Church of Greece opposes cremation

The Synod said it would brief the government on its objections. New town-planning regulations drafted by the Environment Ministry earlier this year allow crematoria to be built next to churches.

The 12-member council also deemed that the decision for cremation should not be taken by relatives but by the individual themselves.

The move by the Church of Greece came less than three months after the mayors of Athens, Giorgos Kaminis and Thessaloniki, Yiannis Boutaris, asked the government to introduce legislation removing obstacles for the creation of crematoria, an option that has been enacted by law but never fulfilled amid opposition from the Church, among others.

The Greek parliament only passed legislation allowing for the cremation of the dead in Greece in 2006. Greek law permits the cremation of people who express their preference for this method instead of burial as long as their religion also allows it but forbids cremation for Orthodox Christians as the Church of Greece objects to the practice for believers.