of threats against the cast of the show (Christopoulos 2013). In this particular incident, Bishop of Piraeus Seraphim, along with four MPs of Golden Dawn, went to the Omonia police department and iled a joint complaint against the play. Golden Dawn, in fact, presented the incident on its website and stressed its support to the Bishop.137 The Bishop himself, talking to Agioritiko Vima, said that he iled the complaint on his own and that the Golden Dawn MPs learned about it and came to express their support. He ended by saying that fascists are those who are hostile towards gestures that aim at enforcing the laws of the State – that is, the prohibition of blasphemy – and therefore not the members of Golden Dawn.138 Until April 2013, the Bishop of Piraeus had not even once turned against Golden Dawn and had not condemned its racist practices and attacks. Then, ater an interview in which certain Golden Dawn MPs referred to their religious convictions, implying their sympathy for ancient Greek religion, Seraphim for the irst time addressed certain public questions to Golden Dawn regarding their religious views. Golden Dawn did not reply. The bishop returned more aggressively, accusing the party of pagan ideas and practices, even of Satanism, which resulted in Golden Dawn answering back. The argument continues to this day, and it culminated ater Pavlos Fyssas’ murder on 18 September 2013. However, the fact remains that for almost a year, the bishop of Piraeus had not reacted to the dynamic presence of Golden Dawn in the Greek society and parliament, and had meticulously avoided condemning it. There are also other bishops who stood by and are still standing by Golden Dawn. One of them is Bishop of Dryinoupolis, Pogoniani and Konitsa, Andreas. At an event for the victims of the communists at Grammos and Vitsi during the civil war, organized by ultra-right circles, Andreas spoke of Golden Dawn with the warmest words as the “lads in black shirts, the good ighting lads”, and closed his speech with the wish that they soon replace these black shirts with blue and white ones, meaning the colors of the Greek lag.139 Bishop of Kalavryta and Aigialeia Amvrosios, the same person who served in the religious service of the gendarmerie under the junta, has also expressed himself with very positive words about Golden Dawn. In one statement, he referred to some of its members’ unfortunate actions, yet he also called them a “sweet hope” for the country and its desperate citizens. In no way did he consider Golden Dawn “a Black Night”, as another bishop, Pavlos of Sisanio and Siatista, one of its main critics, called it. This particular announcement by Amvrosios was also reproduced on the Golden Dawn website, with positive comments, of course.140 It is also interesting that although Pavlos Fyssas’ murder caused rage among many hierarchs, Bishop Ambrosios, while condemning the crime, did not 137. 138. 139. 140. See http://www.xryshaygh.com/index.php/enimerosi/view/sumparastash-chrushs-aughsston-mhtropolith-serafeim-sthn-mhnush-kata-tou-b. See http://www.agioritikovima.gr/eipan/11039. See http://enthemata.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/bournazos-33/. See http://www.xryshaygh.com/index.php/enimerosi/view/epistolh-parembash-tousebasmiwtatou-mhtropolith-ambrosiou. MAPPING ULTRA-RIGHT EXTREMISM, XENOPHOBIA AND RACISM WITHIN THE GREEK STATE APPARATUS | 91