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.
