Greek bishop convicted over comments attacking gays

ATHENS, Greece – A Greek court has convicted a prominent Orthodox Church official of violating laws against racism and abusing his office over an anti-gay blog posting.

Amvrossios, Bishop of Kalavryta and Aigialeia in the southern Peloponnese region, received a seven-month sentence, suspended for three years.

Amvrossios urged readers in his 2015 posting to “spit upon” homosexuals, adding: “They are not human beings, they are rejects of nature.”

The three-judge court in the southern town of Aigio unanimously found against the bishop, who is one of the most conservative in the powerful Church of Greece. A lower court had acquitted him, but the case was appealed.

Lawyer Kleio Papandoleon, representing a group of citizens seeking legal action against the bishop, hailed Monday’s ruling, saying it set limits to “inflammatory and racist speech.”