I. It is already stated in the constitution that monks of Mount Athos acquire Greek citizenship "without further formalities, upon admission as novices or monks" (Art. 105 of the constitution). A similar provision is found in the Constitutional Charter, which states that "all monks of any nationality residing on Mount Athos are considered to have acquired Greek citizenship" (Art. 6 of the Charter).
This constitutional provision has its technical shortcomings, primarily regarding the lack of distinction between novices and monks. However, the general intention of the drafters of the constitution and the Constitutional Charter is clear: to protect the interests of the Greek state and the Athonite republic, excluding the interference of other countries in the lives of their subjects, as well as caring for all those who live on the Athonite peninsula.
The acquisition of Greek citizenship by all individuals who live in Mount Athos, from the moment they arrive as novices or are tonsured as monks, provided they are recorded accordingly in the book of novices or monastic records of one of the Athonite institutions, is not a new legislative innovation of the Greek state. This same rule has been in effect throughout the long history of the Athonite community. During this time, Athonite monks were subjects of the state under whose authority Mount Athos fell. Thus, during Ottoman rule, the acquisition of Ottoman citizenship by Athonite monks was clearly indicated in both the relevant act of the Patriarchate of 1876 (see above, § 1IV) and in the "General Regulations" of 1912 (Art. 174).
II. The provisions of the constitution and the Constitutional Charter of Mount Athos outlined above leave no doubt that there are only two conditions for acquiring Greek citizenship: first, the arrival of a foreign subject to Mount Athos with the intention of residing there permanently, and second, their acceptance into one of the monastic institutions as a novice or monk. Under these conditions and "without further formalities," the novice or monk receives Greek citizenship. Despite this, the Greek state has set a number of conditions for a foreigner to obtain Greek citizenship: it is necessary to provide a birth certificate, a certificate from the Public Prosecution's office reflecting the criminal history of the foreign candidate, a certificate from ecclesiastical authorities confirming that the candidate belongs to the Eastern Orthodox Church by birth, a declaration confirming that the candidate is familiar with the provisions contained in the Constitutional Charter of Mount Athos, and permission from the local bishop if the candidate is a clergyman or monk.
These documents are submitted by the individual concerned to the monastery where they wish to serve. The monastery in turn submits them, if in agreement, to the Holy Community, which, through the administration of Mount Athos, forwards them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry, after approving or rejecting the submitted documents, returns them to the Holy Community. The latter, in the case of the Ministry's approval, sends them to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which makes the final decision. The Patriarchate informs the Holy Community of its decision, and they forwards the documents to the monastery, which accepts the candidate and records them accordingly in the monastic records or the book of novices.
However, this practice has caused serious disagreements. One viewpoint holds that all these strict procedures are indeed necessary, without which Mount Athos would be in risk of losing its Greek Orthodox character. This opinion is supported by the legislation of the highest administrative court (State Council 2101/1991. Vol. 4: Greek Justice 33.920; 4/1996. Vol. 4: MoV 44.537; see also the expert opinion of the State Legal Council 46/1994).
On the other hand, there is an opinion, which (also on justified grounds) asserts that no government body’s permission is required, but rather the consent of the relevant monastic authorities is sufficient, as confirmed by the recent decree "Regulations on the Administration of the Holy Mountain," according to which the governor "is obliged to issue identification and travel documents after the acceptance of a monk or novice into the monastery" (Art. 3 para. 1a of Presidential Decree No. 227/1998).
III. The question of the deprivation of Greek citizenship from foreigners who were novices or monks of Mount Athos and then left the peninsula or the Greek state also causes a divergence of opinions. This issue is not addressed in either the constitution or the statutory legislation of the Athonite state.
The resolution of this problem is contained in the Greek Nationality Code, which clearly states that a foreigner who has obtained Greek citizenship due to their acceptance into the monastic life or as a novice in Mount Athos may be deprived of it, if it is proven that they left the monastery "in which they served, as well as the Holy Community of Mount Athos" (Art. 17 para. 1c of Law No. 3284/2004, which was supplemented by Article 41 para. 4 of Law No. 3731/2008).
