Tamassos bishop claims he is being tarnished

Attempts have taken place to harm Tamassos Bishop Isaias, the bishopric announced on Wednesday, a day after reports suggested the government was trying to spare him in relation to the Osiou Avakoum scandal.

The bishopric said that they have full confidence in the ecclesiastical mechanisms and the police.

They also expressed certainty that “soon the irrefutable evidence and the truth will prevail over the mud.”

On Tuesday the government rejected accusations there were efforts to spare Tamassos Bishop Isaias of any criminal charges amid ongoing investigations of a major scandal surrounding the Osiou Avakoum monastery.

“We outright reject this,” government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis told journalists during a press briefing.

He was asked to comment on rumours there are ‘government circles’ trying to ensure Isaias may be let off the hook for any possible charges.

“If there is concrete evidence, we call on whoever has this evidence to give it to the relevant authorities,” Letymbiotis said.

Already, police have come under heavy criticism for how it has handled the entire affair – now including allegations of money laundering, scamming, sexual harassment and abuse.

The attorney-general and police chief had agreed to wait on the Archbishop’s orders that no action should be taken until a Holy Synod meeting was wrapped up.

It raised questions of the separation between church and state.