The Greek government on Thursday condemned as "hate language" televised comments by a prominent Greek Orthodox bishop that world Zionism is trying to destroy nations and that Jewish capital had bankrolled Adolf Hitler.
"We are obliged to condemn hate language no matter who expresses it," government spokesman George Petalotis said in a statement.
"We are obliged to stigmatize as unacceptable the language that denies the Holocaust, the greatest crime against humanity," he said.
"Such views insult Greece and our culture," the spokesman said.
In an interview on the popular morning talk show of Mega channel this week, Bishop Seraphim of Piraeus said Adolf Hitler was an "instrument of world Zionism" and had been bankrolled by Jewish capital to "convince" Jews to leave Europe.
The 54-year-old bishop added that Zionism has "conquered" world banking and is now trying to destroy nations by supporting single-parent families and same-sex union.
On Wednesday, the Anti-Defamation League and the European Jewish Congress condemned the bishop’s the blatantly anti-Semitic comments and urged the Greek Orthodox Church to publicly denounce them.
The spiritual father of Greece's main port, Seraphim regularly courts controversy with his comments.
In March, he sent a letter of protest to Queen Elizabeth II of Britain after music star Elton John gave an interview to a US magazine describingJesus Christ as a "compassionate, super-intelligent gay man".
He has also attributed the theories of renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking to a "confused mind" caused by the "unbearable bodily misery" suffered by the scientist. Hawking has a severe motor neurone disease and is nearly paralysed.