About AMKA (Hellenic Social Security Number)

By Bishop Photios of Marathon

 

The Holy Synod of the Church of GOC of Greece, during its session on 16/29 October 2009, discussed, among other things, the issue of Social Security Number in Greece and the feelings of alarm that it has risen.

The opinion of faithful members of the congregation that have a scientific approach upon the matter was asked and received. These people were:

α ) Mr. Athanasios Paivanas: Teacher of Mathematics and IT, with MBA degree and former member of the Administration of the Hellenic Telecommunication Organization.

b) Mr. Eleftherios Pavlis: Professor of IT with Graduate and Postgraduate studies in IT and former Teacher of IT at the University of Aegean .

c) Mr. Ilias Nassos: Electrical Engineer, head of Biomedicine at the University Hospital of Alexandroupolis.

d) Mr. Nicholaos Kaloskamis: Teacher of IT with MS Degre in IT. [1].

They took under their consideration the relevant correspondence of the Church of the GOC of Greece with the Hellenic Ministry of Employment and Social Security especially the document numbered 20200/1160/ Φ 80321 on 09/09/2009 (see below), and more relevant articles upon the matter. They concluded that:

1. The 11 digit number of Social Security Number known as AMKA consists of the date of birth (the first two digits state the day, ?the next two the month and the next two the year of birth) the four digit consecutive number of the city record and one digit number of control.

2. The AMKA number does not include the number of Antichrist 666 by any means. It is not even given in the form of a card that has bar code or magnetic stripe or microchip but it is rather printed on a simple piece of paper.

In the future, there is the possibility of the replacement of the current AMKA cards with electronic cards that may carry bar code, magnetic stripe  or ?more possibly- a microchip like the new passports do. According to the specialists though, the presence of the number of 666 is certified only in two systems of bar code and not to all the bar codes.[2]. ?The opinion that “the number 666 is included to all the magnetic stripes or to all the microchips” or that “all the electronic systems function through the number of 666” , are delusional and fabled.

All the systems that use the digital technologies are based on a dyadic system that includes the digits 0 and 1 (bits)[3]. These numbers constitute digit words of 8 digits (bytes)[4]. So they exist in groups of eight digits e.g. 00100111, 10110010, 10101100.

These groups of 8 digit numbers are the basis on which all the data of electronic systems are saved. (The number 8 was preferred because the two digits of the dyadic system in teams of eight are giving us 2 ⁸ which means 256 combinations that correspond the numbers of the decimal system, the letters of the alphabet, the punctuation marks etc). Consequently there is no number “ 6” . Whoever bruits the opposite simply takes advantage of the ignorance of simple people upon the matters of new technologies.

3. The Social Security number is vital for insurance and medical care reasons. The obligation of the State is to repress the non-insured work. The existence of a unified data base and the report of Social Security Number on the employment papers facilitate the verification of the payment of the legal insurance contributions to workers and pensioners account . Consequently, the blight of insurance contribution evasion, that is theft towards the society, is smitten and the harmonious contribution towards pension and medical care is facilitated.

As an answer to the thesis that “we already have numbers of identification and tax so there is no need for further numbers” we claim that the other numbers correspond to different catalogues. Many foreign workers that are included into the social security catalogues do not possess an id number-They use their passport number. Apart from people there are also legal entities registered at the city records like companies, organizations, enterprises. Besides we already had a social security number to each insurance service that one was insured. (In Greece , according to your profession, you are registered to different insurance service. For example the doctors have their own insurance service, the public sector workers their own etc.) The change of one’s profession resulted in her/his registration to different insurance services. Thus, the problem of a consequent insurance becomes bigger, especially now that the services are integrated and remodeled. ?Therefore, it was a wise decision all these numbers to be replaced by one.

4. The faithful of our Church who are citizens of foreign countries ( Germany , US, Australia etc) possess already a Social Security number for decades without their personal religious values being questioned. They indeed some of them possess electronic cards as their social security number for their best service instead of a booklet.

5. The alarm about the connection between the Social Security Number and the seal of Antichrist is risen among the circles of the so called conservative new calendar ?people (the Orthodox Press etc) who profess phrases of Mount Athos pseudo prophets, like Paisios, but also refer to texts by non existed saints, like some Aretha of Caesaria, a doubtful writer of the 10th century and deffinitely NOT of a Saint of the Church, only known for his philological comments on pagan writers and his ambiguous thesis during the ecclesiastic dispute about the four marriages of the Emperor.

6. The worst of all is that they claim arguments that firstly were invented by protestants pastors like a reverent, Mrs. Mary Stewart Relfe , writer of the books “When your money fails” and “The new money system”, or the television disseminator ?reverent, Texe Mars. The arguments of this Protestant Prophet on “numeralization” of people and the existence of 666 in every aspect of electronic technology, translated into Hellenic and with the concealment of its sources, constitute the basic battery of arguments of “orthodox” conspirancy theorists  and catastrophe pseudo prophets. If all these “revelations” were true, would they be revealed to Protestants? Besides, there are two Prophets mentioned in the Holy Apocalypse, Ilia and Enoh, who are going to warn the faithful for the advent of Antichrist about the real seal and not the modern protestant pseudo prophets and their mouthpiece in Greece .

7. The panicking thoughts that “the Anti Christ is coming” or that “he is already born” cause nothing but damage to the faithful. ?If one day, after all the biblical catastrophes, he comes, all the faithful people who would have had enough of all the false alarms may not recognize the signs of his true coming.

Consequently the Holy Synod decided that the Social Security number does not raise a matter of faith. It is not an ecclesiastical but a State issue and the dictum of our Lord, Jesus Christ “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's “ is validated. The Church does not have any reason to recommend to its members the non possession of AMKA. It does not consist of the seal of Antichrist nor denial of baptism.

Whoever, for different reasons, (e.g. in fear of a possible mal use of his medical data [5], or the so called “electronic profiling” does not wish the AMKA number could ask for her/his exemption, without considering that as a matter of faith or condemning those who do not ask their exemption.

 

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[1] This decision was mostly based to his well-documented proposition

[2] Even though according to one scientific opinion it is NOT sure that the certain number is intertwined for both these bar code systems.

[3] The word “bit” is a short of Binary digIT.

[4] The word “byte” is a short of B inar Y digi T E ighT.

[5] Which is not a matter of faith but not receiving AMKA does not ensure the protection of those people’s data.