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 16 ERFURTER STUDIEN
ZUR KULTURGESCHICHTE
This book examines and compares, from an interdisciplinary perspective of
16

Georgios E. Trantas · Being and Belonging: Greek and Cypriot Orthodox Attitudes to ‘Europeanisation’
DES ORTHODOXEN CHRISTENTUMS
Religious Studies and International Relations, the conduct and rhetoric of the
Orthodox Churches of Greece and Cyprus vis-à-vis the ‘Europeanisation’ pro-
cess. This study focuses on the conditionality of their sense of belonging in
the European Union (EU) as their predisposition is dependent, in part, on their
sense of being, as well as on their perception of an ideal type of European-
ness. In this context, this book offers insights on how the Greek and Cypriot
Churches, as soft power actors of domestic and European capacity, perceive
Europeanness and Otherness; thereby, the compatibility of the personified
Greek and Cypriot states with the EU as a post-Westphalian political-cultural
entity comes into view.

Georgios E. Trantas

Being and Belonging

Georgios E. Trantas specialises in Religion, Politics and Cultural Diplomacy in A Comparative Examination of the Greek
Southeastern Europe. He has earned his Ph.D at the University of Erfurt where
and Cypriot Orthodox Churches’ Attitudes
to ‘Europeanisation’ in Early 21st Century
he has also been a pre-doctoral and post-doctoral Fellow. His academic
interests also include migration and the formation of religioscapes.

ISBN 978-3-631-76030-7 www.peterlang.com

ESKO 16_276030_Trantas_SG_HCA5 151x214 globaL.indd 1 12.07.18 18:48

 16 ERFURTER STUDIEN
ZUR KULTURGESCHICHTE
This book examines and compares, from an interdisciplinary perspective of
16

Georgios E. Trantas · Being and Belonging: Greek and Cypriot Orthodox Attitudes to ‘Europeanisation’
DES ORTHODOXEN CHRISTENTUMS
Religious Studies and International Relations, the conduct and rhetoric of the
Orthodox Churches of Greece and Cyprus vis-à-vis the ‘Europeanisation’ pro-
cess. This study focuses on the conditionality of their sense of belonging in
the European Union (EU) as their predisposition is dependent, in part, on their
sense of being, as well as on their perception of an ideal type of European-
ness. In this context, this book offers insights on how the Greek and Cypriot
Churches, as soft power actors of domestic and European capacity, perceive
Europeanness and Otherness; thereby, the compatibility of the personified
Greek and Cypriot states with the EU as a post-Westphalian political-cultural
entity comes into view.

Georgios E. Trantas

Being and Belonging

Georgios E. Trantas specialises in Religion, Politics and Cultural Diplomacy in A Comparative Examination of the Greek
Southeastern Europe. He has earned his Ph.D at the University of Erfurt where
and Cypriot Orthodox Churches’ Attitudes
to ‘Europeanisation’ in Early 21st Century
he has also been a pre-doctoral and post-doctoral Fellow. His academic
interests also include migration and the formation of religioscapes.

www.peterlang.com

ESKO 16_276030_Trantas_SG_HCA5 151x214 globaL.indd 1 12.07.18 18:48

Being and Belonging
 Erfurter Studien zur Kulturgeschichte
des Orthodoxen Christentums
Herausgegeben von Vasilios N. Makrides

BAND 16

Zu Qualitätssicherung und Peer Review Note on the quality assurance and peer
der vorliegenden Publikation review of this publication
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Publikation durch den Herausgeber is reviewed by the editor in
der Reihe in Zusammenarbeit mit collaboration with external referees.
externen Gutachtern geprüft.
 Georgios E. Trantas

Being and Belonging

A Comparative Examination of the
Greek and Cypriot Orthodox Churches’ Attitudes
to ‘Europeanisation’ in Early 21st Century
Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at
http://dnb.d-nb.de.

Zugl.: Erfurt, Univ., Diss., 2016

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress

Cover illustrations:
Top left: the premises of the Representation of the Church of Greece to the European
Union, Brussels; top right: the premises of the Representation of the Church of Cyprus
to the European Union, Brussels. Bottom left: Entrance to the European Commission
Charlemagne Building, Brussels; bottom right: array of European Union flags at the
courtyard of the Berlaymont Building, Brussels.
© Georgios E. Trantas

Printed by CPI books GmbH, Leck.

D 547
ISSN 1612-152X
ISBN 978-3-631-76030-7 (Print)
E-ISBN 978-3-631-76032-1 (E-PDF)
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DOI 10.3726/b14315
© Peter Lang GmbH
Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Berlin 2018
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Oxford ∙ Warszawa ∙ Wien
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Acknowledgements

The present book was initially submitted as a PhD thesis, the research for which
was conducted under the auspices of the Chair of Religious Studies – Orthodox
Christianity, Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Erfurt. The content has
since been revised and adapted to meet the respective publication requirements
and specifications.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere and wholehearted grati-
tude to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Vasilios N. Makrides, an overall accomplished
and internationally renowned academic whose guidance, motivation, support
and knowledge depth has been decisive in designing and carrying out my re-
search, and further, in writing this thesis. Being a genuinely interested mentor,
an actual Doktorvater, rather than a distant supervisor, I could not have asked
for a better one, as he combined both professional and personal virtues; I will
therefore always be in debt to him and cherish the entire academic experience.
In addition, I would like to thank the DFG-Graduiertenkolleg 1412 – Kulturelle
Orientierungen und gesellschaftliche Ordnungsstrukturen in Südosteuropa [Cultural
Orientations and Social Structures in Southeastern Europe] under the aegis of
which I was offered the opportunity to expand my knowledge base via getting in-
volved into an interdisciplinary group and was granted the funds to carry out my
project.
Further, I wish to thank all my interviewees for their trust and readiness to
share with me their information, knowledge and insights into political and reli-
gious affairs of domestic as well as international significance, and of relevance to
my research project.
Last but not least, I wish to thank my good friend and colleague Eleni Tseligka
(Staffordshire University) for her collaboration in parallel projects where our re-
search interests overlapped.
Abbreviations

AKEL Progressive Party of Working People (Gr.: Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα

Εργαζόμενου Λαού)
CEC Conference of European Churches
CNA Cyprus News Agency
COMECE Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Com-
munity (Commissio Episcopatuum Communitatis Europaeae)
CROCEU Committee of the Representatives of Orthodox Churches to
the European Union
CSC Church and Society Commission
DIKO Democratic Party (Gr.: Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα)
DISY Democratic Rally (Gr.: Δημοκρατικός Συναγερμός)
ECHR European Court of Human Rights
EC European Communities
ECB European Central Bank
ECSC European Coal and Steel Community
EDEK  Movement for Social Democracy (Gr.: ΕΔΕΚ – Κίνημα
Σοσιαλδημοκρατών)
EEC European Economic Community
EMU European Monetary Union
EOKA  National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (Gr.: Εθνική
Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών)
EPP European People’s Party
ESIR English School of International Relations
EU European Union
EUROKO European Party (Gr.: Ευρωπαϊκό Κόμμα)
FYROM Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
HSCC Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus
HSCG Holy Synod of the Church of Greece
IGO Intergovernmental Organisation
IMF International Monetary Fund
IR International Relations
LOOCEU Liaison Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union
MEP Member of European Parliament
MNA Macedonian News Agency
NAM Non-aligned Movement
8 Being and Belonging

NGO Non-governmental Organisation

OCC Orthodox Church of Cyprus
OCG Orthodox Church of Greece
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
PASOK Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Gr.: Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό
Κίνημα)
RCCEU Representation of the Church of Cyprus to the European Union
RCGEU Representation of the Church of Greece to the European Union
ROC Russian Orthodox Church
SSCMEA Special Synodical Committee for the Monitoring of European
Affairs
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
UOC Ukrainian Orthodox Church
USA United States of America
WCC World Council of Churches
WCRC World Communion of Reformed Churches
Table of Contents

1 Introduction and preliminaries��������������������������������������������������������������� 13

1.1 Introduction��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 13
1.2 Object of research – the Orthodox Churches of
Greece and Cyprus���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 14
1.2.1 Why Them? Why Then?������������������������������������������������������������������� 14
1.2.2 Comparability������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 19
1.3 Literature review�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 22
1.4 Methodological approach���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 25
1.5 Theoretical background synopsis��������������������������������������������������������������� 29
1.6 Importance of study (scientific contribution & originality)������������������� 32

2 Europeanness – the Problématique of adherence���������������������������� 35

2.1 Defining Europeanisation and the Problématique on European
identity������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 35
2.2 Perceptions of Europeanness – conditionality of Belonging������������������� 58
2.2.1 The Orthodox Church of Greece���������������������������������������������������� 58
2.2.2 The Orthodox Church of Cyprus��������������������������������������������������� 73
2.3 Churches and their offices of representation to Brussels:
functions and purposes�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 87
2.3.1 The Orthodox Church of Greece���������������������������������������������������� 87
2.3.2 The Orthodox Church of Cyprus������������������������������������������������ 103

3 State personification – the state through the eyes of the

corresponding churches��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 115
3.1 A detailed account of the theoretical framework���������������������������������� 115
3.2 The group-person’s articulation of Being and political culture������������ 133
10 Being and Belonging

3.2.1 The Orthodox Church of Greece������������������������������������������������ 133

3.2.1.1 Being under threat��������������������������������������������������������� 133
3.2.1.2 Heterodefinition (not being) and otherness���������������� 142
3.2.1.3 The ark of the nation’s identity and its benign
mutation�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 149
3.2.1.4 If the (chosen) nation is Orthodox, then so must
be the state���������������������������������������������������������������������� 155
3.2.1.5 Church‒state relations�������������������������������������������������� 159
3.2.2 The Orthodox Church of Cyprus������������������������������������������������ 178
3.2.2.1 Latent, conditional ethnarchy�������������������������������������� 178
3.2.2.2 Antitheses, kinship and self-perception��������������������� 193
3.2.2.3 Church‒state relations�������������������������������������������������� 202
3.2.2.4 Post-ethnarchic soft power������������������������������������������ 212

