At the intersection of sacred vocation and artistic provocation, Greek Orthodox priest and experimental musician Father Dionysios Tabakis finds himself navigating the ancient tension between doctrinal fidelity and human compassion. His 2024 blog posts condemning same-sex marriage in Greece, combined with a resurfaced video of him blessing a Golden Dawn office in 2013, have forced a public reckoning with the distance between institutional duty and personal conviction. In his response, Tabakis neither fully retreats nor fully advances — he holds the paradox of a man who claims to love all sinner
Cult musician priest clarifies stance on homosexuality amid controversy
It is better to sin with freedom than to be virtuous with oppression
Mark
So he's a priest who makes experimental music. That's unusual enough. But what actually triggered this statement?
Mimi
Two blog posts from 2024 where he used pretty harsh language about gay people and same-sex marriage. This was right when Greece legalized it, and he called it a "sodomitic monstrosity." People noticed, and it became a problem.
Luke
But he's also a cult musician with real credibility in experimental circles. Pitchfork gave him a 7.6. So there's a real tension here—he's respected in one world, but his actual stated views are pretty traditional Orthodox.
Mark
And his statement now says he's all about love and acceptance. Does that square with calling something a monstrosity?
Mimi
He's trying to separate the theological position from the pastoral one. He says his view is Orthodox doctrine, but he's also received gay people in confession with love. He's saying the church teaches one thing, but he treats people with dignity.
Luke
That's a real distinction, but it's also a bit of a dodge. He still calls it a sin. He's not saying the church is wrong; he's saying the church is right but people deserve compassion anyway. That's not the same as saying his 2024 posts were wrong.
Mark
What about the Golden Dawn thing? That seems worse.
Mimi
He blessed their office building in 2013. A video surfaced recently. He says it was a routine priestly duty, done at his superior's request, and that priests bless all kinds of buildings for all kinds of organizations.
Luke
That's technically true—priests do perform blessings routinely. But Golden Dawn is a neo-Nazi party. The label's explanation is that the blessing isn't a political endorsement, but that feels like it needs more unpacking. Did his superiors know what Golden Dawn was in 2013? Was there any pushback from the church?
Mark
He also says his grandparents fought Hitler. So he's claiming an anti-fascist lineage.
Mimi
Right. He's saying nationalism is bad, fascism is bad, his family resisted it. But the video exists. He did bless them.
Luke
And we don't actually know what his superiors told him, or whether there was any discussion about it. We only have his account that it was a routine duty. The church hasn't commented, as far as I can tell from the reporting.
Il Polso
- A cult figure in experimental music circles, Tabakis suddenly found his drone metal credibility overshadowed by blog posts calling gay people 'Sodomites' and same-sex marriage a 'sodomitic monstrosity' — written just as Greece became the first Orthodox-majority country to legalize same-sex unions.
- A resurfaced 2013 video showing him performing a blessing at a Golden Dawn office opening reignited accusations of far-right sympathy, forcing his record label and the priest himself into damage control.
- His public statement attempted a careful reframe — invoking love, empathy, and pastoral care for LGBTQ+ individuals who have sought his counsel — but stopped short of withdrawing the language of sin, describing homosexuality as a free choice, like any other transgression.
- On the Golden Dawn question, Tabakis and his label argued that agiasmos — the Orthodox blessing ceremony — is a routine religious act performed for homes, shops, and institutions alike, carrying no implied political endorsement.
- He positioned himself against nationalism explicitly, citing his Cretan grandparents' resistance to Hitler and even linking his fretless guitar to a philosophical rejection of borders — an attempt to hold doctrine, pastoral love, and antifascism in the same hands simultaneously.
At the intersection of sacred vocation and artistic provocation, Greek Orthodox priest and experimental musician Father Dionysios Tabakis finds himself navigating the ancient tension between doctrinal fidelity and human compassion. His 2024 blog posts condemning same-sex marriage in Greece, combined with a resurfaced video of him blessing a Golden Dawn office in 2013, have forced a public reckoning with the distance between institutional duty and personal conviction. In his response, Tabakis neither fully retreats nor fully advances — he holds the paradox of a man who claims to love all sinners while naming the sin, and who blesses fascist offices as routine priestly duty while invoking his antifascist grandparents. The story asks an enduring question: when a person's roles multiply, which self is the true one?
Father Dionysios Tabakis is a Greek Orthodox priest who records drone metal and religious dubstep in his home studio. His debut album earned a 7.6 from Pitchfork and made him a genuine cult figure in experimental music. But recent months have brought a different kind of attention.
The trouble began with two blog posts he wrote in 2024 on an Orthodox Christian site, responding to Greece's legalization of same-sex marriage. The language was unsparing — he called gay people 'Sodomites,' described same-sex marriage as a 'sodomitic monstrosity,' and labeled the marriage bill 'blasphemous.' The posts spread, and criticism followed.
