The Greek Orthodox Church said it has encouraged church members to stop buying products from Lidl after it removed crosses from its food packaging.
A spokesman for the Greek Orthodox Church in Athens told The Times that the actions of the company will be discussed at a special meeting of the Holy Synod next month.
The Church told the paper it's using sermons and the internet to ask people to boycott the grocery chain.
The controversy started early September after Lidl shoppers noticed the company had digitally removed crosses on top of an iconic Greek church on its food packaging.
One Twitter user reacted: "I find the removal of the cross offensive", while another asked: "Why use churches if you take away the cross? Idiotic!"
After many people expressed their anger over the airbrushing, including the UK's most senior Greek Orthodox Church figure, Lidil apologised.
The firm told Premier on 8th September: "We are sincerely sorry for any offence caused by the artwork on our Eridanous product range and can confirm that we will be revising the packaging design as soon as possible."
Lidl claimed it didn't intend to express an ideological or political stance with its products or product design.
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Article by Tola Mbakwe
Tola Mbakwe is a multimedia journalist for Premier.
