© The Friends of Mount Athos, 2012

http://www.gazeta.ru/comments/2012/01/16_a_3963233.shtml [Minimally edited machine translation provided by a FoMA member]

The Greek warning. Religious and secular authorities in Russia reacted so violently to the arrest of the Greek Igumen because they expect the same problems
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The arrest of the superior of the Vatopedi monastery, Ephraim, that occurred before the New Year, caused a stir not only in Greece but also in Russia. And how! That same Igumen Ephraim brought to Russia the belt of the Theotokos which about three million people came to venerate. Before departing the Igumen met with Putin, and — can you imagine! — even before he returned to Mount Athos, they arrested him. "This is a direct attack on Russia", our patriots sounded an alarm. Not only did the Patriarch come to the arrested's defense, but the Russian Foreign Ministry also. However, in Greece the reaction to Ephraim's arrest was different. His supporters, especially in Cyprus, where the Igumen was born, were indignant, but the Greek public seemed to approve of what was happening.

The Patriarchate of Constantinople, which has jurisdiction over the monastery, spoke against the interference of the ROC in the affairs of others. Only on January 12 did its synod grieve that the Igumen had to spend the holiday in prison (the church itself celebrates Christmas on the new style, but Mount Athos sticks to the old), and expressed the hope that he would soon be released. Why is it that in Russia they care more about the Igumen than in Greece?

To answer this question we must return to the events of three years ago. It was then that Greece shaken by a scandal, the squandering of government real estate, which led to the downfall of the government of Kostas Karamanlis. At the center of the scandal, oddly enough, was that same Vatopedi monastery. What would be the similarities between Orthodox monks and illegal transactions in the real estate market? However, there are similarities. Byzantine rulers used to atone for their sins by donating large parcels of real estate to Athos monasteries. So, Igumen Ephraim came up with an ancient deed gifting Lake Vistonida and its surrounding areas. Typically, the Greek Government considers such documents to be juridically worthless, but in this case it suddenly recognized the monastery's right of possession. Even more. The Igumen decided to "cash in" on the unexpected wealth: he had grandiose plans to restore the dilapidated monastery. But then Ministry of Finance balked. Finally a compromise was reached: the monastery would not get cash, but would receive 73 objects of state property, including including the gymnastic center left over from the Athens Olympics. I thought they wanted to start an orphanage there, or something like that, thus rationalized the official responsible for the transaction.

But the Igumen and his companions had quite different plans. They managed to arrange that government ownership [property] was transferred to the commercial sector. This opened up huge opportunities for the sale of real estate to private individuals.

As if by magic the monastery became one of the key players in the Greek real estate market. According to various estimates, the worth of the fund established by them was worth between tens of / to hundreds of millions euros. No one could not say exactly how much. But the damage this scam caused Greek taxpayers — as established by a special parliamentary commission — amounted to 100 million euros. What wonder, then, that the Greek public perceived Ephraim's arrest as a long-awaited Christmas gift from the state.

Of course, the situation is more complicated than it seems at first glance. None of the Karamanlis government ministers bore responsibility for the manipulation of public property. The cabinet collapsed, and its members are safely out of the wreckage. It turns out that only one Igumen has to sweat. His supporters state it directly: the elder became the scapegoat for the sins of others. But is he himself without sin?

People who came into contact directly with Ephraim, proclaim with one voice his remarkable insight and considerable charm. Of course, with such gifts, he could be a good businessman. But the Igumen's main advantage as compared to less successful colleagues in business is that he is vested with spiritual authority. That is what attracted influential friends in government circles to him. It is good to deal with someone who can help not only help with money, but who can grant forgiveness of sins. And at the same time put in a good word for sinners before God. For a monk is closer to heaven than ordinary mortals, though they may be endowed with considerable authority. Rumor has it that the government man who made the fateful decision to transform government property into a commercial one was sick for a long time, but after prayers by the Vatopedi brethren seemed to be recovering, and that's how he thanked those who prayed for him. True, at others' expense, but he's in the clear. So what does the Igumen have to do with this?

From a legal point of view it is not easy to prove the accusations, therefore, the case has gone on for so long — but it definitely is something to ponder. Because we are talking about exchanging heavenly treasures for earthly ones. Luther's thought led him to far-reaching conclusions that have been costly to the Catholic Church.

It looks like it will cost the Igumen Ephraim and Greek Orthodoxy plenty. Anticlerical sentiment in Greece is rapidly growing. Greeks increasingly insist that the status of state religion which is given to the Orthodox results in a closeness of the church and the authorities that hits them in their pocketbook. In the conditions of the financial crisis affecting the country, this "material argument" sounds weightier.

Now the reason why the Greek problems caused such worries to the Russian establishment becomes clear. When the law on the restitution of church property will take full force among us, the exchange of real estate for spiritual support between the government and the ROC will reach a scale far beyond the Greek ones. Meanwhile, the civic consciousness of our taxpayers is growing by leaps and bounds, and they'll hardly want to pay for this exchange out of their own pockets. But it is possible that it will become necessary. Although the Church in Russia does not have a government status, its ties to the the powers that be are not less than in Greece. The soil has been plowed for a great scandal.

Is it for this reason that the sad fate of Igumen Ephraim brought such sadness to our church and secular authorities? The bell in Vatopedi Monastery tolls for him.

Boris Falikov
Gazeta.ru, January 16, 2012
[Non-text portions of this article have been removed]

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