Monks seek return amidst scandal

Monks suspected of involvement in the Osiou Avakoum monastery scandal in Fterikoudes, Nicosia, have requested permission to return to live at the monastery.

In a letter to the church from the monks’ lawyers, the men of the cloth requested that the case against them be dropped in the church and the Holy Synod, as they have already been tried and punished by Tamassos Bishop Isaias.

According to the lawyers, three of the monks were already ordered to a three-month suspension by Isaias for the same issues, while one of the three had been barred from receiving communion for a month as part of Isaias’s sentence.

The lawyers argued that according to ecclesiastical rules, the monks cannot be tried a second time for similar charges, as Isaias had already imposed a sentence for the charges being examined by ecclesiastical authorities.

On Thursday, the Cyprus bar association has lodged a police complaint against two lawyers representing two monks.

The complaint, sources confirmed to the Cyprus Mail, targets the monks’ lawyers, Andriana Klaedes and Anastasios Vavouskos. It revolves around a contentious letter sent to the Holy Synod’s investigative committee, urging for the dismissal of charges against the monks and advocating for Archbishop Georgios to take control of the situation.

The complaint, filed last week, specifically concerns Vavouskos, who is not a registered member of the Cyprus Bar Association. Klaedes, on the other hand, is a registered member and signed the memo submitted to the church’s investigative committee using her firm’s letterhead.

The allegations against the monks had been brought before the Holy Synod a month ago, when Isaias alleged the monks were found with €800,000 in cash, and properties in Greece and Limassol. They were also allegedly caught on CCTV footage having sex with each other.

On Tuesday, one of the monks, Archimandrite Nektarios in an open letter noted that he and the other monks at Osiou Avakoum “have found ourselves accused of things a person’s mind cannot conceive of” since their life was turned upside down on March 5, which was the day a safe box containing €800,000 was seized from the monastery.

“We unexpectedly saw hooded men invade the monastery, violating the sanctity of its space.”

Nektarios added that from one day to the next, “we found ourselves going from monks that had the love of the people, that worked hard and had the respect of the Bishop, transformed into people who deceive the faithful, who steal from the church and sexually harass.”

The monk added they experienced “inhumane treatment” and forced to sign a false confession.