4 Readjustment to the post-Westphalian era������������������������������������� 225

4.1 “Reverse Westphalia” and the interplay with geopolitics
and culture�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 225
4.2 National churches’ response to challenges and their agenda
adaptation��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 245
4.2.1 The Orthodox Church of Greece������������������������������������������������ 245
4.2.2 The Orthodox Church of Cyprus������������������������������������������������ 268

5 Dawn of the debt crisis and initial reactions���������������������������������� 291

5.1 The Protestant ethic and Homo Economicus������������������������������������������ 291
5.2 The Orthodox Church of Greece������������������������������������������������������������� 299
5.3 The Orthodox Church of Cyprus������������������������������������������������������������ 309

6 Conclusions��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 319

7 Sources and bibliography������������������������������������������������������������������������ 333

7.1 Primary sources����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 333
7.2 Secondary sources������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 347
 Table of Contents 11

7.3 Interviews��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 360

7.4 Bibliography����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 361

Appendix��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 373
Questionnaire (semi-structured)�������������������������������������������������������������������� 373
Transcribed interview samples������������������������������������������������������������������������ 374
1 Introduction and preliminaries

1.1 Introduction
The object of the present endeavour, as stated explicitly by the rather descrip-
tive title, is a comparative research concerning the recent and contemporary
standpoints of the Orthodox Church of Greece (OCG) and the Orthodox
Church of Cyprus (OCC) respectively towards Europeanisation, which, as a
top-down political-cultural convergence process, has given rise to condition-
ality concerning their sense of belonging in the European Union (EU), given
their traditional and historically confirmed Eastern Orthodox scepticism to-
wards the West in general, and Europe in particular; a disposition, dependent
in part on their sense of being, hence their self-view and their perception of
an ideal type of Europeanness. We shall proceed to argue later on in the docu-
ment that both churches have fulfilled their roles as socio-political actors on
many historical instances more than adequately and that, most importantly,
they continue to do so, variably i.e., mainly by being vocal with their views and
particularly on issues of culture, identity, even governance and national sov-
ereignty. This inevitably affects developments in both states at a governmental
and social level, as it is not completely uncommon for the aforementioned ac-
tors to ultimately influence decision-making procedures, either directly or via
the laypeople. We focus our research particularly on the period starting in the
year 1998 up until 2010, which is obligatory by necessity terminus ante quem
for primary and secondary sources – albeit with some flexibility concerning
relevant literature, which extends to July 2015. During the era in focus, monu-
mental political changes transpired regarding Greece, Cyprus and their EU
status and prospects; including intense clerical political interventionism and
archbishopric enthronements in both states. Yet we will proceed to argue that
the two cases are by no means identical despite their common characteris-
tics. If anything, because of the latter, they are definitely comparable, while
their crucial differences as well as similarities emanate by and large from their
diverse historical, cultural and political backgrounds alike. It follows that be-
cause of the influential role the two churches play – sometimes whether they
wish it or not – the outcomes of this research project are bound to be impor-
tant, especially considering that no such comparative investigation has taken
place to date.
14 Being and Belonging

1.2 Object of research ‒ the Orthodox Churches of Greece and

Cyprus
For brevity and practicality, if we were to sum up the main research question
that permeates this project in one sentence, it would be phrased this way: “How
do the two Churches compare in terms of conduct and rhetoric in relation to
Europeanisation and Westernisation?”, which ought to be complemented by two
sub-questions, so that we may further establish a proper conceptual framework,
namely: “How do the Greek and Cypriot Churches self-articulate culturally, and
how is Europeanness and Otherness perceived?”, and also “What are the charac-
teristics of the personified Greek and Cypriot state and their embedded cultures,
and, how is the culture-based European equivalent of state personification – as
bloc-actor – perceived by the churches of Greece and Cyprus?”.
One realises immediately then that opting to conduct a comparative research
on the two aforementioned churches is neither incidental nor a choice of conven-
ience. For, even though they do not appear as typical cases of such study, their
comparison, coupled with their examination as individual instances, is expected to
shine a light on unknown issues, emergent themes, and grey, understudied areas.

1.2.1 Why Them? Why Then?

Both actors have had their share of archbishopric ambivalence, scepticism and
antithesis to the imitation and imposition of the Western model, during the pe-
riod of interest no less. No wonder, with vested interests being at stake, given
that they both enjoy their own types of special relationship with the correspond-
ing states of Greece and Cyprus, while entrenched church‒state interdepend-
ence is mutually evident. What is more, this relationship is culturally – in Greece
constitutionally too – safeguarded and upheld by the sweeping majorities of the
two corresponding peoples. But legalistic and majoritarian1 approaches aside,
their history alone would to a certain extent suffice to perpetuate a role that has
been consolidated centuries ago. For a number of reasons, which will be fully ex-
plained in the present document, there is no doubt that these are and have been
systemic institutions diachronically.

1 Majoritarianism – meant here as political philosophical tradition, not to be confused

with the majoritarian electoral system – is based on the assumption that majority
in a society, whether that may be religious, ethnic or ideological entails entitlement,
essentially, to have precedence over smaller groupings. See Ronald Dworkin, “The
Majoritarian Premise and Constitutionalism”, (2003).
 Introduction and Preliminaries 15

Hence, it follows that integration into a greater bloc-actor system, which is

no other than the EU, could very well entail a lesser role for any given national
church, as this applies even to Member States themselves and their shifting of
powers upwards anyway. Not to mention that given the particular churches’ ad-
herence to a static model in terms of traditionalism, institutional organisation and
modus operandi, one would not be out of order to label them “change-resistant”.
We should also not fail to mention that they have displayed relentless devotion to
the form of national sovereignty that is currently being challenged by Europeani-
sation, because of which emerges among others the fear of identity erosion.
Any given society and its institutions are called upon to be self-retheorised
and to reform accordingly, in concert with the prerequisites of membership
to the EU, which is essentially a bloc-actor aiming in principle – fluctuations
notwithstanding – to federalise, a fact that the ongoing deepening and harmo-
nisation processes demonstrate. This necessitates a synthesis and adaptation of
collectivities2 and convictions thereof, thus, collective institutional and struc-
tural personifications to converge; which in turn requires a new sense of being
and belonging, whereby the issue of compatibility comes into play. By being, we
are referring to the collective self-perception and self-personification; this by
extension reflects on the entity of the state in the present case, while by belong-
ing, we are referring to the compatibility between others’ personifications and
self-personifications, which renders the aforementioned convergence possible.
In the present case for instance, the EU is also permeated by a value system on
the basis of which it is personified as an entity too. Years before the emergence
of the EU as a bloc-actor, Hans Morgenthau based the definition of “culture pat-
terns” on the occurrence rate of particular distinctive qualities and the degree
to which those were valued, when compared to other nations. And according
to those patterns, one could roughly determine national characters.3 This para-
doxical and yet quite frequent socio-political phenomenon is no other than the
personification of the state, by which one attributes moral values and behaviours
to a fictitious “group-person”, an institution.4 And that is because society sees
its reflection upon the state, while it simultaneously identifies with the state’s
inherent values, as most of the individual behaviours owe their existence to

2 Meaning peoples as bodies, collective wholes, seen from a sociological perspective. See
for instance Siniša Malešević and Mark Haugaard (eds.), Making Sense of Collectivity:
Ethnicity, Nationalism and Globalisation (2002).
3 Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (2006),
pp. 140–41.
4 Edward H. Carr, The Twenty Years’ Crisis, 1919–1939 (2001), p. 137.
16 Being and Belonging

pre-existing institutions and norms outside the realm of the individuals’ control,
such as language, religion, morality and wealth; they do not constitute a rational,
but an unconscious choice.5 In the same way, as the individual adopts the societal
conscience rather than invent a unique, personal one, emerges the question of
an equivalent pattern of behaviour in a society of states.6 Such is the EU. Con-
sequently by being and belonging, we define “the perception of adherence to the
social institution process as prescribed and conditioned by the latter, and to that
end, the framework, requirements and provisions of collective self-articulation
which formulate identity, and the extent to which this is coterminous with other
analogous collective self-articulations”. This definition can be applicable to ac-
tors, agencies and structures. Of course, the passage from the nation-state to
the nations-state7 – to coin yet another term if we may – i.e., a formation of an
international legal entity such as the EU, eventually is deemed difficult for all,
particularly for the churches of interest, which have undergone incomplete and
selective modernisation processes in the first place. Evidently they do not define
themselves as Western, and, what is more, they contribute to the establishment
of kinships and antitheses, while in sum partake in the cultural physiognomy
formulation and ultimately state personification.
As for the temporal parameter, which mainly draws from history, it has en-
graved its own mark on eastern Orthodoxy, and thus, centuries-old painful
memories continue to have some bearing on the Greek-Orthodox psyche. To put
it bluntly, grudges from the past live on. Hence, accountability for events of huge
historical significance, especially traumatic ones, is attributed to the West.8 To
name a few of symbolic character, the Great Schism of 1054,9 the sacking of Con-
stantinople by the crusaders in 1204 and10 the abandonment of fellow Christians

