Two monks from the Monastery of Saint Habakkuk in Fterikoudi are firing back against the Holy Synod\u2019s handling of their case.
\nThey plan to send a letter by today outlining their objections to the way the investigation and upcoming trial are being conducted.
\nLawyers representing the monks argue that the six-member Synodal Court convened to hear the case was appointed irregularly. They claim the proper procedure, as outlined in the Church\u2019s statutes, dictates a five-member court with an initial investigator.
\nAccording to philenews, the letter will allege that the monks haven\u2019t received a formal indictment detailing the accusations against them. They also haven\u2019t been provided with evidence or sufficient time to prepare their defence.
\nThe letter reportedly states they were summoned to the Holy Synod last Friday via text message with no prior warning, hindering their ability to prepare, which is why they didn\u2019t appear.
\nThe two monks, who hold leadership positions within the monastery, face charges of financial misconduct and inappropriate sexual behaviour.
\nThey are expected to attend their upcoming court hearing and present audiovisual evidence and documents alleging wrongdoing by Bishop Isaias of Tamassos and Orini.
\nThe monks, who are related, deny any sexual misconduct. They reportedly plan to argue that the audio recording supposedly incriminating them is nothing more than harmless jokes between them.
\nThe six-member Synodal Court is headed by Bishop Nectarios of Kition.
\nRead more:<\/p>\n
Church refers monks to Synodal Court over Saint Habakkuk scandal<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Monks. Monks, Holy Synod, investigation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two monks from the Monastery of Saint Habakkuk in Fterikoudi are contesting the Holy Synod’s management of their case, planning to send a letter outlining their objections to the investigation and trial procedures. Their lawyers argue that the six-member Synodal Court was irregularly appointed, violating the Church’s statutes which require a five-member court with an initial investigator. The monks claim they have not received a formal indictment, evidence, or sufficient preparation time, and were summoned unexpectedly via text message. They face charges of financial misconduct and inappropriate sexual behavior but deny the sexual misconduct allegations. They intend to present evidence against Bishop Isaias of Tamassos and Orini at their court hearing. The court is led by Bishop Nectarios of Kition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1418,1525,233,1589,295,932,3,1610,1608,1611,1420,1419,591,148,1150,463,1607,759,1609,114],"class_list":["post-3941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-allegations","tag-bishop-isaias","tag-church","tag-church-scandal","tag-corruption","tag-court","tag-cyprus","tag-evidence","tag-financial-misconduct","tag-holy-synod","tag-indictment","tag-investigation","tag-lawyers","tag-local","tag-monks","tag-protest","tag-saint-habakkuk","tag-scandal","tag-sexual-misconduct","tag-top-news"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n
Monks protest handling of Church scandal case<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two monks from the Monastery of Saint Habakkuk in Fterikoudi are contesting the Holy Synod's management of their case, planning to send a letter outlining their objections to the investigation and trial procedures. Their lawyers argue that the six-member Synodal Court was irregularly appointed, violating the Church's statutes which require a five-member court with an initial investigator. The monks claim they have not received a formal indictment, evidence, or sufficient preparation time, and were summoned unexpectedly via text message. They face charges of financial misconduct and inappropriate sexual behavior but deny the sexual misconduct allegations. They intend to present evidence against Bishop Isaias of Tamassos and Orini at their court hearing. The court is led by Bishop Nectarios of Kition.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two monks from the Monastery of Saint Habakkuk in Fterikoudi are contesting the Holy Synod's management of their case, planning to send a letter outlining their objections to the investigation and trial procedures. Their lawyers argue that the six-member Synodal Court was irregularly appointed, violating the Church's statutes which require a five-member court with an initial investigator. The monks claim they have not received a formal indictment, evidence, or sufficient preparation time, and were summoned unexpectedly via text message. They face charges of financial misconduct and inappropriate sexual behavior but deny the sexual misconduct allegations. They intend to present evidence against Bishop Isaias of Tamassos and Orini at their court hearing. The court is led by Bishop Nectarios of Kition.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ch.jfdi.cc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-12T22:00:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/monks-protest-handling-of-church-scandal-case.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"940\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"PhileNews (Cyprus)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"PhileNews (Cyprus)\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"PhileNews (Cyprus)\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b84b88c4fd397cc2d0104b41d48fad84\"},\"headline\":\"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-12T22:00:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941\"},\"wordCount\":256,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/monks-protest-handling-of-church-scandal-case.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"allegations\",\"bishop Isaias\",\"church\",\"church scandal\",\"corruption\",\"court\",\"Cyprus\",\"evidence\",\"financial misconduct\",\"Holy Synod\",\"indictment\",\"investigation\",\"lawyers\",\"Local\",\"monks\",\"protest\",\"saint habakkuk\",\"scandal\",\"sexual misconduct\",\"Top News\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Cyprus\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941\",\"name\":\"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/monks-protest-handling-of-church-scandal-case.