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Greek Church takes on 'antichrist' in ID card row
Nov 17 10:27 AM US/Eastern

Senior clerics in Greece have told the state in no uncertain terms that vigilance is required to prevent the antichrist from making a manifestation on new ID cards to be issued next year.
The authorities must ensure that the cards contain no mention of the number 666, which in Greek Orthodox tradition is associated with the antichrist, the Church of Greece said in a statement.

"In no way should the 'citizen card' contain the number 666, either in visible or invisible manner," the Holy Synod, governing council of the Church of Greece, said after a meeting between canon scholars, legal experts, computer specialists and government officials.

"The Church is obliged to protect personal freedom and defend the integrity of the faith," the Holy Synod added.

State planners have pledged to take the observation on board, it said.

The new cards are to be finalised early next year.

The Church is officially part of the state in Greece.

Frequently criticised as backward and superstitious by liberal circles, Orthodox custodians strongly adhere to tradition surrounding the number 666, which appears in the biblical Book of Revelation, believed to have been written by the Apostle John in the first century AD.

Also known as the figure of the Beast, the number has led ultra orthodox clerics to oppose the use of bar codes on goods, as well as electronic checks carried out under the border-free Schengen Area of which Greece is a member.

A decade ago, the Church of Greece had fought tooth and nail to prevent the removal of religious affiliation from the previous batch of identity cards issued to Greeks, even organising a referendum on the issue.

At the time, religious minorities such as Catholics and Jews had successfully argued that the inclusion of faith on the cards could expose the bearer to discrimination.

antichrist card [breitbart.com]

The Fathers warned us about superstition.

Quite right, "religious" superstition is indeed a powerful tool in the arsenal of those who oppose religion -regardless of tradition.

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Am I correct in understanding your comments...that the Book of Revelation is superstition? "Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who deceived those who received the mark of the beast (666) and those who worshiped his image." (Rev 19:20)

Heaven knows we are being deceived daily in our secular society; but the deception is not by scripture. I don't take this scripture literally, but to call it superstition is odd. I would expect it on secular forums, for they call all our beliefs stupid and superstitious. Please tell me I misunderstood.

Numerology is superstition. And the Book of Revelation has been used by the ignorant and superstitious to justify all sorts of nonsense--including this bit. Unless and until one confronts the Apocalypse of St. John as what it is--a Jewish apocalyptic allegory--and not a cookbook for predicting future events, then such superstitious nonsense as believing that a number can be inherently evil will continue to proliferate.

As a "primitive Christian" without official denominational affiliation, I would rather not have some influential denomination insist that my religious affiliation be circumscribed on an official State ID card. Such could easily be used against a minority by an oligarchical authority - as most governments really are.

I have known more that a few who readily sign onto whatever "666" theory comes around. "Pin-the-tail-on-the-antichrist" some call it. I don't think the passage in the Apocalypse is at all so easily understood or applied. Neither do I think it some gamatrical code to ponder. Anyway some important manuscripts indicate the number is "662" instead which is the double of a prime, but otherwise equally inscrutible.

μιχαηλ της συστρατιωτης

Stuart,
I agree with that numerology is superstition; however surely the Book of Revelation was included in the Bible for its teaching and inspirational merits. Certainly we can seek comfort from it in our generation. The end of the Book is the Beatific Vision....with God's Mercy may we all see it.

The Apocalypse is in the Bible, but for us in the Byzantine Churches, its position is rather anomalous, as it is the only book in the Bible that is not included in the lectionary. The Apocalypse was one of the "disputed" books, accepted in some Churches, but not in others. The Eastern Churches were suspicious of it because of its use by the Montanists, but despite that it was eventually accepted as part of the canon--except that, unlike every other canonical book, it is not read in church (which is the real defining characteristic of a "canonical" book).

Even though the Apocalypse is not part of the lectionary, its imagery does inform a lot of our liturgical practices. We should, however, beware of too literal a reading of a book that is written almost entirely in esoteric and allegorical language (i.e, the number 666 by itself has no intrinsic moral value). An apocalypse, by design, hides its true meaning through its language and imagery, and only those "in the know" are able to decipher it.

Actually, in Revelation the mark of the beast is not revealed.

This has no spiritual value, but I read that 666 is symbolically a sign of pride, as the numeric symbol for the Trinity is 333.

I discount all numerical symbols.

Check this link out this you tube video, pretty interesting. The video deals with numeric symbolism.

Geessss and I just thought it was interesting article. Who knew!

The beast's name numbers to 666, but that does not mean 666 only numbers to the beast's name.

Otherwise I have problem here, I have a hymnal book with almost 1000 hymns inside, and I need to avoid hymn number 666. Or perhaps I should avoid every page 666 in a book or dictionary.