5 Emile Durkheim, “Social Facts”, (1994), pp. 433–40.

6 Carr, pp. 146–47.
7 We define it as a legal, multinational entity/person that comprises federalised nation-
states, adherent to the same rules, constitutional or founding treaties, governed by the
same institutions, while being equally a sovereign entity/actor in its own right.
8 Vasilios N. Makrides and Dirk Uffelmann, “Studying Eastern Orthodox Anti-West-
ernism: the Need for a Comparative Research Agenda”, (2003), pp. 87–120, (p. 91).
9 It was when churches were fragmented to Western Catholicism and Eastern Ortho-
doxy, following a period of discord on matters of theology, authority and ultimately
jurisdiction. See Aidan Nichols, Rome and the Eastern Churches (2010). Also, Steven
Runciman, The Eastern Schism. A Study of the Papacy and the Eastern Churches during
the XIth and XIIth Centuries (1955).
10 Even though the purpose of the Fourth Crusade was to free Jerusalem of the Muslims,
it was Constantinople that was sacked instead, which solidified the division between
 Introduction and Preliminaries 17

to the Ottoman invader, with well-known consequences. To make things worse,

the privileges which the Orthodox Church enjoyed during the Ottoman occu-
pation contributed to the perpetuation of a mutually convenient status quo and
estranged East and West even further to the extent that with the passage of time,
it became commonplace assertion that Europeans are inherently “Others” even
nowadays in the Balkan region.11
As for the period of interest, namely the decade from 2000 to 2010, it was
chosen because of political developments at an EU level with the states of Greece
and Cyprus being involved or directly affected, including major events that tran-
spired in the same period concerning the two churches as well. For instance
Greece, having qualified for induction to the Eurozone in 2000, entered the
single currency on 1 January 2001 and one year later had Drachmas replaced.
Parenthetically, we may add that the Greek Euro (€) coins bear no Orthodox
Christian symbolisms whatsoever.12 The visit of Pope John Paul II to Greece on
4–5 May 2001, the first in almost 1000 years, certainly qualifies as a noteworthy
event. Also, with the best interests of the church at heart, Archbishop of Athens
and All Greece Christodoulos (in office 1998–2008) developed an effortlessly ob-
servable affiliation to the European People’s Party (EPP), as well as inaugurated
the Brussels Office of Representation of the Church of Greece to the EU in 2003,
which operated already since 1998.13 In 2008, Christodoulos passed away, and
Hieronymos II was elected archbishop by the Holy Synod.
Cyprus on the other hand acquired full EU membership officially on 1 May
2004. On 1 January 2008, the Cypriot Pound, a reminiscent of colonialism, was
abolished and replaced by the Euro at an excellent exchange rate (0.585274 per
1.00 €), thus ushering the country into the core of the EU, the Eurogroup; Cyp-
riot Euro (€) coins bear no Orthodox Christian symbolisms either. Meanwhile in
2006, archbishop Chrysostomos I14 (in office 1977–2006) passed away and follow-
ing elections the Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus Chrysostomos II

the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox and triggered the decline of the already
withering Byzantine Empire irreparably. See Jonathan Phillips, The Fourth Crusade and
the Sack of Constantinople (2005).
11 Makrides and Uffelmann, p. 106.
12 Peter Mackridge, “Cultural Difference as National Identity in Modern Greece”, (2008),
pp. 297–319, (p. 315).
13 Anastassios Anastassiadis, “An Intriguing True-False Paradox: The Entanglement of
Modernisation and Intolerance in the Orthodox Church of Greece”, (2010), pp. 39–60
(p. 53).
14 He succeeded Makarios III in 1977.
18 Being and Belonging

was enthroned.15 One year later, in 2007, and subsequent to the resolution of the
Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus, the Brussels Office of Representation of the
Church of Cyprus to the EU was established.
Between the year 2000 and 2010, Orthodox anti-westernism was manifested
from the top ranks of the Greek clerical hierarchy, by the Late Archbishop Chris-
todoulos no less. His rhetoric was an amalgam of nationalist, traditionalist views
against Europeanisation and globalisation, i.e. against the West in general; he
even cautioned the public of the upcoming erosion of Hellenic culture and iden-
tity by the globalist “New World Order” and its pawn, the EU, as a pressing es-
chatological matter.16 In addition to this, he targeted secularism and the potential
separation between church and state, as he held that the church represented the
broad masses of the people, whom he generously flattered by exalting them as
“chosen ones” and God’s favourites. A characteristic example of this tumultuous
church‒state relationship is the “identity card crisis” of the year 2000; namely, the
abolition of one’s religious conviction reference on his/her identity card, which
Christodoulos opposed with every fibre of his being, albeit failed to prevent.17
Drawing in part from an anachronistic attitude, he condemned well-established
ideas related to the Enlightenment and opposed modernisation as irrelevant to
the domestic culture. This position is apparently at odds with his aforementioned
rapprochement with Brussels; it constitutes a paradox as well as a stratagem to
benefit from the EU while maintaining his public hard-line rhetoric intact at the
same time. Yet, as of late, more and more voices underline that his pessimism
was right on the mark concerning his worries on Europe’s future on employ-
ment, religiosity, cultural, fiscal and demographic issues, underlining his insight-
fulness with a mutatis mutandis prophetic hint – but not literally – via mostly
populist outlets. On the other hand, archbishop Hieronymos II, who succeeded
Christodoulos, has been moderate in his public discourses, yet he is known to
have expressed, both his Euroscepticism and interventionist intent – within rea-
son –, but in a subtle, diplomatic manner. Always though, he is portrayed as

15 Farid Mirbagheri, Historical Dictionary of Cyprus (2010), p. 189.

16 Yannis Stavrakakis, “Religion and Populism: Reflections on the ‘Politicised’ Discourse
of the Greek Church”, (2002).
17 Public protests of massive participation as well as an unofficial referendum organised by
the OCG took place, in order to prevent the state from removing the reference of one’s
religious convictions from the official citizen’s identity card. This caused a tremendous
amount of grief for the government of Prime Minister Kostas Simitis (in office with
PASOK, 1996–2004).
 Introduction and Preliminaries 19

indifferent to the mundane, hence to politics, apart from philanthropic activities

or issues that have a direct bearing on the church.
The Late Archbishop Chrysostomos I of Cyprus had a completely different ap-
proach. He may not have been as outspoken and assertive, nor did he address the
public as frequently as Christodoulos, but he did intervene into the affairs of the
state on particular occasions concerning the occupation of the northern part of
the island. He was known for his patriotic fervour, all in all though he was with-
drawn during the period of interest, mainly because of his poor health, which
rendered him incapacitated, physically and mentally. This coincided particularly
with the period when Cyprus was underway to become a full EU member and
thereafter, so he could not possibly intervene in any way. On the contrary, his
successor Chrysostomos II utilises the media to express his views regarding do-
mestic and international politics regularly. Impressively enough, he has revealed
his soft spot for Russia in a pan-orthodox context and his wariness of Western
allies, if not his utter disappointment, even revisiting the era of non-alignment
by resorting to history in order to validate his views. All things considered, the
sum of Hierarchy impinges on public life and opinion frequently, even through
Sunday sermons of political content.18
In a nutshell, the distinctiveness of the states and their churches, together with
the vast dissimilarity of their archbishops’ idiosyncrasies, has certainly brought
about fluctuations and reoriented attitudes, and in sum, it has been a decade of
notable developments, significant to all implicated actors.

1.2.2 Comparability
Comparative studies between neighbouring states might not be the usual safe
practice due to spillovers and overlaps between one another, yet distinct differ-
ences both at a state and at a church level render the Orthodox Church of Greece
and the Orthodox Church of Cyprus legitimately comparable. After all, it is not
the states that are being compared but rather two particular institutions; not to
mention that location does not function as a methodological hindrance, quite
the opposite in fact.
Approaching the states geographically, the observer cannot but appreciate the
decentralised position of Cyprus, an island which is detached from the Euro-
pean continent – linked only by means of air and sea – and is actually located
in close proximity to Africa, Asia Minor and the Middle East, and a cultural

18 World Trade Press, Cyprus Society and Culture (2010), p. 14.

20 Being and Belonging

physiognomy cannot be devoid of either history or geography.19 And the Greek-

Cypriot one, considering the historic background as opposed to the remoteness
from Greece, is burdened with an uncomfortable disharmony. Location dictates
one identity, the Cypriot, whereas history and culture dictate another, the Greek-
Orthodox;20 it also worth noting that it is not uncommon for the Greek heart-
land to be perceived precisely as such, and to be called motherland in Cyprus.
Thereby, this disconnection renders identity independent of Cypriot space, as if
it were a floating notion. Evidently this disproportionate historic-geographical
analogy, coupled with the distance from the rest of the European continent, gen-
erates a vacuum.
In contrast, Greece is well attached to the European continent. Being a part
of the Balkan Peninsula, it is connected to a significant stretch of land which
contains a complex sum of mountainous regions, lakes, rivers, as well as stable
man-made links (railroad, highways, etc.) that facilitate a connection with the
neighbouring states northwards and by extension to central Europe. Apart from
that, identity here is entopic21 by default when a vast array of figures of memory
is taken into account. At this early stage then, all things considered, the spatial
parameter is definitive of a predisposition towards Europe, which differs when
Greece and Cyprus are examined.
The states and their churches equally adhere to different historical back-
grounds despite their common characteristics; therefore, it should be empha-
sised that they are by all means comparable. As stated earlier, both churches
shared attitudes of wariness, even hostility towards the West, and to some extent
they still do but variably, yet this emanates from different historical experiences.
For instance, the form of perpetuated archbishopric ethnarchy that Cyprus ex-
perienced from the end of the Frankish and Venetian period up to the twentieth
century, never occurred in Greece; on the contrary, the autocephaly acquired
in 1833 by the OCG was a sign of secularisation under the Bavarian king Otto,
who was imposed as a compromise between the Great Powers of the time within
the bounds of their “Grand Game”.22 In contrast, Greek-Cypriots associated to

19 Caesar V. Mavratsas, “Greek-Cypriot National Identity: A Clash between Geography

and History”, (2010), pp. 145–60 (p. 146).
20 Ibid., p. 152.
21 See Artemis Leontis, Topographies of Hellenism: Mapping the Homeland (1995).
22 When competition between the British and the Russian Empire for Central Asia was
combined with the growing weakness of the Ottoman Empire, the “sick man of Europe”,
it was proven to the benefit of Greece that declared its independence while the Great
Powers were torn between dismantling a regime that was unable to reform, or the rule
 Introduction and Preliminaries 21

their already since 431 autocephalous church, all forms of political, social and
cultural life.23 What is more, this was solidified by the privileges provided to any
Cypriot archbishop by Emperor Zeno, from year 478.24 This association lived on
in the collective psyche even under British rule, when the OCC was stripped off
its previous Ottoman privileges and had no official political office, duties and
jurisdiction. It goes without saying that this was a cause of bitterness.
Also, while until the early twentieth century the already independent state of
Greece grew in size and later affirmed its status in the world with the valuable as-
sistance of the Great Powers, Cyprus struggled with British colonialism – the only
European state to have experienced this – and acquired de jure independence as
late as 1960. Yet, to further the differentiation between the Greek and Cypriot
case, having been part of the Commonwealth inevitably affected Cyprus in being
familiarised with the West in its own unprecedented way as far as states within
Europe are concerned. Further, Archbishop Makarios III (1913–1977) had the
unheard of, multifaceted role of ethnarch, archbishop (period applies to both
properties 1950–1977) and president (1960–1977). Additionally, his policies of
non-alignment estranged Cyprus from the West amidst the Cold War,25 while
Greece was a Western loyal ally with the blessings of the church. Not to men-
tion the illegal, according to international law and innumerable United Nations’
(UN) resolutions, Turkish invasion and occupation, followed by a forced unilat-
eral illegal partition of the island, which led Greek-Cypriots to rally round their
church, notions alien to relatively safe Greece and other post-Second World War
European states.

