A/51/542/Add.1 English Page 5 2. (a) Specific provisions concerning the Greek Orthodox Church The concept of a dominant religion 13. Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Constitution states that the dominant religion in Greece is that of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ. The legal meaning of the term "dominant" is that the Orthodox faith is the official religion of Greece. This status is particularly evident in the preamble to the Constitution, the religious oath taken by the President of the Republic and members of Parliament and the inviolability of the Holy Scriptures. (b) Manifestations of the status of dominant religion (i) Preamble to the Constitution 14. The preamble to the Constitution begins with the following incantatory religious declaration: "In the name of the Holy and Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity". (ii) Religious oath of the President of the Republic and members of Parliament 15. Article 33, paragraph 2, of the Constitution provides that, before taking up his duties, the President of the Republic must take the following oath before Parliament: "I do swear in the name of the Holy and Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity to uphold the Constitution and the laws ..." 16. Article 59, paragraph 1, of the Constitution requires that members of Parliament, before taking up their duties, must take an oath, in the Parliament Chamber in a public meeting, to the Holy and Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity. 17. Heterodox members of Parliament who adhere to a different religion take the same oath, adapted to their own dogma or religion. No such provision applies to the oath of the President of the Republic, which means that only an Orthodox individual may occupy that high office. (iii) Inviolability of the Holy Scriptures 18. Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Constitution provides that the text of the Holy Scriptures is inalterable. The official translation of the text into another form, without prior approval of the Autocephalous Church of Greece and the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople, is prohibited. 19. The Special Rapporteur notes that, although a State religion does not in itself run counter to any international instruments, it might ultimately do so to the extent that it justified or introduced discrimination against other religions. /...