Pope arrives in Greece

The pope, walking slowly off the plane at Athens airport, was saluted by an Air Force honour guard. No senior members of the Greek Orthodox Church turned out to welcome him - underscoring the delicate and potentially tumultuous setting facing the pope.

The pope hopes to advance his desire to close the deep estrangement between the Vatican and Orthodox churches. Christianity split into the two branches nearly 1,000 years ago in disputes over papal authority.

The effort for greater contacts would receive a major boost if supported by the Greek Orthodox, one of the pillars of faith for the world’s more than 200 million Orthodox.

The leader of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Christodoulos, is expected to make a public statement demanding a formal papal apology for the Crusades that led to the fall of the Greek Byzantine Emprie and other perceived misdeeds against Orthodox.

Such a statement by the pope could help opening important ecumenical dialogue.

But the Greek Orthodox also represent a hotbed of dissent. Its clergymen and followers have long looked upon the Vatican with suspicion that has often spilled into open hostility.

The ill feelings draw from potent sources: religion, ethnic pride and a perception of historical injustices.

‘‘It is blasphemy to the memory of our saints to allow the pope in Greece,’’ said Athens University theologian Giorgos Metalinos at an anti-pope gathering Wednesday of more than 1,000 people.

Protesters from monks to parish priests plan more rallies during the pope’s 24 hour stay. They promise to drape monasteries in black and ring church bells in a symbol of mourning. At some churches, Greek and ancient Byzantine flags were lowered to half staff.

Some zealots have threatened to try to block the papal motorcade from reaching Areopagus hill, the judicial centre of ancient Athens where Paul made his sermons in 51 AD.

But the opposition appeared to fizzle just hours before the pope’s arrival. Some former protest leaders appealed for calm - apparently bowing to intense pressure from the Government and mainstream church leaders.

Security forces were taking no chances. More then 5,000 police officers fanned out across the city for patrols and roadblocks.

The flag of Greece flew alongside the flag of the Holy See outside the Greek parliament.

The demonstrators represent the Greek Government’s worse fears: that they will hijack attention away from the pope and show the world that prosperity and modernization has not fully erased the nation’s anti-Western outlook.

‘‘These fringe groups are not the voice of Greece,’’ insisted Foreign Ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis.

Still, most Greeks are raised to be highly wary of Roman Catholics.

The pope has been described the leader of a heretical church.

School books blame the Crusaders for the fall of the Greek Byzantine Empire in the 15th century - the prelude for what Greeks consider their ultimate humiliation: nearly 400 years of domination under the Muslim Ottoman Empire.

And even that was better than bowing to the Roman Catholic West, most Greeks are taught. Everyone knows the anti-Vatican adage by heart: ‘‘Better the Turkish turban than the papal tiara.’’

The pope has been to mostly Orthodox countries before: Romania and Georgia. But the backlash is much more visceral in Greece, where the Orthodox clerics portray themselves as guardians of both the nation’s ethnic identity and the original spirit of Christianity.

Many Orthodox clergymen and followers still believe the Vatican seeks to infiltrate the Orthodox heartland, stretching from the Balkans to Russia.

They particularly condemn Eastern Rite churches, which follow many Orthodox traditions but are loyal to the Vatican. An influential Eastern Rite cleric, Cardinal Ignace Moussa Daoud, was dropped from the papal delegation after objections from Greek Orthodox leaders.

Religious passions in Greece also were pushed to a fever pitch last year during huge protests against Government plans to remove church affiliation from state ID cards.

More than 95% of Greece’s 11 million people are baptized into the Orthodox church.

The sensitivity of the Greek trip has some Vatican concessions, including scaling down tomorrow’s planned Mass from the 80,000 seat Olympic Stadium to a small indoor arena.

The Vatican, in turn, has spoken about alleged discrimination against Greece’s 50,000 native-born Roman Catholics. There are also about 150,000 Catholic immigrants.

‘‘Many Orthodox bishops think they are more Orthodox if they are more anti-Catholic,’’ Yannis Spiteris, a Greek Catholic theologian, told Fides, news service of the Vatican’s missionary arm.

But the pope has worked hard at improving dialogue with the Orthodox.

In 1995, he joined the spiritual leader of the Orthodox churches, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew , for prayers in St. Peter’s Basilica.

In June, he plans to travel to predominantly Orthodox Ukraine and often speaks of a desire to visit Russia.