– The hermitage of Saint Habakkuk was illegally erected and converted into the Holy Monastery of Saint Habakkuk by the Holy Synod on March 21, 2022.
– Efforts have been made for two years to legalize the monastery’s facilities through registration and road construction.
– Government departments have refused the retroactive legalization due to the monastery being built in a Natura 2000 Network area without environmental studies.
– Legal actions were initiated against the Monastery, the church committee, and Archimandrite Nektarios Georgiou for unauthorized constructions.
– The first inspection occurred in September 2022, and by March 2023, illegal buildings and lack of final approvals for various constructions were identified.
– On March 17, 2023, the Monastery was notified of the decision to take legal action, leading to a court case with 18 charges filed in July 2023, with a trial scheduled for March 26, 2024.
– Pressure was exerted to register a road leading to the monastery to grant legal access and obtain a license.
– The road falls within agricultural zone G3, protection zone Z1, the Special Protection Zone of the Natura 2000 Network named Madari – Papoutsa, and the Community Importance Area named Fountoukodasi Pitsilias, and is a known migratory bird corridor.
– The Department of Environment emphasized the negative impacts of road widening on the Natura 2000 Network areas.
– A meeting on March 21, 2023, discussed the road’s registration and construction, requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment study for approval.
– The Game and Fauna Service opposed the registration of roads through Nature Protection areas to prevent encouraging residential development in these areas.
– The Department of Environment had no objection to issuing a license for the legalization of the illegally erected cells and auxiliary spaces at the hermitage as of a month after the March 21, 2023 request for opinions.
