NICOSIA – The Church of Cyprus, indeed, the whole country, has been shaken by allegations of financial and moral scandal against two monks of the Monastery of Holy Avvakoum in the village of Fterikoudi.

New evidence has been emerging since last Friday, March 8, when the Holy Synod of the Archdiocese of Cyprus convened, through March 13. The new evidence that emerged forced the six-member Synodal Court of Archdiocese, which convened for the first time behind closed doors, to request further investigations from the investigative committee.

After the first meeting of the Synod regarding the matter, Bishop Christoforos of Karpasia read the statement of the Synodal Court and did not accept questions from journalists, saying he could not do so since investigations were ongoing. Despite reports of the desires of Archbishop George of Cyprus and the members of the Holy Synod to close the case as soon as possible to avoid further scandalization of the faithful, it seems that those hopes will not be realized.

Sexual Offenses and a Box Full of Money

According to the newspaper ‘O Fileleftheros’, evidence has been presented before the Holy Synod regarding sexual offenses allegedly committed by two monks of the Monastery of Holy Avvakoum that is shocking and undeniable.

Printed material reveals that the offenses were not limited to simple sexual acts, but the whole scene was embellished with photos which, apparently, were taken by participants and could be considered provocative. The photos showed not only monks but citizens who have no relation to the Church and scenes that do not pertain to the spiritual guidance of the faithful.

In addition to the visual material, there is also audio material, which constitutes indirect acknowledgment of carnal acts. And while one could argue that visual and audio material cannot be used in State Courts, in the Church, they are enough to lead to the dismissal of anyone who appears or is heard speaking and saying what the members of the Holy Synod heard and what, apparently, will be presented before the six-member Synodal Court.

Regarding the financial aspect of the case, there are allegations by Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamasos and Oreinis that indirectly refers to the concealment of €807,000 by two monks of the Monastery of Holy Avvakoum. They, in turn, claim that they gave €450,000 to Isaiah for his pre-election campaign when he was a candidate for Archbishop of Cyprus.

People in the Metropolitan’s circles reject the claims in their entirety. He also considers the claim that there are text messages or other material proving that he asked for or received money from the two monks as absurd and believes that what is being said will collapse upon investigation as unfounded. He said that he was targeted because he dared to go to so far as to denounce the financial mismanagement of the Monastery.

New Video ‘Burns’ the Abbot

Meanwhile, a new video involving Abbot Nektarios of the Monastery of Holy Avvakoum was released by the newspaper ‘Politis’. The video recorded the way the monks put ‘myrrh’ on a cross to persuade the faithful that miracles are happening.

In the video from the closed-circuit surveillance of the Monastery of Holy Avvakoum, the Abbot and a monk named Avvakoum are seen preparing the cross by placing the liquid they prepared earlier.

The video was recorded on the morning of December 29, 2023, with the two monks discussing the preparation of the ‘myrrh’. The monk Avvakoum is seen holding the container with the ‘holy cocktail’ that was prepared and the video shows him mixing the substances. As part of the preparation of the cross, Nektarios is heard giving instructions to Avvakoum to put enough ‘myrrh’ on the cross so that it ‘swims’.

According to the Church’s Constitution, the Investigative Committee is composed of five clergymen, at least three of whom are archierarchs and the President of the Committee is the first in the ecclesiastical order.

If the Committee considers that there is a reason for an investigation, then an Investigator will be appointed, who in this case, because the accused are clergymen, is appointed from one of the three archierarchs. When the process is completed and the investigative file is prepared, it returns to the Investigative Committee, which evaluates the findings.

The six-member Synodal Court consists of the Metropolitans of Kition Nektarios, who presides over the Court, Konstantias Vasilios, and Lemessos Athanasios, as well as the Bishops of Karpasia Christoforos – who replaced the Metropolitan of Tamasos and Oreinis, Amathountos Nikolaos, and Arsinoyis Pankratios – who replaced the Metropolitan of Morphou.

After the first session, Bishop of Karpasia, Christoforos, read the statement of the Synodal Court and did not accept questions because the procedure is still ongoing. Thus, despite the desire of the Archbishop and the members of the Holy Synod to close the case of the Monastery as soon as possible, to avoid further scandalization of the faithful, this does not seem to have become a reality.