from a different nation embrace the Hellenic Ethnic Religion?

    Ethnic religions refer to specific nations and that is why they do not partake in proselytising. Just like in ancient times, however, they accept people from other nations who freely decide to let go of their own ethnic religion and adopt the religion of a different nation.

    Αρχή σελίδαςBy being Ethnikoi Hellenes aren’t you dividing the Hellenes?

    Quite the contrary. We would say that not only do we keep Hellenism alive, preserve our ancestral values and pass on the torch of our ethnic value system to next generations, but we also guarantee the unity of Hellenism on its true ethnic foundation. The dividers are those who, when the modern Greek State was founded, arbitrarily defined as Hellenes those who believed in Christianity, which is not Hellenic, not only in terms of its origin but also in terms of its intentions (this becomes perfectly clear if one considers what kind of people it produces). The dividers are those who try in every way to eliminate any chance of true Hellenes inhabiting this land.

    Αρχή σελίδαςAre you aiming to restore antiquity in the present day? What do you think you will achieve by restoring ancient practices in modern times?

    The Hellenic Ethnic Religion maintains historical continuity and has been passed on from one generation to the next. We do not imitate one or another piece of antiquity, we are not trying to bridge centuries-long gaps, we do not invent data, we do not indulge in literature, and we are not interested in festival-like events. We do not strive to restore ancient practices in a superficial manner. On the contrary, we strive to restore the Hellenic archetype, i.e. the type of person who embodies the humanitarian values our ancestors first expressed and brought forward, the type of person who walks down the path of Arete. We strive to humanise the modern-day barbaric society of Modern Greeks (Romioi) on the basis of the eternal Hellenic values and principles that propel people into creating civilisation, promoting cultural betterment and tolerance, engaging in multiple activities and becoming worthy of the truths of the Gods. Of course, our reach is not limited to the confines of the barbaric Modern Greek society, but extends to the entire human race. Nowadays, more than ever, mankind needs to rediscover the ancient values so as to escape the spiritual and moral mire it has been trapped in.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat is the political stance of the Hellenic Ethnic Religion?

    Healthy religions have no political stance. The only stance they are entitled to have is to line up with anything that guarantees the freedom and dignity of people. In this regard, the Hellenic Ethnic Religion is in favour of self-government and democracy and opposes all kinds of totalitarianism.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat is your stance vis-a-vis the various political ideologies and their followers?

    All decent religions accept people who turn to them, regardless of their individual political, nutritional, sexual, aesthetic or other personal choices. That said, as a religion per se, we steer clear of all ideologies of modernity, especially those that constitute political forms of monotheism and infect humankind with absolute ideas of how to fix the world, threaten human freedom and either deny (internationalism) or misappropriate the concept of ethnos.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWith your ideological neutrality aren't you accepting the theory of the two extremes and equate different political ideologies?

    As a religion, we are not interested in evaluating the ideologies of modernity, e.g. which one produced the most victims or lowered unemployment the most. Our main concern vis-a-vis them, as well as vis-a-vis any other ideological, philosophical or religious system, is whether they meet one essential condition: whether they defend and promote the notion that man constitutes a value in himself, i.e. humanism. And there is no doubt whatsoever that the various forms of political monotheism do not meet this condition.

    Αρχή σελίδαςDo you think that modern-day Greeks are the natural descendants of Ancient Hellenes?

    Ethnically, yes. The same notion was in the minds of the prominent figures who led the revolution in 1821 and from its very start spoke about ethnic uprising after 20 centuries under foreign rule. The ethnic conscience of Hellenes, both in Greece and abroad, survived throughout the centuries-long tyranny of the Byzantines and the Ottomans, as clearly demonstrated by the case of the circle of Plethon Gemistos, and returned to Greece in the 17th and the 18th century with the Enlightenment and other revolutionary groups. It must be made clear that no ethnos is negated by any occasional lack of expression of its ethnicity due to external circumstances. Even a handful of people expressing and keeping it alive is more than enough for an ethnos to survive. This is what happened with the Hellenic Ethnos throughout the centuries of the Christian and Ottoman rule. Non-ethnic people, excluding those who have bowed down, who have been indoctrinated and consciously hate their ethnicity, are simply dormant members of their ethnos.

