Bishop found guilty of incitement to hatred for homophobic rant

Greek Bishop Amvrosios of Kalavryta was found guilty of incitement to hatred and abuse of ecclesiastical office by a three-member misdemeanor court in the Peloponnesian town of Aigio Monday, for advising followers to “spit” on gay people.

Amvrosios was handed a seven-month suspended jail sentence. The court’s prosecutor had earlier proposed his acquittal.

Commenting in 2015 on a parliamentary debate to extend cohabitation agreements to same-sex couples, Amvrosios wrote online: “Do not go near them! Do not listen to them! Do not trust them! They are the damned members of society!”