Greece presents data on attacks on religious sites over a decade (2015-2024)

Greek Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports Sofia Zaharaki presented to the Parliament an official report containing statistics on incidents targeting religious sites from 2015 to 2024. The document is intended to serve as a reliable tool to analyze the scope of the problem and develop effective measures to protect religious buildings.

According to Orthodoxia News Agency, the information was collected by the General Secretariat of Religious Affairs in cooperation with a wide network of agencies, including law enforcement, prosecutors and representatives of the country’s main religious communities. The data collected is published in the format of annual reports, allowing to monitor the dynamics of offenses throughout Greece.

According to the statistics presented, the vast majority of recorded cases — 96.05% — were directed against the facilities of the Orthodox Church, quantifying 4,409 incidents over the decade. Other denominations were significantly less affected, with Jewish communities accounting for 1.59% of incidents, Muslim communities for 1.04%, and Old Orthodox Christians (True Orthodox Christians) for 0.48%.

The report also provides data on other religious groups: Catholic Church facilities were targeted in 0.34% of incidents, Jehovah’s Witnesses in 0.36%, and the Armenian Evangelical Church in 0.09%. The Armenian Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches were each targeted in 0.02% of offenses. According to APE-MPE, the data for the follow-up period is currently being prepared and processed to keep the monitoring up to date.