of law, i.e., the preservation of the Ottoman Empire. But the Treaty of London (1827)
between Russia, England and France resulted in the recognition of Greece’s independ-
ence, and the appointment of Prince Otto and his regency. See Thomas W. Gallant,
From the War of Independence to the Present (2016), as well as John S. Koliopoulos and
Thanos M. Veremis, Modern Greece: A History since 1821 (2010).
23 The third Ecumenical Synod provided this form of administrative independence for
fear of the jurisdictional claims by the Church of Antioch. See Andreas M. Wittig, Die
Orthodoxe Kirche in Griechenland: Ihre Beziehung zum Staat gemäß der Theorie und
der Entwicklung von 1821–1977 (1987).
24 Those were the imperial privileges to (a) sign with red ink (cinnabar), (b) bear the
purple cloak and (c) carry the imperial sceptre instead of an Episcopal crosier. See:
Andreas N. Mitsides, ‘Το Αυτοκέφαλο της Εκκλησίας της Κύπρου’, (2008), as well as
Kleitos Ioannides, The Church of Cyprus: History and Culture of two Millennia (1999).
25 Joseph S. Joseph, Cyprus: Ethnic Conflict and International Politics – From Independence
to the Threshold of the European Union (1997), p. 60.
22 Being and Belonging

1.3 Literature review

It would be fair to say that even though there is a vast array of exemplary works
that examine both churches of interest from many perspectives and in an inter-
disciplinary way, there is a complete lack of comparative studies like the one we
have undertaken, which means that any theory on the matter will have to come
from this project. Although each church has been examined individually, it is
mainly the OCG that was in the academic limelight in a way that bears relevance
to the present concept, while literature, particularly on the OCC and especially
on the period in focus, is scarce and thematically very different to our research
agenda. Still, it is essential to mention the works that help shape the present
contribution.
The broader relationship of the EU with religious groups, and particularly
with Eastern Orthodox ones, has been given considerable attention by Lucian N.
Leustean. He has dealt with the involvement of religious organisations and insti-
tutions into the mechanisms and bureaucracy of the EU, as well as their activity
in decision-making centres therein, such as in Brussels and Strasbourg, which
renders them acknowledged actors. Thereby, their level, modes and impact of
their representations is scrutinised, particularly on further European integration
and the policies thereof, when filtered through the values of national and trans-
national religious groups.26
With regard to Orthodoxy and modernity, or rather its inclination and poten-
tial towards modernisation, it has been pointed out that although Orthodoxy has
a very vivid historical consciousness and a preoccupation with the past and its
own traditions, it retains an uneasy relationship with history on the whole. As a
consequence, out of the temporal distortion, it is characterised by inattentiveness
when it comes to modernity.27 But Agourides has not shunned the difficult task of
tackling the, Byzantine in origin, ideologeme of “chosen peoples” and its inevitable
consequences on the collective psyche, surviving elements of which touch on the
relations to the West no less, as he has also written extensively on church‒state rela-
tions in Greece diachronically.28 Consequently Orthodoxy lost the track of Western
historical time-lapse and with it, major developments – proper game-changers –
such as the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Scientific and Industrial Revolution,

26 Lucian N. Leustean (ed.), Representing Religion in the European Union: Does God Mat-
ter? (2013), as well as Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twenty-First Century
(Abingdon: Routledge, 2014).
27 Savvas Agourides, Οράματα και Πράγματα (1991), p. 327.
28 Savvas Agourides, Θεολογία και Κοινωνία σε Διάλογο (1999).
 Introduction and Preliminaries 23

and the Enlightenment. Bishops much rather prefer the anachronistic yet comfort-
ing nostalgic gaze to the “idyllic past”, which, not surprisingly, replicates itself,29
as is predictably the traditional pattern of self-perpetuation. On the other hand,
Yannaras does not hesitate to validate the well-known Huntingtonian distinction
and the cultural fault lines which demarcate otherness based on religiosity. In fact
he goes on to identify Greekness and Orthodoxy as one, coherent notion of iden-
tity, whereby the Frankish heterodox background – infused with the Enlighten-
ment ideas – is ipso facto alienated, and the theory of “transfusion”, i.e. Metakenosis
(Gr.: Μετακένωσις) by Adamantios Korais (1748–1833) is frowned upon as it im-
plies cultural inferiority on behalf of the Orthodox East.30
However, moving from the rather general to the particular, there have been
works with regard to the timeframe and object of our research that have pro-
vided us with more relevant material and theories. Makrides, for instance, clari-
fies that anti-Westernism is not solely restricted to the religious sphere but it is
essentially a social, cultural and political phenomenon, ergo, to attribute it to
Orthodoxy would be an oversimplification, if not naivety to neglect of an array of
hard evidence which demonstrate the parallel existence of pro-European trends,
such as the ongoing interecclesiastical dialogue, the well-disposed attitude of a
new generation of theologians, or the representations of national churches to
the EU in Brussels.31 He has also dealt with the era of archbishop Christodou-
los extensively, introducing not only the “expressive interventionism” utilised in
order to promote the agenda of the church, but also the frictions and conflicts
that emerged therefrom, with “the interweaving of church and state in everyday
life”,32 complicating the state of affairs even more.
Victor Roudometof raised the spatial issue that inevitably surfaces in light of
globalisation, where de- and re-territorialisation33 are facts of life, which challenge

29 Sabrina Ramet, “The Way We Were – and Should be Again? European Orthodox
Churches and the ‘Idyllic Past’”, (2006), pp. 148–75 (p. 148).
30 Christos Yannaras, Orthodoxy and the West: Hellenic Self-Identity in the Modern Age
(2006).
31 Vasilios N. Makrides, “Orthodox Anti-Westernism Today: A Hindrance to European
Integration?”, (2009). pp. 209–24.
32 Vasilios N. Makrides, “Scandals, Secret Agents and Corruption: the Orthodox Church
of Greece during the 2005 Crisis – Its Relation to the State and Modernisation”, (2010),
pp. 61–88 (p. 83).
33 Meaning the departure/migration of a culturally, religiously, linguistically and/or eth-
nically coherent community from its place of origin and re-establishment of it and its
aforementioned traits elsewhere.
24 Being and Belonging

the role not only of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople but also of the
national churches in a shrinking world where religioscapes34 are in a state of flux;35
a concept that he revisited when he stressed the localism that characterised the
Orthodox Church of Greece and its activities after 1998.36
As regards Cyprus, its church passed gradually from the ethnarchic model of
Archbishop Makarios III, to a synodical one. Yet a social by-product has been a
dichotomy in religious mentalities, which has been channelled towards the two
ends of the ideological-political spectrum, namely expressed in the form of con-
servatism as opposed to more mainstream worldviews, in tune with the gradual
modernisation and urbanisation in the Greek-Cypriot part of the island.37 By and
large though, the period concerning the past rather than the immediate present
has attracted much more attention, with research ranging from the Ottoman pe-
riod up to Makarios III where the diachronically hegemonic role of the church
as natural leader is investigated, e.g. by Marios Constantinou38 or Georgios Theo-
doulou.39 However, due to the period they focus on, they do address the era of
Chrysostomos II. It should be stated though that Michael40 has gone into great
depths to evaluate the role of the Cypriot church during the Ottoman era, bring-
ing about valuable insights, which may mutatis mutandis apply to the contempo-
rary state of affairs; the nineteenth century in particular and the problematic shift
to the Westphalian System,41 i.e. the opposite of the nowadays condition, always
in conjunction with the church.

34 Human, cultural geography that is spatially demarcated by its religious symbolisms in

the public sphere.
35 Victor Roudometof, “Greek-Orthodoxy, Territoriality, and Globality: Religious Re-
sponses and Institutional Disputes”, (2008), pp. 67–91.
36 Victor Roudometof, “The Evolution of Greek-Orthodoxy in the Context of World
Historical Globalisation”, (2010), pp. 21–38.
37 Victor Roudometof, “Le Christianisme Orthodoxe au sein de la République de Chypre:
Développement Institutionnel et Attitudes Religieuses”, (2009), pp. 60–68.
38 Marios Constantinou, “Rethinking Max Weber’s Sociology of Domination in Colonial
Context: A Micro-Macro Framework for a Theory of Authority Relevant to the Case
of Cyprus”, (2006), pp. 99–132.
39 Georgios Theodoulou, The Origins and Evolution of Church-State Relations in Cyprus
with Special Reference to the Modern Era (2005).
40 Michalis N. Michael, Η Εκκλησία της Κύπρου κατά την Οθωμανική Περίοδο (1571–
1878): Η Σταδιακή Συγκρότησή της σε Θεσμό Πολιτικής Εξουσίας (2005).
41 An arrangement after the thirty years war (1618–1648) between mainly, central Euro-
pean Protestants and Catholic states, which secured sovereignty (non-intervention)
and territorial integrity for nation-states but stripped the church off its powers to
 Introduction and Preliminaries 25

