The first ecclesiastical reaction to Kazantzakis's work was manifested in 1928, when Athanasios, the Bishop of Syros - with his memorandum at the Holy Synod - condemned the "Ascetic". The relations of the Church of Greece with Kazantzakis were intensified by the press of the time and mainly by the newspaper "Hestia". Specifically, after the release of "Kapetan Michalis" the newspaper published comments that warned readers against reading his work. Its articles brought the Church to the matter. Kazantzakis himself, responding to the church's threats for his excommunication, he wrote in a letter: "You have cursed me, Holy Fathers, I give you a wish: I wish your conscience is as pure as mine and you are as moral and religious as I am".