Paper short abstract:

The very essence of Eastern Orthodox Christianity involves the opposition to Catholicism. As a response to this comes the attitude of "better the Turkish turban than the Pope's tiara" in Greece.

Paper long abstract:

The very essence of Eastern Orthodox Christianity involves the ideological opposition to Catholicism in Greece. As a response to this comes the attitude of "better the Turkish turban than the Pope's tiara". The "West" as a whole is thus demonized in Greece, because the Orthodox perceive the whole of Western Europe as Catholic. For a hard core of at least 100,000 Orthodox in Greece, the European Union in particular is seen as the "State of Antichrist" in asccordance with the interpretation of the Revelation of John in the Bible. The preparation for the Summer Olympics of 2004 brought Greece to a situation of rapid socioeconomic change, with an emphasis on the retrieval of the classical past, an ambiance which paradoxically boosted and revitalized Eastern Orthodox Christianity as a reaction to the "atheism" of the invading West. With the advent of economic crisis in Greece in 2010 and in recent years, the negative attitude towards Europe has prevailed and strengthened the position of those people who support the move that is known as "Grexit", the exit of Greece from the European Monetary Union.