Public sustainable finance and Greek ecclesiastical property

In this article, we investigate the Church of Greece’s economic independence from the Greek public budget. Specifically, the Greek state has sought to convince the church to manage its expenses independently of the public budget. In addition, through special law, the Church of Greece has sought to avoid taxation and establish joint-stock or limited-liability companies to undertake the substantial task of utilizing the properties belonging to the ecclesiastical organization. All acts of management of the assets of the church and of the companies created must be subject to financial control carried out by public management inspectors, who are appointed by a joint decision of the Ministries of Finance, Education, and Religious Affairs for this purpose. In this study, we use data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) and information from the Ecclesiastical Central Financial Service (Ekklisiastiki Kentriki Ypiresia Oikonomikon, EKYO) to assess whether the Church of Greece can finance its administrative expenses. Moreover, we use secondary data from ELSTAT to investigate the relationship between ecclesiastical property and public sustainable finance. The data from EKYO involves the in-depth analysis of specific Greek ecclesiastical properties and their income.