The Greek Church Reaffirms Ban on Clergy Owning and Using Weapons, Including for Hunting

The Standing Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church has reaffirmed the strict ban on clergy owning and using weapons, explicitly emphasizing that no exceptions are to be made—even for hunting. This decision comes just days after the issue of priests’ right to own hunting weapons was raised in the Greek Parliament.

During its meeting on September 9 and 10, the Holy Synod reviewed an official letter from the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports regarding the possession and use of weapons by clergy. In response, the Synod decided to update its Circular Letter No. 244/155, dated January 21, 2016, and “expressly prohibits the use of weapons by clergy for any reason whatsoever.”

The immediate trigger for this decision was a discussion initiated in the Greek Parliament. Andreas Nikolakopoulos, a Member of Parliament for the ruling “New Democracy” party representing the Ilia region, submitted a question to the Ministry of Citizen Protection asking why clergy continue to be denied the opportunity to obtain a hunting weapon permit and participate in legal hunting. The MP also raised the issue in light of constitutional principles regarding equality before the law and the free development of the individual. He justified his initiative by citing the situation in the Greek countryside, where hunting has long-standing traditions. According to him, there are clergy members who wish to participate in hunting activities while complying with the same legal requirements applicable to other citizens.

However, the response from the Ministry for Citizen Protection was negative. Deputy Minister Ioannis Lambropoulos pointed out that current administrative practice does not permit the possession and use of weapons by Orthodox clergy and monks, and that this prohibition explicitly extends to hunting weapons. The Ministry cited previous positions held by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece and the Church of Crete, as well as Decision No. 2569/1990 of the Greek Council of State. The 1990 Council of State ruling stemmed from an appeal filed by an archimandrite and monastery abbot who had been denied the renewal of a permit to carry a revolver—a permit requested for the protection of the monastery. The court held that even when a weapon is sought for such a purpose, carrying it is incompatible with the fundamental Christian doctrine of love and with ecclesiastical canons prohibiting clergy from resorting to violence. Consequently, the ruling established that the state may refuse to issue weapon-carrying permits to clergy and monks without violating the principle of equality.

The Church of Greece itself has repeatedly expressed a similar position. In a 2016 encyclical, the Holy Synod decreed a total ban on the possession and use of weapons by clergy of all ranks, with no exception for hunting. The grounds cited include both the incompatibility of carrying a weapon with the priestly office and the risk that a clergyman might become responsible for a person’s death, thereby incurring grave canonical consequences for his priesthood. The ban applies not only to active priests but to all priests, including those who are retired.