Greek Government pulls an "Israeli" style attack on Mt. Athos

In an unprecedented escalation of violence perpetrated by the Greek Government upon innocent monks today, approximately 20 armed men using a bulldozer attacked the property of Esphigmenou Monastery in Karyes, Mt. Athos Greece.  It seems the Greek Government has taken a page out of the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and tried to bulldozer the property of Esphigmenou Monastery.  Like the Israeli's who want to evict Palestinians off thier lands, the Greek's are trying to "rid" themselves of these defenseless and down trodden monks from the only home they know.  With disproportionate brute force, the Greek government used a bulldozed to try to "evict" the Esphigmenou Monks.  See video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WItyraRzBXs

The monks of Esphigmenou want peace and dialogue to end this dispute, yet the Greek Government has resorted to violence at every turn.  If it's not physical violence, (sledgehammer attack in 2005 and bulldozer attack today - all caught on video) then its the silent kind of violence, an almost constant persecution perpetrated by the Greek Government.  Whether it's using high priced legal maneuvering, identity theft, threats of police force or the cutting off of:  food shipments, monetary funds, fishing rights, and pilgrims, the Greek Government is relentless and clearly over zealous in it means. This is especially true in light of who they are facing - peaceful simple monks who are on Mt. Athos to pray.  Sadly, all of this done at Greek tax payer expense.

If at any time the monks try to defend themselves by throwing rocks or whatever they can hurl at an oncoming bulldozer then the Greek Government and Greek press focus on the retaliation and not the initial unprovoked act of violence.  In fact, according to primary sources and eyewitness, NO PETROL BOMBS WERE THROWN (see press release excerpt below).  However, dozens of monks have died at Esphigmenou monastery since this dispute began and that has not received any press coverage. Many deaths have occurred simply because they cannot get proper medical attention and nutrition due to the Government blockade.


Here's an excerpt from Esphigmenou's press release on today's events: "Contrary to media reports, they did NOT throw any bombs. I specifically asked Fr. Sava about these alleged “bombs” and he said that they do not have bombs and did not throw any bombs. It appears Greek government officials are trying to cover up their complicity in these lawless and criminal activities by spreading false reports to media outlet now that their nefarious activity has been exposed.  The video of the attack shows that there is no evidence of bombs or aggressive action by the monks."

For more info go to www.esphigmenou.com

ESPHIGEMOU MONASTERY CURRENTLY UNDER ATTACK

ESPHIGEMOU MONASTERY CURRENTLY UNDER ATTACK

MOUNT ATHOS, GREECE – Under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos, the Greek government has once again allowed chaos and violence to erupt on Mt. Athos. As I write this blog, a large group (aprx 20) of marauding armed men is currently attacking Esphigmenou Monastery property in Karyes.   Police on Mt. Athos have been notified but have refused to respond, which is appalling. This outrageous behavior by the Greek Government and Mt. Athos police perhaps is symbolic of the state of Greece itself, bankrupt and in chaos.

This is not the first time Esphigmenou has come under attack, in November 2005, sledgehammer wielding monks from the same imposter brotherhood attacked Esphigmenou and sent several Esphigmenou monks to the hospital.  See link: http://www.esphigmenou.com/Sound/Esphigmenou%20being%20attacked%20Video.swf

The Greek government has authorized the use of force to resolve a religious dispute after failing to starve the monks into leaving their monastery during a decade-long blockade. For a number of years they have denied the monks deliveries of food, medicine, heating oil, and access to medical attention while simultaneously subjecting them to a non-stop campaign of official harassment and intimidation.

This waste of taxpayer dollars has continued unabated during the financial crisis that has rocked Greece and crippled social services to the poor and for which the UN has criticized the Greek government for falling behind on its human rights obligations.

Under the Greek Constitution, the Greek foreign minister is responsible for the administration of government on Mt. Athos and has ultimate authority on the orders to use armed police there.

The monks have repeatedly requested dialogue with the Greek government as well as Patriarch Bartholomew of Istanbul to resolve this dispute. The Patriarch has refused to aid in the peaceful reconciliation of this dispute and has encouraged the government to take action against the monks.  In September, 2012 the government deployed special riot police MAT and EKAM to the peaceful monastic community in a failed attempt to remove the same defenseless monks.

For over one thousand years the monastery has provided a place of prayer and peace for those who chose the monastic life.  It is now threatened with extinction.  For more info check out their website at www.esphigmenou.com

Special Riot Police "MAT" dispatched to Esphigmenou Monastery

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARMED GREEK POLICE PLAN TO FORCIBLY REMOVE PEACEFUL MONKS

MOUNT ATHOS, GREECE, September 24, 2012  – Today under the leadership of foreign minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, the Greek government deployed armed police in full riot gear to forcibly remove the monks of the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou from their monastery home. The special riot police MAT and EKAM, which have been used against violent protestors in downtown Athens have now, unbelievably, been deployed to the peaceful monastic community of Mount Athos in northern Greece to assault peaceful and defenseless monks.

The government has authorized the use of force to resolve a religious dispute after failing to starve the monks into leaving their monastery during a decade-long blockade. In this time, they have denied the monks deliveries of food, medicine, heating oil, and access to medical attention while simultaneously subjecting them to a non-stop campaign of official harassment and intimidation.

This waste of taxpayer dollars has continued unabated during the financial crisis that has rocked Greece and the rest of the European Union and crippled social services to the poor in Greece. Under the Greek Constitution, the Greek foreign minister is responsible for the administration of government on Mt. Athos and has ultimate authority on the orders to use armed police there.

The monks have repeatedly requested dialogue with the Greek government as well as Patriarch Bartholomew of Istanbul to resolve this dispute. The Patriarch has refused to aid in the peaceful reconciliation of this dispute and has encouraged the government to move against the monks with force.