Concerning bibliographic resources then, one will find it impossible to dis-

cover systematic comparative research material in the particular thematic area,
examined from an International Relations (IR) angle; only works that examine
the two cases independently and from a Religious Studies historical-theoretical
perspective. What is more, it has been pointed out that
what is missing, therefore, is the comparative analysis and examination of two or more
Orthodox cultures not only in terms of anti-Western discourses and practices, but
also in terms of their interrelations, the transfer of ideas from one Orthodox culture
to the other and their differences. In this way, the inter-Orthodox exchange of anti-
Westernisms may come to light and many trans-Orthodox aspects of this phenomenon
will be revealed.42

1.4 Methodological approach

In order to attain a good understanding of the object of research, a previous in-
sight in representations of the collective church-minds in the form of knowledge,
perception, worldviews, ideologies and attitudes, stemming from and directed to
the micro and macro levels of each respective institution/structure, was a conditio
sine qua non. Hence, we resorted to a comparative qualitative content analysis –
an “umbrella term” –, essentially broken down to thematic analysis; and given that
according to Patton, “any qualitative data reduction and sense-making effort that
takes a volume of qualitative material and attempts to identify core consistencies
and meanings”43 is categorised as qualitative content analysis, this fully qualifies
as such. Whereby, at a macro level, it had a direct reference to the structures,
i.e. churches of interest, followed by a qualitative field research at a micro level,
where carefully selected persons were interviewed; with the major entities ana-
lysed here and therefore deemed units of analysis, being the Orthodox Church
of Greece and its counterpart, the Orthodox Church of Cyprus. The combination
of primary resources comprising pre-existing raw data from an array of carefully
selected sources on the one hand, and interviews from three particular types of
informants on the other, which basically means approaching the unit of analysis
from both a macro- and a micro-level perspective, has contributed significantly
in terms of validity, functioning in fact as methodological triangulation.

administer policies and command armies. See Benjamin Straumann, “The Peace of
Westphalia as a Secular Constitution”, (2008), pp. 173–88. Also, David Armstrong,
“The Evolution of International Society” (2008).
42 Makrides and Uffelman, pp. 87–120, (p. 115).
43 Michael Q. Patton, Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (2002), p. 453.
26 Being and Belonging

Right from the outset, the aim was to accurately define the attitudes concern-
ing Europeanisation and Westernisation that permeate the two churches, com-
pare them and shed light on potential exchanges between them regarding their
overall viewpoints and conduct. A major concern was not only “what?”, but also
“why and how?” meaning: Why do they assume their rhetoric and conduct, and,
are there similarities? What patterns emerge and how do they compare? Do they
overlap? Are there any trade-offs between them or do they function completely
autonomously? Where do those patterns stem from: culture, theology, history, all
of the above, none? What are the effects of discourse being exercised via means
of mass communication and information?
It is self-evident that an extensive literature review was initially conducted.
The resources that have been utilised comprise not only academic bibliographical
sources, analyses and theories concerning the object and timeframe of research
here, but also historical accounts concerning both states and churches, distanced
from original events that transpired during the period of interest. Those partly
constitute the background and explanatory framework that was employed as a
means of interpretation, against which the analytical evaluation took place, in
order to explain why and where patterns emanate from; whereas qualitative con-
tent analysis helped identify, capture and determine them.
Our primary resources generally comprise interviews, news footage, broad-
casts, speeches, official records, newspaper reports, in general evidence and raw
data produced in the period of interest, indicative of values, norms, ideologies,
priorities, in order to capture the existing churches’ positions of the time. This
raw data was drawn from a spectrum of resources comprising broadly appealing
media and theme-specific web-based portals, archives and databases. The key
areas of interest have been the means of justification and lines of reasoning of
the units of analysis, which entails a systematic examination of their standpoints’
public manifestation using communication and broadcast mediums as a vehicle.
The particular primary and secondary resources utilised were narrowed down to
the following, after we examined which ones would be the most reliable, accurate
and representative: Ekklesia (Gr.: Εκκλησία), i.e. the official monthly bulletin of
the Orthodox Church of Greece was the main source of information. The com-
plementary resources via which it was rendered possible to verify the acquired
information were: Kathimerini (Gr.: Καθημερινή) a highly esteemed Greek daily
newspaper with a steadily broad readership; the official website of the Ortho-
dox Church of Greece;44 and the official website of the Representation of the

44 http://www.ecclesia.gr/.
 Introduction and Preliminaries 27

Church of Greece to the EU.45 As for the Cypriot case, the resources examined
are equivalent to the aforementioned, specifically: our main resource was Aposto-
los Varnavas (Gr.: Απόστολος Βαρνάβας), i.e, the official monthly bulletin of the
Orthodox Church of Cyprus; while the complementary ones were Phileleftheros
(Gr.: Φιλελεύθερος), the Greek-Cypriot daily newspaper with the highest circu-
lation; Simerini (Gr.: Σημερινή) the second most popular Greek-Cypriot daily
newspaper. The reason for opting to examine two Cypriot newspapers instead
of one is that we have no day-to-day empirical contact with events in the island
like we did with Greece. Further, the official website of the Orthodox Church of
Cyprus and the official website of the Representation of the Church of Cyprus
to the EU were utilised.46 Those have been referenced and cited using the Ox-
ford system in accordance with the Modern Humanities Research Association
(MHRA) Style Guide, edition of 2013. According to this, normally all biblio-
graphic information is included in full in the first instance within the footnotes –
somewhat different to their listing in the bibliography and resources section –,
only to be shortened when a reference is reused thereafter. However, due to the
bulk of resources being referenced frequently just once, we have taken the liberty
to apply the abridged reference version extensively for reasons of homogeneity
and economy of footnote space, which would otherwise be exceedingly extend-
ed; we thus reserved the fully detailed references for the bibliography section
exclusively. Also, loc. cit. and op. cit. are not used because this citation method
considers them too vague.
The empirical phase of the qualitative field research was carried out via in-
depth semi-structured interviews and the sample was prominent figures of pub-
lic life and decision/policy-making, opinion leaders who express their views
and/or engage in discourses within the predefined thematic framework. They
were semi-structured, in order to allow open, flexible discussions to take place
and remove the interview aura with a set of techniques that are dependent on
social skills, charisma and compatibility. We opted to gather data from inform-
ants of particular background because understanding and analysing their views
entails a reference to ones’ structure adherence. In both societies, it is custom-
ary to view as such, the priest, the politician and the scholar. Hence, the people
interviewed were coming strictly from corresponding sectors: church hierarchy,

45 Initially http://www.regue.org/. Notably this website is now down, and its domain name
has been taken by another party. Instead, an alternative one has been set up (http://
www.regue.eu/en/).
46 URLs, (http://www.churchofcyprus.org.cy/) and (http://www.churchofcypruseu.com/)
respectively.
28 Being and Belonging

academia and government. All three groupings partake in the cultural physiog-
nomy formulation and are essentially opinion leaders. The sample may actually
be a source of normativity, but so is the EU, i.e., a normative power. Furthermore,
the sample’s relevance rests on the fact that the church is not an exo-social insti-
tution; on the contrary, it pursues an active role as an actor, but not without some
form of legitimacy. More to the point, the informants of choice were expected to
come from fully relevant positions and offices, while in many cases, they have
a say and complement each other in the eyes of their societies by unwritten,
traditional, customary law – known as ethimiko dikaio (Gr.: εθιμικό δίκαιο); not
to mention that this triptych of authority figures is often seen as societal refuge,
variably of course.47 The likelihood of the sample being biased is minimal if ex-
istent at all, given that informants are coming from the whole breadth of the
socio-cultural and political spectrum, hence the triptych, which provides valid-
ity. Direct thematic relationship to the units of analysis necessitates members
of the clergy being interviewed. Apart from that, all academics are related to
the topic, and politicians have either directly or indirectly been involved due to
their office and in any case constitute a form of linkage themselves within both
an institutional and a social framework. Therefore, they were treated as such and
called upon to express their views.
However, it should be emphasised that anonymity has been preserved at all
times. Confidentiality secured a degree of trust whereby discussions took place in
a rather relaxed manner that allowed room for revelations that could have, most
probably, not been disclosed otherwise. Yet, they have been recorded, archived and
remain in possession of the author; hence, there is proof when necessary, provided
of course that anonymity remains safeguarded by any enquirer too, and guaran-
teed in written. It entails of course that elite interviews do not come in bulk, but
the methodologically required number of fifteen has been exceeded by one. It is
self-evident that the settings were located in Greece and Cyprus with state capitals,
Athens and Nicosia at the epicentre, but also Brussels, Bonn, London and Can-
terbury, where academics, high-ranking clerics and state officials are to be found.
It should be made clear that the analysis concentrated on emergent themes
and not on physical linguistic units. Therefore, instances of themes represent ex-
pressions of ideas and views, which in turn produced descriptions or typologies.
Analysis then has been purely qualitative, whereby no statistical occurrence rates

47 Politicians are in the limelight; as it is, scholars are called to express their views at times
of crises or to otherwise enlighten when needed and the clergy is ever present in the
public sphere.
 Introduction and Preliminaries 29

ought to be expected and reflexivity is methodologically inherent. Via the qualita-

tive content analysis, broken down to thematic analysis, raw data was translated
into categories or themes, which emerged inductively by inference and interpreta-
tion. That is, by means of inductive reasoning, ultimately an open-ended process,
themes and categories came gradually to light from the body of data. And as stated
earlier, this approach was applied on material drawn from communication and
broadcast mediums, as well as interviews’ texts. At the same time of course, litera-
ture resources containing theories and material referring to our object of research
contributed in identifying emergent themes but with limited consequences on
the inductive nature of the overall approach. The thematic areas that surfaced via
analysis provided a framework for dividing categories into chapters accordingly,
along with their subcategories, which were integrated coherently under the broad-
er main groupings as subchapters. Finally, it should be noted that all material that
has been utilised in one way or another (websites, recordings, transcripts, etc.), has
been copied, stored and archived, being thus available for access and verification.