    Αρχή σελίδαςIs there racial continuity between Modern Greeks and Ancient Greeks?

    The majority of them, yes, some no, but that is of no interest, as every population group has the capacity to assimilate. Let obsolete racists of both sides jabber all they want, both those who try to present Modern Greeks as 100% Slavs or whatever else and those who try to present them as 100% blood relatives of Aeacus.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat is your stance vis-a-vis national issues?

    Let us be clear about what we mean by "national issues", as these are quite specific and Ethnic Hellenes have been straightforwardly expressing their views with dozens of statements and press releases. Truly national (i.e. ethnic) issues are the deforestation and the gradual desertification of the east Mediterranean, the gradual settlement in our fatherland by populations that cannot be assimilated, our multi-level enslavement to the foreign religion, the overwhelming functional illiteracy, the complete lack of aesthetics, the dreadful lack of education, let alone Hellenic education, the growing introversion and secrecy, the degeneracy of mass media, the cowardliness of politicians, the absence of meritocracy and so on. Those who limit national issues to national sovereignty are doing great harm, considering countless people of Greek origin as Turks, Italians etc., simply because they are not Christian Orthodox and do not live within the territory of the Greek State. Nation and State are not one and the same, and one can be smaller or bigger than the other.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat does the term "Fatherland" mean to you?

    This is a term that was completely forgotten throughout the Christian Middle Ages and deeply abused over the last two centuries, equally by those who try to exploit it and by those who deny it. We have restored the original meaning, that of our true Hellenic ancestors, and define the term as the land of our fathers, where the remains of our ancestors have been buried and where their souls reside. In other words, we primarily refer to a spiritual entity. For us Hellenes, defending our fatherland means defending the entire chain of our ethnos and religion, as well as of our psyche. For Ethnikoi Hellenes, the fatherland is not merely an area where we live and do things, but a constant interconnection of seemingly distant places and times; a place where the existing and the pre-existing co-exist. It is the access to an invisible sacred root from which we draw spiritual life.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat is your stance vis-a-vis proselytising?

    We are a purely ethnic religion, i.e. referring to a very specific ethnos. Under natural, free and normal conditions, that is if the Hellenic ethnos was not under foreign spiritual rule, all Hellenes would worship our ethnic Gods. Proselytising came exclusively out of anti-ethnic or non-ethnic, expansive and global religions. It aims at making people reject their previous normal views and adopt new, foreign ones. As an obscene process of luring naive or weak-minded people, proselytising is something that we find completely repugnant, both as a tool and as a specific point of view. We stand against proselytising, in whatever form, because it cancels out the autonomy and will of people. In Greece, all foreign religions proselytise, including the currently dominant religion, which even has the nerve to call it religious instruction (catechism) and proclaims that this should also be the objective of the State educational system. What is more, up until recently it claimed a proselytising monopoly by referring to some ridiculous laws dating back to the dictatorship of Metaxas in an attempt to penalise the proselytising activity of its competitors. As far as we are concerned, proselytising in whatever form constitutes raw violence against human freedom.

    Αρχή σελίδαςΚSome claim that the most educated of the ancient Hellenes were in reality monotheists.

    Those who claim such a thing are common frauds who try to exploit the confusion and ignorance about the true nature of the so-called monotheism (see our answer about whether we are polytheists). The Hellenes have never been monotheists. The people who make these ridiculous claims simply project their own Christian beliefs onto a world that has been radically different and then sell on their own reflection to the naive and the ignorant.

    Αρχή σελίδαςDoes the Hellenic Ethnic Religion have a professional clergy?

    The Hellenic Ethnic Religion has never had nor does it currently have a professional clergy in its main form of worship, which is public and private worship. In ancient times, professionals could be found only in oracle and mystic worship, two institutions that unfortunately have been lost. In modern-day ethnic worship, any moral person who respects the Gods can perform priest duties. Contrary to monotheist priests who pretend to represent their God to people, ethnic priests assume the duty of representing their community to the world of the Gods.

    Αρχή σελίδαςDo you have specific worship rites?