The expressed plan of the government is to forcibly remove the peaceful and defenseless monks and their long-standing Abbot Methodios from their monastery, and replace them with those who pray in accordance with the dictates of the Greek government.

Mount Athos is the autonomous spiritual center of The Orthodox Church, where the monks are considered defenders of the faith. The Esphigmenou Monastery established in the first millennium, is where the great St. Gregory Palamas was abbot, and where St. Anthony left for Russia to establish Orthodox monasticism. Its remoteness and rugged natural beauty attracts pilgrims and tourists alike, who come to see the art and architecture of the Byzantine Empire.

For over a thousand years the monastery has provided a place of prayer and peace for those who chose the monastic life.  It is now threatened with extinction.

For more information please contact John Rigas +1-617 524-4724, or visit: www.esphigmenou.com. 

 

Esphigmenou monks persecution continues...

During this holy Lenten period of the year, the fathers of Esphigmenou monastery have attempted to focus on prayer for world peace and tranquility. However, the imposter monks and Greek government have been busy with a sustained campaign of persecution through threats and arrests.

Yesterday, a layperson chopping wood on monastery property for Esphigmenou Monastery, was accosted and threatened with arrest after the imposter monks reported him to the Greek Police. Again earlier this month, at the behest of the imposter monastery, assistant Abbott Fr. Gregory was arrested and expelled from Mt. Athos while in Karyes on his way to church. Fr. Gregory was falsely charged with being on Mt. Athos “illegally”.

Instead of praying for peace and harmony on Mt. Athos and the world, the imposter monks have been busy once again creating an atmosphere of fear and intolerance. We need only to look back at the sledgehammer attack on the peaceful Esphigmenou monks by the imposters to know their true intentions. (Esphigmenou building being attacked with sledgehammers by imposter monks of Patriarch Bartholomew)

With all of the economic and civil problems currently facing the Greek Government, why do they continue to waste resources on persecuting these poor defenseless monks who are not harming anyone? According to a study on corruption by Transparency International in 2010, Greece ranks among the most corrupt nations in the world, ranked behind Rwanda, and just above Malawi.

We ask for your prayers and support. Please call the authorities on Mt. Athos, your government authorities and the Greek Government to protest these Un-Christian acts. (see below)

See www.esphigmenou.com for more info.

Patriarch Bartholomew on a war path

UPDATE: August 19, 2008

August 19th, 2008 - This week, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople will travel to Mt. Athos, Greece from his native Turkey in his latest attempt to expel the monks of the Holy and Sacred Monastery of Esphigmenou on Mt Athos from their monastery home of 1500 years.

The monks of Esphigmenou have had a long running religious dispute with Patriarch Bartholomew over his departure from the teachings of the Orthodox Church and have respectfully and humbly requested a peaceful dialog with him in an attempt to resolve their differences. Patriarch Bartholomew has refused dialogue and has resorted to ever more harsher, unorthodox tactics in his crusade to evict the monks from their monastery.

The Holy Community of Mont Athos recently voted 13-6 (Esphigmenou was not allowed to attend), not to use force to remove the monks. The Patriarch plans to meet with the abbots of the monasteries of Xeropotamou, Dionysiou, Saint Paul, Simonos Petra, and Pantoktatoros. Angered by their decision not to use force, he personally intends to apply pressure to those monasteries because they did not vote to his liking. His intentions are to demand they change their vote to evict the monks of Esphigmenou. The Patriarch is allegedly threatening the abbots with defrockment if they do not obey his edict to use force.

Patriarch Bartholomew's approach is a blatant violation of canon law and a wholesale abuse of Episcopal authority which only reserves defrockment for grievous violations of canon law, and is not for advancing a personal political agenda. Like other teachings of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew is disregarding this central tenet of church law.

Mt Athos is a semi-autonomous monastic of community in Greece and in comprised of 20 independent monasteries. It is governed by the Holy Community, which is a body made up of one representative from each monastery. Under the Greek constitution, the findings of the Holy Community have the force of civil law on this monastic peninsula of Greece. Patriarch Bartholomew, who is a Turkish citizen, is attempting to interfere in this legitimate and independent lawmaking body in Greece, by bending them to his personal will. He seeks to influence their decision, not on a matter of canon law but to advance his personal political agenda.

The monks of Esphigmenou, who seek only a life of peace and prayer in their monastery, have been subject to a non-stop campaign of official harassment and intimidation by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and his accomplices in the Greek Government, because of a religious disagreement they have with him. In this holy war against the monastery, we see the same types of state-sponsored tactics Turkey has used against Orthodox Christians in Turkey, brought to bear on the Greek Orthodox citizens of Esphigmenou monastery. This is one Turkish import Greece can do without.



Who to Call/Fax:

From the US, first dial 011-30-23770 then the below numbers

From Europe dial 00-30-23770 then the below numbers

MONASTERY NAME TEL. NO. FAX NO

Dionysiou 23687 23686

Pantokratoros 23253 23685

St. Paul's 23250 23355

Simonopetra 23254 23707

Xeropotamou 23251 23733

Trial Fix is on against Esphigmenou Monastery

In non-stop harassment and vicious persecution on Esphigmenou Monastery by the
Government of Greece, Patriarch Bartholomew and the imposter brotherhood on
Mt. Athos, 7 Monks from Esphigmenou Monastery are to be put on trail this May in
Thesaloniki, Greece for illegally occupying their own monastery.

What an outrage. The victims are being victimized once again. When will the big guys stop picking on the meek? Aren't there 19 other monasteries on Mt. Athos yet they choose to harass only one.

Persecution Stiffens

The persecution of Esphigmenou is on again. See below. More details coming shortly.