The investigations into the scandal at the Monastery of Saint Habakkuk in Fterikoudi, Cyprus, and the allegations between bishop Tamasou Isaiah and the monks are progressing with the evaluation of the testimony so far and the collection of new depositions by the police.
Based on the evidence and documents provided by the bishop last Friday, the investigators are studying and sorting them to draw precise conclusions about whether criminal offenses have been committed, and by whom.
As the Police have disclosed, the allegations by the bishop concern exclusively economic crimes.
The investigators from the Subdivision for Economic Crime Investigations possess information regarding sums of money received by the monastery, including over €800,000 kept in cash in a safe, the declaration status of which is unknown, as well as other occurrences in recent years at the monastery involving online postings about miracles, miraculous oil, etc.
Particularly regarding the matter of the oil oozing from an icon, the bishop is reported to have provided evidence and material testimony that the monks placed it and that it was not due to any miracle.
In the next stage, it is expected that the investigators will summon individuals named by the bishop who were allegedly present at the Metropolitan Cathedral on the previous Tuesday, March 5th, where the scandal essentially erupted, to give their own testimony.
Information from Phileleftheros suggests that in the coming days, and if required by the evidence gathered and with the legal grounds established, arrests may occur, contingent upon weighing all factors and determining what is in the interest of the case.
If it becomes evident through the evidence that there was a conspiracy to defraud the public or obtain money through fraudulent means, then the possibility of issuing arrest warrants will be examined.
This will primarily depend on the evaluation of the testimony and whether offenses are substantiated.
As explained to Phileleftheros, the criminal aspect of the scandal is entirely separate from the ecclesiastical, and the criminal investigation has nothing to do with the trial beginning today in the church.
On the other hand, the investigation conducted by the Chief Investigator’s Office following complaints from monks against bishop Isaiah continues concurrently.
The complainants have provided written statements focusing their accusations on the threats they allegedly received, their purported abduction on Tuesday, March 5th, from the monastery and transport to the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the alleged coercion into confession, among other issues.
The monks have requested and obtained the consent of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection to use videos and text messages they possess regarding the case they are accusing.
The lawyers of the two monks, Nikolaos Koulouris and Andriana Klaidi, accused by bishop Isaiah of financial and sexual scandals, have requested in their letter to Commissioner Irene Loizidou Nicolaides permission to use videos from the monastery’s closed-circuit system and text messages they hold as evidence against the allegations made by Metropolitan Tamasos.
The audio-visual material shows hooded individuals entering the monastery allegedly under the orders of the bishop, who then purportedly abducted and detained them against their will in the Metropolitan Cathedral, where they also faced threats.
The messages on their mobile phones are reported to have been sent by the Metropolitan to Archimandrite Nektarios, containing threats against them.
The videos and text messages are expected to be submitted by the two monks, both to the police authorities and when summoned before the five-member Ecclesiastical Court.
The two accused monks’ lawyers intend to send a letter to the Holy Synod characterizing the formation of the Ecclesiastical Court as irregular since, according to the Statute, it should have been comprised of five members.
They also protest that neither have they been formally charged nor have they been provided with the evidence against them nor given time to prepare their defense.
As they claim, they were summoned last Friday to the Holy Synod via SMS to their mobile phones without being given time to prepare, which is why they did not appear.
The two heads of the Monastery, facing charges related to financial matters and alleged sexually inappropriate behavior, are expected to appear when summoned by the Ecclesiastical Court and provide audio-visual material and written evidence regarding bishop Isaiah.