    Certainly. In fact, part of the rites performed today have been handed down from previous generations and part has resulted from thorough study of ancient sources and shaped to meet the religious needs of modern-day Ethnikoi Hellenes, without ensnaring participants in forced activities, formalism, ritualism and photographic reproductions of ancient practices. Apart from the old hymns taken from Homer, Orpheus, Plethon and others, we have added and wish to add more in the future, which will be composed by various members of our community who are well attuned to the theology of our Ethnic Religion.

    Αρχή σελίδαςIn order for someone to take part in the Hellenic Ethnic Religion, do they need to take an oath?

    No. An oath is taken only by priests and priestesses for the honourable performance of their duties.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhen do you celebrate, which celebrations and how?

    We celebrate the perpetual cycles of Mother Nature based on a solar celebration calendar that has been set up in a way that effectively links ancient and modern reality, as well as the ancient direct relationship with Nature and the moral guidance modern-day people need. Each of our twelve monthly celebrations is directly linked to moral exercise in a specific arete (virtue) that is related to the Gods. We also celebrate the start of each new moon cycle. Our rites are performed according to our ancestral customs, that is by inviting the God, reciting hymns and making bloodless sacrifices, i.e. offering flowers, fruit, incense, perfume and libation (wine, milk or honey).

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhy do you use the term “sacrifice”?

    Because there is no worship without offering, i.e. sacrifice. Otherwise it would be a farce. The theology of sacrifice is based on Communication and Logos, both gifts offered by the Gods. In return, mortals offer material goods provided by Nature to ensure life. We could say that through sacrifice in essence we are asking the Gods to assent to the need to consume, which is the foundation of mortal life. The philosopher Sallustius, in his work On the Gods and the Cosmos, stressed, "Since we have received everything from the Gods, it is right to pay the giver some tithe of his gifts… Prayers without sacrifices are only words, with sacrifices they are live words; the word gives meaning to the life, while the life animates the word."

    Αρχή σελίδαςDo you make blood sacrifices?

    No. There are two kinds of sacrifices: blood sacrifices (killing an animal that is then served in a celebratory meal) and bloodless sacrifices. Both are equally sacred. However, now that people have moved away from Nature and consume meat from animals savagely slaughtered in industrial slaughterhouses and bought from super markets in plastic wrappers, it is hard to understand the sanctity of blood sacrifices. This is why we stick to bloodless sacrifices. The denouncement of blood sacrifices by Christians is fake and hypocritical, and aims solely at slandering Ethnic Religions to people who do not think much. Christians kill millions of lambs and turkeys in their celebrations - and not in the context of a sacrifice - and they seem to be perfectly fine with that.

    Αρχή σελίδαςIs it true that ancient Hellenes also made human sacrifices?

    This is another vulgar lie by Christians. Ôhe Hellenic Ethnic Religion is the most glorious approach of the Divine throughout history. It goes hand in hand with Philosophy, Science and all the known cultural feats of our ancestors and gave prominence to the self-worth of Man, inventing and promoting the very concept of Humanism. Therefore, it has never included human sacrifices in its worship practices. That would have been irrational from any point of view. The sacrifice is a sacred act of communication between mortals and the Gods; it is an offering of gratitude from the former to the latter and it goes without saying that it could not include human victims. Those who know what our ancestors have been also know that no human sacrifice has ever been recorded in the official worship of the independent and autonomous Hellenic cities (also confirmed by archaeological research) and that any reference to such practices falls exclusively into the sphere of mythological narrations.

    Αρχή σελίδαςIn the Hellenic Ethnic Religion are women allowed to perform rites?

    Of course. And not only are they allowed to perform rites, but it is so dictated by the Gods themselves. After all, everything comes from two starting points. Even our Ethnic Pantheon consists in half of Goddesses. In fact, women are closer to the cycles of Nature and also have the exceptional privilege of carrying new life within them.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat is your stance vis-a-vis homosexuality?

    As mentioned earlier, all decent religions accept people who turn to them, regardless of their individual political, nutritional, sexual, aesthetic or other personal choices. No decent religion can be concerned with how adults express their sexuality with other consenting adults.

    Αρχή σελίδαςDo you perform same-sex marriages?

    No, we do not, because in the Hellenic Ethnic Religion the religious symbolism of marriage is quite specific, that is the union of the male with the female element.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat would you say to those who mock the Ethnic Religion on account of the promiscuity of its Gods?

