Last modified: 2024-12-28 by martin karner
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image by Thanos Tzikas, 5 July 2003
During their protests, extreme fanatic Orthodox used a black flag with a white cross and a white motto,
in a Byzantine-like font, saying "Orthodoxy or Death". The motto is probably taken from the Greek
patriots' motto, "Freedom or Death".
Thanos Tzikas/Tomislav Todorovic, 25 August 2016
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 26 October 2013
A similar flag, charged with a simple cross and the inscription "Orthodoxy Or Death" in a modern
simple typeface (most likely, Arial or Helvetica), inscribed completely at the top, is used by the
Esphigmenou monastery in Mount Athos (photo, 2011),
hoisted on a tower along with the "Byzantine" flag used by the Greek Orthodox Church and the plain
cross flag of Greece.
The same flag was used at a nationalist gathering at Larissa in February 2011
(photo.
The bottom inscription Ι. Μ. Εσφιγμένου refers
to the monastery of Esphigmenou , Ι. Μ. standing for Ιερά Μονή
(Holy Monastery). This is what denotes the flag as being used by the Orthodox extremists, as the said
monastery is one of centers of the Orthodox extremism in Greece, and the photo was showing a monk, probably
from Esphigmenou, as the speaker at the pulpit.
The inscription is not quite correct, as the accent in the second word
should actually be placed before the uppercase Η, not after it, but
this is how the flag really looked.
Tomislav Todorovic, 25 August 2016
image by Tomislav Todorovic/António Martins
Another flag used at the same event was a variant of the "Byzantine"
flag used by the Greek Orthodox Church, but with the red field instead
of gold. This flag is currently being sold by Lonhi, the online shop
of Golden Dawn party, as the "Byzantine war flag"
(image), and is frequently used by the
party itself, usually together with the "standard" flag with golden field
(photo,
photo).
Tomislav Todorovic, 26 October 2013