The Greek Orthodox church reportedly criticised the best selling "Da Vinci Code" thriller, the film of which comes out in the coming days, as offensive and mistaken. The semi-official Ana news agency said that a leaflet to be distributed to churchgoers at all Orthodox churches next Sunday states "From a religious and historical point of view the content of the book is wholly false."
"The work attacks and undermines in a treacherous manner religious knowledge," said the leaflet, produced by the church's supreme body, the holy synod.
The thesis of the book, which has sold millions of copies, is that Jesus Christ married, and had a child by, Mary Magadalene.
"The author (American Dan Brown) wants to damage faith in the church and in Christ, as perfect God and perfect man," says the leaflet.
"Quite apart from the fact that the book attacks Christ, it also attacks the church, directly accusing it of lying and deceiving the faithful."
The Orthodox church, to which 97 percent of Greeks belong, "does not call on people either to see or not to see the film, or to read or not to read the book ... but it is sure that those who do will see the lies and reject its riduculous content."