    We simply feel sorry for them for their vulgarity and endless stupidity, what we cumulatively call "mythological illiteracy". Our Gods and Goddesses are eternal beings. As such, they have no sex in order to partake in bodily processes needed by mortals. It is just that we have always used the human form to describe them because the high-level theology included in the myths can only be assimilated when translated into a narrative language and adapted to human measures. Each myth has one or more deep symbolisms. Mortals are called upon to seek and interpret them according to their quality, that is according to their worldview and education. Therefore, it is not strange for vulgar people to tailor and interpret myths accordingly.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat does the term "worldview" (Cosmotheasis) mean?

    It means precisely what its constituent words denote, i.e. the way one views the world (Cosmos). This particular view of each ethnos results in their cosmology, religion, philosophy, value system and everyday customs. Therefore, the worldview is very important as it creates types of people, types of moral and political systems, and types of civilisations.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhy don't all the Greek groups that recite hymns to the Gods unite?

    Let us make clear certain key things once and for all. The boundaries of our actual space, that of Ethnikoi Hellenes, as this had been shaped in the years of preparations that led to the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes ("1993"-"1996") were very clear and called for a serious body to represent the whole thing. Hence, the establishment of YSEE in 1997. Of course, from then on, several late antiquity lovers or even planted fake antiquity lovers, individuals or groups, have come forward and will keep on coming forward. More often than not, in cahoots with dissidents or people who have been expelled from our space, they are literally consumed with the desire to question the authority of the official body of the Hellenic Ethnic Religion, as if this could ever be put into question by anyone who despises its very existence and actions. So, there is no question of not joining. On the one hand there are the organised Ethnikoi Hellenes and on the other there are various people with various views, pursuits and intentions who simply are of no concern to us. Of course they have every right to exist, provided that they do not ridicule our name, our values and our Religion, and most importantly they do not attack the organised Hellenic Ethnic Religion, which has been recognised by the State.

    Αρχή σελίδαςWhat is your view about the E Group?

    The fairy-tale about a messianic group of Super-Hellenes who are supposed to save us from our national enemies has been constructed with the clear purpose of trapping many uneducated or Messiah-worshipping people into the passivity of endlessly waiting for these non-existent saviours, in the same way as Christians are waiting for Jesus’ Second Coming. This fairy-tale aims at making people inert, appeasing them, putting them to sleep or driving them crazy. This blatant fraud aimed at exerting control over people is based on the fact that the willingness to take initiative and accountability are already non-existent in Modern Greeks, after their special preparation in orthodox schools, orthodox families and the relentless catechism that has been keeping Greece in byzantine darkness.

    Αρχή σελίδαςCan I be a Christian and at the same time abide by the Hellenic Ethnic Religion?

    No. Every apocalyptic, monotheistic, proselytising and global religion is completely incompatible with natural and ethnic religions.

    Αρχή σελίδαςYou often bring forward other ethnic traditions from all over the world. What does this have to do with Hellenism?

    The natural and most sacred law of diversity does not only concern biological species. It also encompasses human societies and their cultural achievements, i.e. their way of life, their traditions and, of course, their religions. For hundreds of thousands of years humanity experienced wonderful diversity, where thousands of nations lived according to their origins and temperament, with their own customs and their own religions. Nowhere in the planet had there been identical, homogenised people. On the contrary, in every territory an indigenous Ethnic civilisation would flourish. None of these nations were interested in imposing their civilisation, much less their religion, onto others and they would willingly adopt cultural elements from one another when they found them useful. Later on, this wonderful multiplicity was violently destroyed by expanding, proselytising, global religions, a victim of which has been the Hellenic Ethnic Religion, suffering relentless persecutions but managing to survive unlike thousands of others. So, it is an obvious duty of the resurfaced Hellenic Ethnic Religion to support all surviving ethnic religions, ethnic traditions and ethnic cultures, all over the Earth. This is why in 1998 we were a founding member of the World Congress of Ethnic Religions (ECER). To paraphrase American-Indian C. Gilday: "Wherever breathes someone who follows an ethnic religion, politics is happening and History is being written."