In a statement released to the Guardian, Tabakis attempted to reframe his position without abandoning it. He described himself as a man of unity, love, and empathy — someone who has received gay people in confession with acceptance over the years, and who recognizes the rejection many have faced from their families. Yet he did not retract the underlying theology. 'With freedom we sin, and with freedom we repent,' he wrote — a formulation that treats homosexuality as sin while arguing against coercion or cruelty.
A second controversy arrived when a 2013 video resurfaced on Greek social media showing him performing a sanctification ceremony at the opening of a Golden Dawn office. Golden Dawn, the neo-Nazi party criminalized in 2020 after convictions for murder and assault, is not an organization most artists wish to be associated with. Tabakis defended the appearance as routine priestly duty performed at a superior's request, and his label explained that Orthodox priests regularly conduct agiasmos — blessing ceremonies — for all manner of premises and institutions, without implying endorsement.
In the same statement, Tabakis declared himself opposed to nationalism, citing his Cretan grandparents who fought Hitler, and even connected his decision to remove frets from his guitar to a philosophical refusal of borders. It was a portrait of a man trying to hold several identities at once — faithful priest, experimental artist, pastoral shepherd, and antifascist heir — and asking the public to see them all as consistent.
Father Dionysios Tabakis is a Greek Orthodox priest who records drone metal and religious dubstep in his home studio. His debut album, Paradise Metal, earned a 7.6 score from Pitchfork and landed him profiles in major outlets including the Guardian and the New York Times. He has become a cult figure in experimental music circles. But in recent months, his public statements and past actions have drawn scrutiny that forced him to clarify where he actually stands.
The trouble began with two blog posts Tabakis wrote in 2024 on The Doors, an Orthodox Christian WordPress site. Greece had just become the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalize same-sex marriage, and Tabakis's posts responded with language that was unambiguous in its hostility. He referred to gay people as "Sodomites," called same-sex marriage a "sodomitic monstrosity," and described the marriage bill as "blasphemous." The posts circulated and criticism mounted.
On Tuesday, Tabakis released a statement to the Guardian attempting to reframe his position. "As can be seen from my musical expression, I am in favour of unity, love, empathy and help for every needy, wronged and suffering person in life," he wrote. "Whoever they are, whatever they believe, whether they are a saint or a sinner." He went on to say that his view on homosexuality is simply the teaching of the Orthodox church, "nothing more, nothing less." He also noted that gay people have come to him for confession over the years, and he has always received them with acceptance and love. He acknowledged that many have experienced rejection from their families and communities.
Yet even in this clarification, Tabakis did not fully retreat from the language of sin. He wrote: "I also always respect the freedom of my fellow man. After all, with freedom we sin, and with freedom we repent. It is better to sin with freedom than to be virtuous with oppression." The statement treats homosexuality as a sin—a choice made freely, like any other—while arguing against coercion or denial of human dignity.
A separate controversy has shadowed Tabakis's reputation. A 2013 YouTube video recently resurfaced on Greek social media showing him performing a sanctification ceremony at the opening of an office building for Golden Dawn, the neo-Nazi party that held parliamentary seats between 2015 and 2019. Golden Dawn was criminalized in 2020, and its leadership received prison sentences for murder, assault, and weapons possession. The video raised an obvious question: why was an Orthodox priest blessing the headquarters of a fascist organization?
Tabakis's defense was straightforward. He said he performed the consecration as an official duty, at the request of his superior authority within the church. He also noted that he has attended blessing ceremonies for other political and municipal groups. His record label, Heat Crimes, elaborated the point to Pitchfork: in Greek Orthodox practice, priests routinely perform agiasmos—blessing ceremonies for homes, shops, businesses, schools, public institutions, military facilities, and other premises. A politician or political organization requesting such a blessing does not, by itself, mean the priest or the church endorses that organization. The blessing is a religious act, not a political one.
In his statement, Tabakis also addressed nationalism directly. He said he is against it "because it has only brought blood and wars to humanity." He pointed out that his grandparents from Crete fought Hitler and Nazism, and he follows their spirit. He even mentioned that one reason he removed the frets from his guitar was his mental need not to be confined to borders. The statement was an attempt to position himself as a man of principle, bound by church doctrine but also by a family legacy of resistance to fascism.
Citazioni salienti
My view on homosexuality is the same as that of the Orthodox church for 2,000 years, nothing more, nothing less.— Father Dionysios Tabakis, in a statement to the Guardian
We owe homosexual people love and acceptance because many have at times experienced great rejection from their environment, especially from their families.— Father Dionysios Tabakis, in a statement to the Guardian
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