Adversities and Peculiarities of Pentecostalism in Greece

Pentecostalism is a marginal phenomenon in Greek religious life. Today, the most credible estimates talk about 15,000 Greek Pentecostals. The pioneers of Pentecostalism in Greece came from a humble background. It is a historical curiosity that Pentecostalism in Greece made a breakthrough not with the support of the foreign missions that had stood by the faithful for decades but only after a break with them and the worldwide movement. To avoid a large-scale conflict with the Church of Greece (CoG), successive governments took the path of slow and unspectacular liberalization. The factor that decisively determined the development of Pentecostalism in Greece was the state. There are some oddities in the history of Greek Pentecostalism that deserve particular attention. In Greece, it can be clearly shown that an appealing adaptation of Pentecostalism, as embodied by the FACP, is much more consequential for its growth than liberal or restrictive missionary conditions.