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Elder Pastitsios

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ΓΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ ΠΑΣΤΙΤΣΙΟΣ - ELDER PASTITSIOS
The page cover featuring the flag of Greece, Flying Spaghetti Monster as Virgin Mary holding a baby dinosaur, as Jesus, a Christian cross and "Elder Pastitsios" with pastitsio face.
Type of site
Facebook page
Available inGreek
URLwww.facebook.com/gerontas.pastitsios[1][2]
CommercialNo
RegistrationOptional
Usersapprox. 11,000 subscribers
Current statusonline

Elder Pastitsios (Template:Lang-ell, Géron/Gérontas Pastítsios) is a Pastafarian satirical figure of a fictitious monk who first appeared in a Facebook page. The satire is mostly based on famous Greek Orthodox monk Elder Paisios, where his name and face were substituted with pastitsio—a local pasta and béchamel sauce dish-in a Pastafarian context.[1] The page ran for about a year till its closing down after the arrest of its creator for blasphemy in September 21, 2012. The case which started as a Facebook flame reached up to the Greek Parliament twice and created a strong local as well as international political impact.

Background

The main satire of the page revolved around Elder Paisios (d. 1994), a monk from Holy Mountain, famous for his spiritual teachings. There has been a significant philology about him and his prophecies, concerning the End times, the upbringing of children, couples' relationships, even the diet Paisios supposedly followed. High-ranking priests as well as believers have proposed that the Elder should be recognised as a Saint by the Orthodox Church.[3] The page criticised, among others, the exploitation of Paisios by the Press and Orthodox websites that circulate the alleged prophecies and teachings of the charismatic Elder (according to his followers he had predicted the fall of the Soviet Union and the recent Greek crisis).[4]

The "Elder Pastitsios" page satirised and criticised (with no reported profanity according to the media),[3] various religious aspects in Greece such as infant baptism, religious education in schools and the lack of separation between church and state; these were presented through the eyes of the Pastafarian satirical pseudo-religion "Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster", which has been used to lampoon the teaching of creationism in schools.[3]

The page created a hoax about a posthumous miracle by Elder Paisios[5] which was submitted to various Orthodox, conservative and far-right blogs in July. The story was based on several existing accounts that were already circulating online and involved a miraculous recovery of a teenager who recovered from a coma after his mother placed a talisman with dirt from Elder Paisios’ grave under her son’s pillow.

The story reached up to 93,800 Google search results and was reproduced both online and in print and even became a cover story on the far-right newspaper "Eleftheri Ora".[6] The 27 years old page creator would later state that he did this to expose the gullibility of the faithful, and also to show the poor fact-checking done among the religious and conservative blogosphere.[7]

Four days before the page creator's arrest, MP Christos Pappas from the neo-nazi[8][9] Golden Dawn party had brought the page to the attention of the Minister of Justice by raising a question to the Greek Parliament on September 17.[10][11] The police claimed they had already concluded their investigation two days before the question was raised in parliament due to thousands of complaints by Orthodox believers worldwide.[2]

Arrest and reaction

On 21 September, the 27 year old man was arrested in Greece on charges of malicious blasphemy and offense of religion[2] for the creation of a satirical Facebook page called "Elder Pastitsios".[3][4][8][9][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Blasphemy in Greece carries a fine of up to 3,000 €, and up to 2 years imprisonment.[22]

The news of the arrest created a worldwide interest in the case with the Twitter hashtag #FreeGeronPastitsios becoming a global trending topic and a relevant petition by the Humanist Union of Greece has received over 10,000 signatures so far on Change.org.[6][22][23]

In a web television interview[7] after his arrest, the page owner said that the evidence that lead the e-crimes bureau of the Greek police to him were all provided by Facebook. Pan-Euro communications manager of Facebook, Iain Mackenzie wrote that Facebook disclosed basic subscriber information in response to a Greek court order without knowing what type of charges the user was subject to.[3] According to article 19 of the Greek Constitution, limiting of confidentiality of communications is allowed only in cases of "particularly serious crimes." The Greek criminal code translates constitution's "particularly serious crimes" as felonies while "malicious blasphemy and offense of religion" is considered a misdemeanor.[4][24]

Following the publication of the arrest, Greece's ruling coalition junior partner Democratic Left[25] and the Greek Communist Party strongly denounced the arrest while leftist primary opposition party SYRIZA raised a second question to the parliament, this time concerning the legality of the arrest and the freedom of expression.[26] The parliamentary spokesman of SYRIZA and MP Dimitrios Papadimoulis stated that he will appear as a defense witness in the trial of the arestee and even the metropolitan bishop of Thessaloniki, Anthimos said on a radio show that he does "not agree with the prosecution, better to leave him alone. No one can usurp the faith".[27] Supporters of the arrestee held a small protest in front of the Greek Parliament on September 28[28] and on the same night another one in the centre of Athens parodying an Orthodox litany.[4][29]

The page creator mentioned that he plans on focusing his future activism on the repeal of Greece’s blasphemy laws.[7]

Internet meme

The idea of creating fictional characters based on Paisios quickly became a brief internet meme featured in mainstream media and even in T-shirts, occasionally as a reaction to the arrest, and support to the page creator. Such characters include "Elder Parisios" with monk's head substituted by the Eiffel Tower,[21] "Elder Papisios" from the Greek word for duck (Template:Lang-ell, papí) and the face of Daffy Duck,[30] and many others.[31]

