Sign up now for TIME's WorldWatch email newsletter. You think you will accomplish your plans with the sword of power. You are mistaken. Simitis and his backers, however, are determined to bring Greece into the mainstream of European practice. Insisting that new privacy laws require the changes, the government sees the church's opposition as political and out of bounds.
Some top clerics agree and have refused to join the protests.
Adding insult to injury for the Orthodox clergy was the timing of Simitis' move. Announced in May, it came just a month after his victory in the toughest election contest in Greece since democracy was restored in 1974, and the church contends that its support was critical. But despite the vociferous protests of Christodoulos, Simitis has refused to meet with him to discuss the issue. Human rights campaigners and religious minorities are backing the government. Indeed, Greece's record on minority rights has not always been exemplary.