1.5 Theoretical background synopsis

It logically follows that the theoretical framework is thematically linked to the
corresponding chapters that were generated as described above, and it is clearly
permeated by interdisciplinarity, as is the case with our research project anyway.
In other words, the theories being utilised and even challenged when required
are ranging from religious and cultural studies to international policy and di-
plomacy, thus allowing particular emergent themes to be dealt with via the ap-
propriate theoretical tools.
For instance, in the second chapter, the notion of Europeanness and the pro-
cess of Europeanisation are seen primarily through the lens of the so-called
English School of International Relations (ESIR), where theorists such as Barry
Buzan,48 Martin Wight49 and Hedley Bull50 are taken into consideration in order
to examine the EU beyond the utilitarian level of interest-driven cooperation, fo-
cusing more on the potentially overlapping value systems, cultural traits and ide-
as which function as connecting tissue of an international society. But apart from

48 Barry Buzan, From International to World Society?: English School Theory and the Social
Structure of Globalisation (2004).
49 Martin Wight, Power Politics (1978).
50 Hedley Bull, The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics (1977).
30 Being and Belonging

that, neo-functionalist approaches such as those of Radaelli51 and Featherstone52

are utilised to define the EU as a structure and its exigencies thereof. The con-
structivist key elements on the construction of identity and citizenship as viewed
by Dell’ Olio53 are taken into account, whereas Vergara54 provides valuable views
on the essence and foundations of Europeanness.
Then in chapter three, Edward Hallett Carr55 and his theory of state personifi-
cation from the perspective of IR plays a key role in exploring this phenomenon,
particularly through the lens of the churches in focus. It should be pointed out
that this too is fully compatible with the aforementioned IR theorists and the
English School. But Cornelius Castoriadis56 is also employed as a means of un-
derstanding the mechanisms of being, i.e., the notion as a by-product of religios-
ity among others, in order to further explain how the group-person and its sense
of belonging is perceived, in particular within the context of a society of states as
seen earlier.
In the fourth chapter, the phenomenon of “Reverse Westphalia” as described
by Valaskakis, delineates the framework within which the European order
of things is modified in the form of nation-state relativisation, with geocul-
tural consequences among others; hence, from Mackinder57 to Spykman58 and
Davutoğlu,59 we establish the importance of the rimland where Greece and Cy-
prus are located and evaluate the dynamics of this particular region, so that we
may examine how the churches of interest perceive and conduct themselves in
light of this framework as soft power actors. Beyer60 provides the necessary back-
ground in terms of reflexivity and variability of identity construction, the sense
of belonging in relation to religious convictions and spatial sacred symbolisms in
the era of globalisation; regarding the same notions, Roudometof61 is also taken

51 Claudio M. Radaelli, “The Europeanisation of Public Policy”, (2003), pp. 27–56.

52 Kevin Featherstone, “In the Name of ‘Europe”, (2003), pp. 3–26.
53 Fiorella Dell’Olio, The Europeanisation of Citizenship: Between the Ideology of National-
ity, Immigration and European Identity (2005).
54 Javier Vergara, “The History of Europe and its Constituent Countries: Considerations
in Favour of the New Europe”, (2007), pp. 15–22.
55 Carr, pp. 136–46.
56 Cornelius Castoriadis, The Imaginary Institution of Society (1987).
57 Halford J. Mackinder, “The Geographical Pivot of History”, (1904), pp. 421–37.
58 Nicholas J. Spykman, The Geography of the Peace (1944).
59 Ahmet Davutoğlu, Stratejik Derinlik: Türkiye’nin Uluslararası Konumu (2001).
60 Peter Beyer, Religion in the Context of Globalisation: Essays on Concept, Form, and
Political Implication (2013).
61 Roudometof, “Greek-Orthodoxy, Territoriality, and Globality”, (2008), pp. 67–91.
 Introduction and Preliminaries 31

into consideration, especially as far as church organisations and their stance

towards this phenomenon is concerned. Additionally, the theoretical input of
Leontis62 helps mark out the importance and meaning of space via the inextri-
cable connection between topos and logos as parameters of entopia, i.e., location
and narrative as factors of spatial fulfilment.
As regards the debt crisis period that is being dealt with in the fifth chapter,
the initial attitude of both churches is evaluated by means of the Weberian63 ap-
proach that links Protestantism and capitalism, which is the paradigmatic so-
cioeconomic model in the West in general and Europe in particular, as opposed
to Greece and Cyprus. Poggi64 provides a “real-world” hermeneutic, which es-
sentially puts this value systems’ application in perspective. The opposite, i.e.,
the collectivist heritage that has co-determined mentalities and hence courses
of action, is described by Hirschon,65 who essentially delves into the works of
Yannaras in order to argue on the contemporary Greek-Orthodox particularities
and make a distinction between the individual and the person. Those constitute
a value system based on kinship and ascribed relationships which have by exten-
sion socioeconomic effects, applicable to both Greece and Cyprus, the churches
of which are directly linked to this issue by definition. We also deal with the chal-
lenges that the Homo Economicus faces amidst the debt crisis in Daniel Cohen’s
view,66 while Colin Crouch67 and his views on Post-Democracy are also utilised
as a means of critique to the EU, especially considering that his points frequently
resemble those of the Orthodox Church of Greece throughout the past decade
and its Cypriot counterpart as of more recent.
Still, apart from the synoptic outline above, intended to provide the reader an
overview beforehand and not a detailed account at this point, it would be more
productive and useful to delve in much more detail into the theoretical frame-
work later on in the text. Particularly in the beginning of each chapter where it
would be more relevant and in immediate connection with the corresponding
findings and analyses and thus accounted for in a more structurally practical
way. So these theories will be revisited properly.

62 Leontis. Topographies of Hellenism (1995).

63 Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1950).
64 Gianfranco Poggi, Calvinism and the Spirit of Capitalism: Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic
(1983).
65 Renée Hirschon, “Indigenous Persons and Imported Individuals: Changing Paradigms
of Personal Identity in Contemporary Greece”, (2010), pp. 289–310.
66 Daniel Cohen, Homo Economicus: A (Lost) Prophet of Modern Times (2014).
67 Colin Crouch, Post-Democracy (2004).
32 Being and Belonging

1.6 Importance of study (scientific contribution & originality)

Churches, the Eastern Orthodox in particular, continue to hold a key role as re-
gards national consciousness. By extension, when their corresponding states are
being met with the challenge of alignment with a broader political constellation
of states and their values, churches emerge either favourable or directly opposite
to such projects, on the basis of their value systems and their compatibility with
their institutions. When the hypothesis of Eastern Orthodox cultural unique-
ness and its role in the EU is taken into account, one cannot ignore Orthodoxy’s
political dimensions that include it as a significant variable in the whole concept;
this is attested by the opening of a Liaison Office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
of Constantinople, or the corresponding Offices of Representation on behalf of
autocephalous churches in Brussels, where EU institutions and churches engage
in dialogue and cooperation.68
One cannot presuppose the outcomes of an open-ended research in advance, but
a general framework of expectations was feasible from the outset, such as a certain
eurosceptic attitude, even resistance to Europeanisation. On the other hand, some
degree of realist, pragmatist prevalence which dictates conformity to the achiev­
able was expected, and also, an interest-oriented attitude of both churches and close
church‒state relations aspirations. Even though deduction is not our approach of
choice, norms as indicators of their respective forms of anti-Europeanisation or
Euroscepticism already existed inevitably, leaning for the most part towards an
attitude differentiation between the two institutions. What is more, any signs and
evidence of trade-offs in terms of inspiration, ideas, policies or direct cooperation
between the two institutions of interest were self-evidently in focus as well.
All things considered, the contribution of the research project outlined above
partly rests on its originality, namely, the fact that no comparative study as such
has ever taken place in this particular field. This importance is further reinforced
by the worldwide religious resurgence that has been noteworthy, which in turn
upgrades the role of the church as socio-political actor with an inevitable conse-
quence on issues of culture, and ultimately, a sense of being and belonging. Na-
tional identity is back into play, and traditionalist organisations allegedly thrive
on the prospects of the occasion, with the European project suffering from such
changes of wind. Therefore, the Orthodox Churches of Greece and Cyprus have a
historical task ahead. Apart from that, it is self-evident that both Greece and Cy-
prus are actors of high geopolitical significance in an increasingly volatile region;

68 Lucian N. Leustean, “Eastern Christianity and the Liberal International Order”, (2015),
pp. 168–90.
 Introduction and Preliminaries 33

therefore, their attachment to the EU is deemed vital, and yet, their member-
ship is troublesome due to alleged cultural differences that spill over the aspects
of this broad partnership. However, Greece is the first Orthodox state to have
ever joined the EU, with Cyprus the second. Athens, Nicosia – together with the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople – constitute diverse pillars of Greek-
Orthodox culture; consequently, they are worthy of a comparative investigation
regarding their attitudes towards Europeanisation. Not to mention that with the
intra-European religioscapes being in a state of flux due to increased mobility,
the ever-present spatial parameter adds complexity to the whole situation.
At this point, it should be stressed that no such research as the one we present
has ever taken place, and it should be underlined that this has been investigated
thoroughly. This explains the lack of literary and academic resources on compar-
ative research between the aforementioned churches, and, on the topic as stated,
while at the same time it renders originality self-evident. Apart from that, this
topic has never been approached from the perspective of IR, either generally or
particularly, so much that there have been publications addressing precisely the
theoretical vacuum of examining religion in that context and the consequences
of this neglect. Therefore, the present endeavour within the corresponding theo-
retical framework qualifies as an innovative element in its own right. Hence we
expect to provide this area of interest not only with new findings, but also with
further discussion points of theoretical contribution, based on existing founda-
tions such as the ESIR as well as the theory of State Personification, and to that
end offer, an additional apposite vocabulary to address neglected and emergent
aspects of the theme in focus; that might be suitable for a broader usage and ap-
plicable to other cases too.
2 Europeanness – the Problématique of
adherence

The present chapter deals initially with the multiplicity of available viewpoints
in the dominant IR disciplines, through which, crucial notions are appreciated
and defined. Ranging from mechanistic and structuralist approaches of Euro-
peanisation to cultural, value system oriented evaluations of Europeanness, it is
demonstrated how the whole endeavour of clearly demarcating a fuzzy notion
such as the latter, as opposed to the clear limitations of the former, generates a
problématique regarding the criteria of adherence to the EU. This is not with-
out consequence for the churches of interest as it is further explained. For, they
conceptualise Europeanness in their own ways and thus relativise their terms of
belonging in the EU, while taking variable stances to Europeanisation; both via
rhetoric and actual political involvement, exercised domestically and through
their offices of representation in Brussels.

