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A Homoarchical Institution within a Heterarchical System: Church and State in Contemporary Greece
The example of the interactions between the Church of Greece and the state, both historically and in recent years, shows the dichotomy of homoarchy and heterarchy. The contemporary Greek state, established two centuries ago, has steadily shifted towards heterarchy throughout this period, especially in recent decades once the European integration began, the EU being a heterarchical organization. At the same time, the homoarchical institution of the Church is deeply integrated with the state. The role the Church played historically determined its connection with the Greek nation and state, and Orthodox Christianity was established as a cornerstone of the Greek national identity. The political drive to deeper integration with the EU is a challenge for the Church, since its traditional values do not always mesh with the democratic norms of contemporary European Union and the Greek identity inevitably has a significant religious component, recently supplemented by an element of a shared European identity.
Presently, the contemporary Greek heterarchical state, integrated into equally heterarchical EU is very carefully and slowly, but consistently, attempting to push the Church out of the state system. This confirms to the previously mentioned trend – the more homoarchical the state is, the closer its connection to the Church (it was the strongest during the absolutist Bavarian rule and under the Regime of the Colonels), and, conversely, the more heterarchical the state becomes, the more problematic its connection with the Church.
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