Common Greeks come in contact with religion by their parents. They learn to worship God, Jesus and Mary. They teach them to "love Mary" and Jesus and God. They go to Church to light up a candle and they get baptised and have a godfather who gives them clothes and a candle at Easter. They call it Orthodox Tradition.
Monks and priests and theologians, when they talk about Orthodox Tradition they mean the Fathers of the Church, the various Monks that have produced literature and not the common people.
Of course there is no Orthodox Tradition. What the Greeks think as tradition is a totally mutilated one.
The Hellenes wouldn't convert to the State Religion of Christianity even after 150 and 200 years it was made compulsory by Theodosius A. The fathers pretended to be Christians and the wifes and children remained Hellenes. The problem was solved by inventing the institution of the godfathers. A christian priest or officer would select a name for the children, baptise them and be responsible for their christian upbringing.
The Hellenes would not stop visiting the temples, so they were modified to churches and the saint honoured depended to which God the temple was formely dedicated. To stop them from offering flowers and fruits on the Altar Stone, they were lured to light up candles at the candlelabrum at the entrance, away from the Altar Stone, there were the not fully integrated stay. In their houses they burn oil candles in the corners, instead of the big fire in the middle where the family and the servants would gather and eat. However they were never successful incorporating Carnival, although they still try.
