January 24, 2026

Athens News

News in English from Greece

New report: 96% of attacks on places of worship in Greece target Orthodox churches


New report General Secretariat for Religious Affairs of the Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports for 2024 records 412 attacks on religious sites throughout the country.

Despite the decrease compared to 2023, when 608 incidents were registered, the structure of threats remains the same: the main blow again fell on Orthodox churches and buildings, which accounted for 399 cases, i.e. 96.84% everyone attacks.

According to Orthodoxia, attacks include break-ins, thefts, vandalism, grave desecration, arson and other forms of criminal activity. Government agencies continue to interact with religious communities to systematically monitor such cases.

In addition to objects Orthodox Church of Greeceincidents also affected other faiths: three cases fell on objects Old Calendar Church of Greecefrom one to five episodes – per building Armenian Apostolic Diocesecommunities Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews and Muslims.

Secretary General Georgios Kalantzis noted that 2025 marks the tenth anniversary of the publication of the first official report on attacks on sacred sites in Greeceand during this time monitoring became a systemic practice.

The context remains troubling. All over Europe in 2024 registered 2,211 hate crimes against Christiansand the majority – V UKFrance, Germany and Spain. The number of attacks increased: from 232 in 2023 to 274 in 2024. One of the most resonant cases was the murder of a 76-year-old Catholic monk in November 2024 in a monastery in the province of Valencia.



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