Greek Orthodox priest and cult musician clarifies stance on homosexuality
Father Dionysios Tabakis, an Orthodox priest whose home-recorded drone metal album made him a cult figure in experimental music, has issued a statement addressing his past comments on homosexuality and ties to the Greek far right. He denies hostility while still framing homosexuality as a sin.
A Greek Orthodox priest whose home-recorded drone metal and religious dubstep album turned him into a cult figure among experimental music fans has issued a public statement addressing his views on homosexuality and his connections to Greece's radical right.
Father Dionysios Tabakis told the Guardian in a statement that his music reflects unity, love, empathy and support for anyone who is needy, wronged or suffering, "whoever they are, whatever they believe."
Past blogposts drew scrutiny
Tabakis's political views came under scrutiny over two 2024 blogposts he wrote on the Orthodox Christian site The Doors The Doors, published around the time Greece became the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalise same-sex marriage. In them, he referred to gay people as "Sodomites," described same-sex marriage as a "sodomitic monstrosity," and called the marriage bill "blasphemous."
In his Tuesday statement, Tabakis said his position mirrors that of the Orthodox church over its 2,000-year history. He said gay people are owed love and acceptance, noting many have faced rejection, particularly from their families, and that he has always welcomed gay people who came to him for confession. Still, his statement continues to frame homosexuality in terms of sin, arguing that it is "better to sin with freedom than to be virtuous with oppression."
Golden Dawn link resurfaces
A separate controversy emerged after a 2013 YouTube video resurfaced on Greek social media, showing Tabakis performing a religious sanctification at the opening of an office for Golden Dawn, the neo-Nazi party that sat in Greece's parliament from 2015 to 2019. The party was criminalised in 2020, with its leaders sentenced to prison for murder, assault and weapons possession.
Tabakis said he carried out the blessing as an official duty at his superior's request, and that he has performed similar ceremonies for other political and municipal groups. His record label, Heat Crimes, noted that Orthodox priests routinely bless homes, businesses and public institutions regardless of the requester's politics, distinguishing a religious blessing from a political endorsement.
Tabakis's debut album, Paradise Metal, received a 7.6 score from Pitchfork and drew profiles from international outlets including the Guardian and the New York Times. In his statement, he also said he opposes nationalism, citing his grandparents' fight against Hitler and Nazism from Crete.