2.1 Defining Europeanisation and the Problématique on

European identity
It all started on 9 May 1950 when Robert Schuman’s1 suggestion for joint manage-
ment of coal and steel production was heeded by France and Germany, result-
ing in the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The
corresponding treaty that was signed on 18 April 1951, following ratification –
applicable as of 23 July 1952 – by “the inner six”, namely, Belgium, Germany,
France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, was to become the humble be-
ginning of an ever growing, ambitious project.2 And the Founding Fathers of the
EU3 set the foundations for the political entity that we know today, which, gradu-
ally and from treaty to treaty grew to a union of twenty-eight members, while

1 He was the Foreign Minister of France at the time (1948–1952) and is considered one of
the Founding Fathers of the EU. His suggestion aspired to prevent future wars between
France and Germany by means of interdependence.
2 Consilium, A Union of law: from Paris to Lisbon tracing the treaties of the European
Union (2012), p. 6.
3 Konrad Adenauer, Joseph Bech, Johan Willem Beyen, Winston Churchill, Alcide De
Gasperi, Walter Hallstein, Sicco Mansholt, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Paul-Henri
Spaak, Altiero Spinelli. See European Union, ‘The Founding Fathers of the EU’, (2014).
36 Being and Belonging

another group of queuing candidates is at the doorstep, waiting to join. Now, the
EU looks nothing like its initial form, it has much more complex purposes, scope,
organisation and institutions: it has its own Parliament, the European Council,
the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Court of Jus-
tice of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the European Court
of Auditors.4 Hence, in a nutshell, it is a fully institutionalised political entity that
comprises the three branches of government and more, as if it were a sovereign
state: the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. It may often be taken for
granted but its progress has been unparalleled, such that it has come to the point
that we are now in a position to discuss its very essence, an overarching identity.
Yet, one must concede right from the outset that to attempt to delineate the so-
called European Identity – if such a thing exists at all – is easier said than done, not
to mention that it is quite open-ended in terms of outcomes. Additionally, in order
to tackle the whole issue, it is imperative to deal with notions that are inextricably
connected with it: the process of Europeanisation and the condition of European-
ness. The former is important due to the connotations it triggers, given that to be
able to “Europeanise” a structure or an institution, entails that there exists a form
of Europeanness, measurable qualitatively, quantitatively or both. This, in turn,
means that Europeanness itself ought to be the standard and the measure of the
process thereof. An array of complications emanate though, from, among other
things, the collectively representative nature that Europeanness ought to possess,
in order to at least approximate a form of European Identity.
It is a given that all Member States of the EU are cosignatories of binding
agreements and treaties, which impose a numbers of prerequisites and duties,
as well as suggest the commitment those Member States have willingly and wit-
tingly made, by accepting a set of predetermined terms and conditions in order
to achieve European integration. In that plain, legalistic sense, the process of Eu-
ropeanisation is falsely presented as a mere bureaucratic arrangement that needs
to be met, so that an array of diverse regimes may converge along the way and all
of them together become compatible, within the bounds of a descriptive and pre-
scriptive, regulatory, organisational blueprint. Yet this is not the case, but rather
an aspect of it. Apparently, Europeanisation is not, and most probably cannot be,
a stand-alone process that will eventually work when all counterparts emulate
this blueprint systematically and methodically. If anything, because it touches on
another sensitive, intangible notion, called Europeanness, which is laden with
cultural baggage: identities, particularities, sense of belonging etc. In addition

4 Consilium, The European Union Facts and Figures (2014), pp. 4–5.
 The Europeanness Problématique 37

to this, there is also the problem of definitively pinning down the contested and
fuzzy concept in focus.
There is a broad spectrum of theoretical approaches that attempt to define
Europeanisation, ranging from structural, mechanistic conceptualisations to
civilisational and socio-cultural frameworks of analysis, whereby Europeanness
comes inevitably into play. It seems that the deeper the latter is fathomed by
a culture and the more it identifies with it, the easier it is for Europeanisation
to be implemented. Therein rests the interdependence between the process and
the condition/notion of interest, between Europeanisation and Europeanness,
which, among other things, constitute means to an end, namely European inte-
gration; even federalisation to the true Europeanists.
Europeanisation, as a process – an admittedly broad, all-encompassing term –
according to Radaelli consists of:
processes of a) construction, b) diffusion and c) institutionalisation of formal and in-
formal rules, procedures, policy paradigms, styles, “ways of doing things” and shared
beliefs and norms which are first defined and consolidated in the EU policy process and
then incorporated in the logic of domestic (national and sub-national) discourse, politi-
cal structures and public policies,5

being therefore defined in an equally all-encompassing manner, which, by the

way, confirms the, throughout the presently examined literature, postulation
of intangibility; even though Radaelli himself offers an articulation of a sys-
tematised conceptual approach, strictly referring to institutions, structures and
governance spread throughout the EU, which directly impinge on the domes-
tic policies of all Member States. However, a second look reveals the implicit
convergence of cultures that certainly affect the “ways of doing things”, not to
mention shared beliefs that cannot be completely devoid of principles; overall,
there can be no such convergence without any reference to ethos then, as we
will demonstrate shortly afterwards. The above-mentioned author, apart from
providing us with a definition, distinguishes Europeanisation to domains such as
“Domestic Structures”, or those of “Public Policy” and “Cognitive and Normative
Structures”; the latter especially is further analysed in “a) Discourse, b) Norms
and values, c) Political legitimacy, d) Identities, e) State traditions – understand-
ing of governance, f) Policy paradigms, frames, and narratives”.6 This dimension
of “Cognitive and Normative Structures”, along with its contents, is treated dis-
tinctively by its own author first and foremost, as the capacity of the EU to exert

5 Claudio M. Radaelli, “Europeanisation: Solution or Problem?”, (2004).

6 Radaelli, “The Europeanisation of Public Policy”, pp. 27–56, (p. 35).
38 Being and Belonging

influence on values and norms is clearly acknowledged;7 therefore, the suscepti-

bility of institutions – why not national churches too then – towards transforma-
tion along the lines of a corresponding programme as such is not excluded.
Concerning the term “Europeanisation”, Featherstone, leaning towards exam-
ining things from the perspective of social sciences, holds that “[…] it can range
over history, culture, politics, society, and economics. It is a process of structural
change, variously affecting actors and institutions, ideas and interests”.8 In that
sense, given the broad reach and potential of this process, while agencies are em-
powered to affect structures and vice versa, both the former and latter exist in a
relational mode with each other, and, what is more, their actions may be causes of
widespread outcomes; in this complicated schema where a structure is an agency
and an agency is a structure as well, existing within a relational concept, domestic
consequences may be amplified by even seemingly small EU obligations.9
But alternatively, Europeanisation can be seen as a concept beyond govern-
ance, as the shifting of powers upwards – to Brussels – and of institutional ad-
aptation. Inevitably, “Europeanisation as modernisation”10 would enter this
discourse, and it refers mainly, if not solely, to the so-called geographic and eco-
nomic European periphery that is expected to conform to the Western European
norm. It follows that the EU enlargement policy has some type of political-eco-
nomic reform in store for the newcomers, aiming to assimilate them with the
mainstream economic and political model of the EU core Member States, which
happen to prosper and exert significant influence thereby.11 We may parentheti-
cally note though, that this dimension of “Europeanisation as modernisation”
applies to those Member States that deviate from the predetermined obliga-
tions, terms and conditions. In any case, the crux of the matter here is that the
paradigm takes after the Western European model. Yet, modernisation is itself
contested with the transformation of the global status quo in general and the in-
clusion of post-communist states in the EU, within the bounds of the European
enlargement in particular. Modernity is being thus reviewed, and a multiplic-
ity of modernities is actually conceded as a fact.12 This is not to say of course
that this is necessarily the case in practice, given the disparity of power between

7 Ibid.
8 Featherstone, pp. 3–26, (p. 3).
9 Ibid., p. 4.
10 Thomas M. Wilson, “Europeanisation, Identity and Policy in the Northern Ireland
Borderlands”, (2007), pp. 49–60, (p. 52).
11 Ibid.
12 Shmuel N. Eisenstadt, “Multiple Modernities”, (2000), pp. 1–29.
 The Europeanness Problématique 39

Member States and the imposition of policies and domestic structural models
to newcomers and peripheral states – small powers – which are often deemed
inadequate by the Western European states that set the paradigm. Amidst the
2000s, this possibility, i.e., of a new model of modernity being shaped outside
the Western European paradigm and with the new Member States in considera-
tion, was discussed exhaustively as it was expected to even reshape Europe and
reconstitute political modernity, together with the new geopolitical reality of the
time.13 Yet, as to whether that was plausible or not is highly debatable judging
by the debt crisis that put an array of institutions and certainties to the test, by
clearly demonstrating who has the upper hand.
Apart from modernisation, another dimension of the process in focus would
be that of “Europeanisation as the reconstruction of identities”.14 Broadly used,
this perception is often the first that springs to mind, but in our view, it may
probably be catalytic in the whole project, even though it is frequently over-
looked. This form of Europeanisation is intended to relativise the notions of ter-
ritoriality and peoplehood, which are dominant principles in the modern order
of things in Europe, while reviewing and retheorising culture and identity within
the framework of the EU project; this includes EU policies and their impact on,
and interaction with the Member States and their domestic political-cultural
identification.15 It is then a force of transformation par excellence.
Social constructivists, more often than nought, steer clear of the neo-
functionalist approach of reducing the European project to an institutional
framework of analysis where all focus is on governments functioning within the
EU order; rather, they perceive society as being in a state of flux, always in the
making, as they, at the same time, take into account the historical evolution of
modernity within a globalised environment, i.e., the conditions where Europe-
anisation is in action. For that reason, they advocate a different course of action,
namely, to focus on societal and cultural dynamics instead of institutions as they
see potential in a bottom-up, post-positivist approach. After all, both structure
and agency exist within the given socio-cultural environment and they are not
immune to such influences; they may be descriptive of their condition and state
of affairs but not explanatory. Ergo, to understand them, one ought to under-
stand their context first, as well as the social actors and the processes at work that

