Bishop Isaias of Tamassos has indefinitely extended the suspension of Abbot Nectarios and Monk Porphyrios of the Saint Habakkuk monastery due to an ongoing case involving alleged financial improprieties and misconduct. The monks are barred from performing any liturgical acts until a final decision is reached by the Church authorities.
The financial aspect of the scandal surrounding the Osiou Avakoum monastery is the most complex one, according to the attorney-general. Monks under investigation were allegedly found with €800,000 in cash, property in Greece and Limassol, and were caught on CCTV footage having sex with each other.
The Archbishop stated that the events at the Osiou Avakoum monastery are within the statute of the Church and legal, and the trial will proceed normally.
Monks embroiled in the Osiou Avakoum monastery scandal have stated that the investigative committee’s procedures are illegal. The church’s 2021 ruling required investigative committees to have three members, while the church’s establishment charter stipulates five members.
Two monks from the Osiou Avakoum monastery, archimandrites Nektarios and Porfyrios, along with hieromonk Avakoum Christofis, were under investigation for alleged money laundering and engaging in sexual activity with each other. The monks were initially placed on leave with full pay, but later the decision was changed to withhold their salaries during the investigation. However, on Friday, they received payment for their salaries since March 12, which the lawyers said vindicated their clients. The monks had €807,000 in cash and were captured on camera engaging in sexual activity. Police had access to their bank accounts and other services for further investigation. The monks filed an appeal to have the frozen money returned, claiming that not all facts were presented to secure the freezing orders.
Fact: Monks and their lawyers involved in the Avvakoum monastery scandal filed a memo to the church investigative committee arguing that the process being followed by the church was unlawful.
The acting abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint Habakkuk, Archimandrite Nektarios Georgiou, posted an icon of the Virgin Mary on social media with a message about understanding without words. Archimandrites Nektarios and Porphyrios are involved in an ecclesiastical scandal and are expected to appear before the Investigative Committee of the Holy Synod on May 13.
Two embroiled monks have been called to appear before the church investigative committee in relation to a monastery scandal.
Efforts have been made to reconcile the two sides in the Habakkuk Monastery scandal, but conditions are not yet conducive. The monks have sent messages to Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamasos to find a solution and withdraw mutual complaints to the police. The matter is now in the hands of the Holy Synod, and efforts are being made to find a compromise on the criminal issue. The final position of Metropolitan Isaiah will depend on the outcome of investigations into the origin of the €807,000.
Lawyers representing the Osiou Avakoum monks called for an end to investigations by the archdiocese, citing alleged prior sentencing of the monks for crimes.