Conviction

On January 17, 2014, the creator of the original "Elder Pastitsios" website was found guilty of insulting religion and was sentenced to ten months in jail, suspended. [32]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Loizos, Philippos (early 2012). "ΓΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ ΠΑΣΤΙΤΣΙΟΣ - ELDER PASTITSIOS" (in Greek). Facebook. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c "24-09-2012:H Δίωξη Ηλεκτρονικού Εγκλήματος συνέλαβε 27χρονο ημεδαπό για κακόβουλη βλασφημία και καθύβριση θρησκευμάτων, μέσω του Facebook" (in Greek). Greek Police. September 24, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e Apostolou, Nikolia (October 2, 2012). "Blasphemy in democracy's birthplace? Greece arrests Facebook user". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Stavroula, Katerina (September 30, 2012). "Γέρων Παστίτσιος: Σύλληψη κατ'εντολή της Χρυσής Αυγής" (in Greek). Prin newspaper. Retrieved October 4, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Το θαύμα που επινόησε ο Γέρων Παστίτσιος" (in Greek). fimes.gr. September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b "Πως ο Γέροντας Παστίτσιος κορόιδεψε με ένα θαύμα-μαϊμού την Χρυσή Αυγή" (in Greek). seleo.gr. September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b c ΑΥΤΟΣ ΕΙΝΑΙ Ο ΠΑΣΤΙΤΣΙΟΣ! (This is Pastitsios!). Athens, Greece: Kostas Vaxevanis [1]. September 27, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. {{cite AV media}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ a b Fidalgo, Paul (September 28, 2012). ""Elder Pastitsios" Arrest Rekindles Debate on Blasphemy Laws in Greece". Center For Inquiry. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Greek Police Smite Facebook Man for Taunting Orthodox Monk". The Jakarta Globe. September 24, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  10. ^ "Ερώτηση στη Βουλή από τη Χρυσή Αυγή για τον... Γέροντα Παστίτσιο" (in Greek). newpost.gr. September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Ερώτηση στη Βουλή από τη Χρυσή Αυγή για την αισχρή και προσβλητική σελίδα στο facebook για τον... Γέροντα Παΐσιο." (in Greek). newsnow.gr. September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Jauregui, Andres (September 24, 2012). "'Gerontas Pastitsios' Pastafarian Facebook Page Leads To Blasphemy Arrest In Greece". Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  13. ^ Prospect, Neil (September 26, 2012). "Greece Arrests Pastafarian for Blasphemy after he Mocked a Monk on Facebook". heavy.com. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  14. ^ "Pastafarian arrested for blasphemy". zgeek.com. September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  15. ^ Doctorow, Cory (September 29, 2012). "Greek Pastafarian arrested for "Cyber Crimes"". http://boingboing.net. Retrieved September 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Papapostolou, A. (September 24, 2012). "Golden Dawn Presses Arrest for Paisios Blasphemy". Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  17. ^ Mezzofiore, Gianluca (September 24, 2012). "Greece: Golden Dawn 'Force' Arrest over Monk Elder Paisios Facebook Page Blasphemy". Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  18. ^ "Greek Police Arrests Man, 27, for Blaspheming a Monk on Facebook". September 24, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  19. ^ "ΥΠΟΘΕΣΗ ΠΑΣΤΙΤΣΙΟΣ:Η "ΕΛΛΑΔΑ" ΓΙΝΕΤΑΙ ΙΡΑΝ ΜΕ ΤΙΣ ΕΥΛΟΓΙΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΧΡΥΣΗΣ ΑΥΓΗΣ!!" (in Greek). greekvoices. September 27, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ "Greek authorities charge man with blashemy for Facebook page". The Daily Dot. September 25, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  21. ^ a b "Συνελήφθη ο… Παστίτσιος, ήρθε και ο… Παρίσιος" (in Greek). Proto Thema newspaper. September 24, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ a b Goroya, Eliza (September 26, 2012). "greek parliament: Free 'Geron Pastitsios' and abolish Greek anti-blasphemy laws!". change.org. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  23. ^ "Greek police arrest man behind Facebook page satirizing 'mystical' priest". ekathimerini.gr. September 25, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  24. ^ "Το Facebook νίπτει τα χείρας του για τον "Παστίτσιο"" (in Greek). To Kouti Tis Pandoras. October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ "ΔΗΜΑΡ: Με τη σύλληψη του "Παστίτσιου" το κράτος ακολουθεί τη Χρυσή Αυγή" (in Greek). iefimerida. September 24, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ "Ερώτηση ΣΥΡΙΖΑ στη Βουλή για τον "Γέροντα Παστίτσιο"" (in Greek). newsbomb.gr. September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Σε δίκη παραπέμφθηκε ο 27χρονος για τον "Γέροντα Παστίτσιο"" (in Greek). Ta Nea. September 25, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ Blogger supporters angry at blasphemy arrest in Greece. Athens, Greece: athensnewsweb. September 28, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  29. ^ Περιφορά Ιερού Σκηνώματος (τάβλα) Γέροντος Παστίτσιου στη χριστεπώνυμη συνοικία των Εξαρχείων (Procession of the Holy Relic (stiff) of Elder Pastitsios in the christian named Athenian neighborhood of Exarchia). Athens, Greece: risinggalaxy. September 28, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  30. ^ "Μετά το γέροντα Παστίτσιο έρχεται ο… Παπίσιος" (in Greek). axortagos.gr. September 25, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ "Μετά τον Γέροντα Παστίτσιο, τι;" (in Greek). MSN News. September 27, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ "Δέκα μήνες στον ...«Γέροντα Παστίτσιο»" (in Greek). Pegasus Network. January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
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