13 Gerard Delanty and Chris Rumford, Rethinking Europe: Social Theory and the Implica-
tions of Europeanisation (2005), p. 19.
14 Thomas M. Wilson, pp. 49–60, (p. 52).
15 Ibid.
40 Being and Belonging

co-formulate it.16 One easily realises, therefore, how differently Europeanisation

is perceived across the spectrum of approaches and most importantly how this
affects the analytical process thereof. On the one hand, for neo-functionalists
and structuralists, the issue is most frequently the level of analysis within the
institutional structure whereas on the other, for constructivists, it is the cultural
dynamics. However, it is obvious not only that there can be no structure without
agency and vice versa,17 but also that there is an evident interdependence and
interrelation between structures and units.18 Structures, after all, cannot exist
without agencies, while the latter exist exclusively within the former.19 “Society
does not exist independently of human activity (the error of reification). But it is
not the product of it (the error of voluntarism)”.20 Giddens attempts to overcome
the antithesis of dualism, offering a synthesis based on overlaps and convergenc-
es.21 In sum Giddens’ structuration theory, promotes duality instead of dualism,
viewing structure and agency as two sides of the same coin, and dualism as artifi-
cial.22 Yet, it is known to the reader already from the previous chapter that we too
perceive Europeanisation as more than a convergence of institutions and govern-
ance regimes, as those are not exo-social,23 stand-alone entities and cannot be

16 Delanty and Rumford, pp. 2, 7 and 15.

17 Colin Hay, “Structure and Agency”, (1995), pp. 189–206, (p. 189).
18 Barry Buzan, “The Level of Analysis Problem in International Relations Reconsidered”,
(1995), pp. 198–216, (pp. 213–14).
19 One has to wonder if there are actual grounds for a dispute when, according to Wendt,
“theories of international relations can and must endogenise – or explain change – in
both agency and structure”; see Gil Friedman and Harvey Starr, Agency, Structure,
and International Politics: From Ontology to Empirical Inquiry (1997), p. 9. This allows
versatility in the use of the ‘level of analysis’ approaches, since “one person’s agency is
another person’s structure”. See Hay, ‘Structure and Agency’, pp. 189–206, (p. 191).
20 Roy Bhaskar, The Possibility of Naturalism: A Philosophical Critique of the Contemporary
Human Sciences (1998), p. 36.
21 The fact that an agency can act and produce results entails power and capability. Power,
of course, depends on resources and varies among individuals; therefore, it is relational.
Yet, agencies have always some form of power at their disposal, the amount of which
changes due to circumstances but also over time. This phenomenon, known as “the
dialectic of control”, directly affects the balance of power; See Derek Layder, Under-
standing Social Theory (1994), p. 125 and 138.
22 Hay, pp. 189–206, (p. 197).
23 In the sense of dwelling and functioning outside the social structure or in its periphery;
the same applies to a society of states and the corresponding values and principle that
allow the formation of a system within an anarchical – lacking a high authority with
 The Europeanness Problématique 41

devoid of socio-cultural values, norms and “ways of doing things”, hence, in a

nutshell, immune to culture.
That is where Europeanness comes into play, as a catalyst, definitive of the
success of the European project and a criterion as well. It should not be taken
for the equivalent of European identity though, but as an approximation of it,
parallel, at best, to the national identity that is still the dominant one. So let us
henceforth, as a convenience, call Europeanness a quality. Being a fuzzy concept,
Europeanness can only be roughly delineated – and not accurately defined in a
few sentences – via the route of Europe’s past up to nowadays, where the core
building materials of the European civilisation can be located, leading to a pos-
sibly overarching European paradigm; that, actually, would be to some extent in
tune with the constructivist approach. The typical approach of Members of the
European Parliament (MEPs) though, would be more down to earth, practical,
in that this quality was introduced via political decisions after the Second World
War (WWII). To avoid the farcical repetition of history, the initially economic
format gradually assumed a political form with an identity content that co-ex-
isted with the national, in order to live in peace, prosperity and the implementa-
tion of the values and principles of the United Nations (UN) on human rights;24
which is not far from the truth either.
Europe, the continent, may be geographically distinct but that is far from enough
to determine its “substance” that spills over what the EU is about. The starting
point ought to be values that are applicable in the Western world generally and the
EU particularly. Because when examined from a cultural perspective, the notion
of “Europe” connotes an idea and a paradigm that can be deemed regulatory of
norms, values and ethics as well as an outcome of them. In turn, Europeanness
means in our view their endorsement and practice so that they determine one’s
way of life, or on a macro-level the ways and customs of whole social groupings.
The foundations of Europeanness according to Vergara,25 rest in the back-
ground that has over the centuries generated the humanist identity via a number
of factors, conditions and historical fermentations, in order to eventually be able
to conceptualise Europe: “Greek culture, Roman jurisprudence, Christianity, and
the political legacy of the Germanic peoples”.26 Greek culture set the cornerstone
by contributing with its emphasis on human rationality and logical inference,

the capacity to impose order where and when necessary – global system as such. See
Hedley Bull, The Anarchical Society (1977).
24 G. E., Interview with the author, 27 November 2013.
25 Vergara, pp. 15–22.
26 Martín Ramirez (1969), pp. 181–82 in Vergara, pp. 15–22, (p. 16).
42 Being and Belonging

philosophy and metaphysics, whereby it constituted up to the seventeenth cen-

tury the dominant influence of European culture in aesthetics, epistemology, as
well as science and politics. Roman law set the social and civil administrative
foundations concerning a given geographical jurisdiction, and was still appli-
cable mutatis mutandis until well within the era of modernity. In turn, Vergara
holds that Christianity came and established the equality of men ontologically,
thus filling an until then significant vacuum of dignity as regards humanity and
its purpose, to be reunited with its creator, which was henceforth rendered a
pananthropic value. As for the influence of the Germanic peoples, it was mainly
their contribution to the political balance between society and power within the
framework of a civic organisation. And those constitute the foundations of the
European personality,27 which, as a term bears significant weight and meaning,
such that it will be revisited and dealt with properly, in the third chapter.
While addressing the background of Europeanness further, it is worth men-
tioning that the new influential philosophical genres that emerged after the Mid-
dle Ages were European; Humanism, Rationalism, Empiricism, made their mark
and are still relevant as components of a cultural leitmotif. The new world, the
Westphalian System, the emergence of the state as political sovereign entity and
the inter-Christian frictions in the continent that gave rise to the secular, mod-
ern nation-state, as we know it, were all processes and developments within the
European realm that affected the further gestation of the European personality.28
The aforementioned frictions were of notable consequence, which of course has
a bearing on the present project as regards the intangibility of Europeanness,
even in the heart of Europe: the surfacing of two different anthropological ty-
pologies that stemmed from two Christian denominations, the Protestant and
the Catholic. On the one hand, the anthropocentric viewpoint advocated that
human freedom is attainable by, and for itself by means of its own human na-
ture; therefore, it would be dependent mainly on one premise, the individual.
On the other hand, the theo-centric in origin view of Catholicism, although con-
ceding human free-will and individual autonomy in principle, suggested that
the limitations of the human being pointed to the attainment of transcendental
freedom via the spiritual aspect of man. All in all, the outcome was a European
divergence that the Renaissance humanism set in motion, which emanated from

27 Vergara, p. 16.
28 Ibid., p. 17.
 The Europeanness Problématique 43

the formerly unifying factor of religion and affected the further development of
socio-cultural and political models within Europe.29
In contrast, what is attempted today is to achieve a European singularity that
will overcome the fragmentations and divisions of the past, those, in fact, which
emerged in Europe originally. And the entity that is being pressured and chal-
lenged the most is no other than the sovereign nation-state and with it, the theo-
retical and cultural foundations that legitimise and perpetuate it; for, if there
is a European personality, it follows that there is a national personality as well.
This entails the retheorisation and review of identity. Ironically enough, this
singularity could be perceived as a regionalist view of Europe that takes after
the medieval impression of the continent, when borders were unclear, distinc-
tions were roughly delineated, sovereignty was questionable and contested, and
above all, it transcended borders and jurisdiction as it was dependent on the idea
of a God who was the legitimising catalyst in ruling the this-worldly domain.30
The heavenly legitimacy notwithstanding, a postmodern development as such,
where sovereignty and power are diffused, does not eliminate one identity whilst
providing a substitute, but rather is permissive of multiple, parallel identities that
in turn allow room for belonging simultaneously to multi-level spatial entities:
ranging from the narrowly perceived locality and extending to broader spatial
entities – region, state, etc. – up to the European level, in an inclusive manner.31
Not that religion is obsolete, quite the opposite. Indeed the EU is secular be-
yond the shadow of a doubt, with the Treaty of Lisbon guaranteeing that ex-
plicitly. Yet, it rests on, very much, Christian foundations. Christian Democrats
and their parties attest to that, as well as almost all European monarchies that
are legitimised by their corresponding churches; Member States with national
churches, Christian teaching and an array of informal institutions that stand by
the respective state or even depend on it. Not to mention that the church is very
often a source of legitimacy domestically.32 But in any case, religion does by no
means determine EU citizenship, nor do any cultural traits whatsoever.
In that sense, citizenship, at first glance, appears to be less complicated, a bu-
reaucratic view of identity; a formality of belonging and Europeanness seen from
a legalistic point of view, although even this is not free of content and connota-
tions, as, actually, in essence, when examined properly it is not just a legality. It

29 Ibid.
30 James Anderson, “Singular Europe: An Empire Once Again?”, (2007), pp. 9–29,
(pp. 15–17).
31 Ibid.
32 Delanty and Rumford, p. 48.
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