Archbishop Christodoulos charged yesterday that “forces of evil” were at work to prevent the Church doing what it wanted, after public and political opposition forced the government to withdraw a legislative amendment allowing the Church to build a conference center on Mt Hymettus.

During a visit to a high school in the eastern suburb of Ilioupolis, not far from Kareas, where the Church wants to build the center, a pupil asked the archbishop why the Church wanted to build there. “If there are green areas left in Greece we owe it to the Church,” Christodoulos replied, citing the amount of property the Church had donated to the State for use as hospitals and other public utilities. He criticized the State for giving away forests “so villas can be built.”

“We will not cut down even one tree. But there are evil forces that don’t want anything the Church wants to do. If we lived in tents they would be happy,” the leader of the Church of Greece said.