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-12T22:00:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b84b88c4fd397cc2d0104b41d48fad84\"},\"description\":\"Two monks from the Monastery of Saint Habakkuk in Fterikoudi are contesting the Holy Synod's management of their case, planning to send a letter outlining their objections to the investigation and trial procedures. Their lawyers argue that the six-member Synodal Court was irregularly appointed, violating the Church's statutes which require a five-member court with an initial investigator. The monks claim they have not received a formal indictment, evidence, or sufficient preparation time, and were summoned unexpectedly via text message. They face charges of financial misconduct and inappropriate sexual behavior but deny the sexual misconduct allegations. They intend to present evidence against Bishop Isaias of Tamassos and Orini at their court hearing. The court is led by Bishop Nectarios of Kition.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/monks-protest-handling-of-church-scandal-case.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/monks-protest-handling-of-church-scandal-case.jpg\",\"width\":940,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=3941#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/\",\"name\":\"ch.jfdi.cc\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b84b88c4fd397cc2d0104b41d48fad84\",\"name\":\"PhileNews (Cyprus)\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/in-cyprus.philenews.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?author=5\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case","description":"Two monks from the Monastery of Saint Habakkuk in Fterikoudi are contesting the Holy Synod's management of their case, planning to send a letter outlining their objections to the investigation and trial procedures. Their lawyers argue that the six-member Synodal Court was irregularly appointed, violating the Church's statutes which require a five-member court with an initial investigator. The monks claim they have not received a formal indictment, evidence, or sufficient preparation time, and were summoned unexpectedly via text message. They face charges of financial misconduct and inappropriate sexual behavior but deny the sexual misconduct allegations. They intend to present evidence against Bishop Isaias of Tamassos and Orini at their court hearing. The court is led by Bishop Nectarios of Kition.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case","og_description":"Two monks from the Monastery of Saint Habakkuk in Fterikoudi are contesting the Holy Synod's management of their case, planning to send a letter outlining their objections to the investigation and trial procedures. Their lawyers argue that the six-member Synodal Court was irregularly appointed, violating the Church's statutes which require a five-member court with an initial investigator. The monks claim they have not received a formal indictment, evidence, or sufficient preparation time, and were summoned unexpectedly via text message. They face charges of financial misconduct and inappropriate sexual behavior but deny the sexual misconduct allegations. They intend to present evidence against Bishop Isaias of Tamassos and Orini at their court hearing. The court is led by Bishop Nectarios of Kition.","og_url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941","og_site_name":"ch.jfdi.cc","article_published_time":"2024-03-12T22:00:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":940,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/monks-protest-handling-of-church-scandal-case.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"PhileNews (Cyprus)","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"PhileNews (Cyprus)","Estimated reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941"},"author":{"name":"PhileNews (Cyprus)","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/#\/schema\/person\/b84b88c4fd397cc2d0104b41d48fad84"},"headline":"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case","datePublished":"2024-03-12T22:00:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941"},"wordCount":256,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/monks-protest-handling-of-church-scandal-case.jpg","keywords":["allegations","bishop Isaias","church","church scandal","corruption","court","Cyprus","evidence","financial misconduct","Holy Synod","indictment","investigation","lawyers","Local","monks","protest","saint habakkuk","scandal","sexual misconduct","Top News"],"articleSection":["Cyprus"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941","url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941","name":"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/monks-protest-handling-of-church-scandal-case.jpg","datePublished":"2024-03-12T22:00:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/#\/schema\/person\/b84b88c4fd397cc2d0104b41d48fad84"},"description":"Two monks from the Monastery of Saint Habakkuk in Fterikoudi are contesting the Holy Synod's management of their case, planning to send a letter outlining their objections to the investigation and trial procedures. Their lawyers argue that the six-member Synodal Court was irregularly appointed, violating the Church's statutes which require a five-member court with an initial investigator. The monks claim they have not received a formal indictment, evidence, or sufficient preparation time, and were summoned unexpectedly via text message. They face charges of financial misconduct and inappropriate sexual behavior but deny the sexual misconduct allegations. They intend to present evidence against Bishop Isaias of Tamassos and Orini at their court hearing. The court is led by Bishop Nectarios of Kition.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/monks-protest-handling-of-church-scandal-case.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/monks-protest-handling-of-church-scandal-case.jpg","width":940,"height":630,"caption":"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3941#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Monks protest handling of Church scandal case"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/","name":"ch.jfdi.cc","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/#\/schema\/person\/b84b88c4fd397cc2d0104b41d48fad84","name":"PhileNews (Cyprus)","sameAs":["https:\/\/in-cyprus.philenews.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?author=5"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}