Missionaries appeal against conviction

Press, 24 May 1986, Page 8

Missionaries appeal against conviction

NZPA-Reuter Athens Three evangelical missionaries, an American, a New Zealander and a Greek, appealed yesterday against conviction and prison sentences for proselytising, saying they were fighting for the rights of minority religious orders in Greece. Don Stephens, a director of a California-based Christian maritime relief organisation called “Mercy Ships,” Alan Williams, born in Auckland, and a Greek national, Costas Macris, were each sentenced to 3y 2 years imprisonment by an Athens Court in 1984. Greece is one of the few countries where proselytising is banned by the constitution. Lawyers said proselytising cases were brought against evangelists, Catholics and other minority religious orders in Greece

but never against the Greek Orthodox Church, the official religion. The appeal, expected to last two days, opened in a packed court before five appeal judges who heard evidence by a prosecution witness, Costos Kotopoulos, a soldier. He told how he was given a modern Greek New Testament by a member of the crew on a missionary boat directed by Williams. The Orthodox Church uses the original New Testament which was written in the Greek language of that -time. The case is regarded as a test of laws against proselytising introduced during the dictatorship of Yannis Metaxas in the late 19305. Greek Protestant organ-’ isations have called the law “Fascist” and say it should be abolished by the Socialist Government

of the Prime Minister, Mr Papandreou. Mr Kotopoulos’ mother Katarina, who pressed charges in the first place, said her son was also given a modern Greek New Testament by one of the three appellants, Macris, but Kotopoulos denied this. Mr Kotopoulos said that during his contacts with the missionaries they never talked to him about doctrine. “They just spoke to me about Christ,” he said.