Drama on Mount Athos: The police requests to enter, the monks have barricaded themselves

The 118 monks who barricaded themselves inside say they will resist and sacrifice themselves.

According to a report published by the Greek portal Pronews, there are hundreds of policemen in vehicles in front of the monastery and an order is expected to start the raid and evict the monks.

As stated in the text, they are monks who have been there since 1972 and who have taken a harsh stance towards the Orthodox First Patriarchs and cut off all contact with the Ecumenical Patriarchate due to, among other things, the meeting of the Ecumenical Patriarch with the Roman Pope. The Ecumenical Patriarch, by the way, has spiritual jurisdiction over the Holy Mountain, which enjoys a special kind of autonomy in the Orthodox world.

Since they separated from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a banner with the inscription "Orthodoxy or death" hangs on the monastery, the slogan by which they became known. The brotherhood has been considered illegal since 2002, and in the meantime, a new brotherhood of Esphigmenou was elected, which has not been able to enter its own monastery for more than 20 years.

In this last intervention by the police, the law enforcement authorities requested permission from the monastic administration of Mount Athos to allow strong police forces to enter the territory of Athos in their vehicles in order to evacuate the monastery.

The portal conveys the words of the elder Methodios from Esphigmenou, who says that "they are ready to defend the monastery to the death".

Methodios, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for a similar siege in 2013, told local media that "in the event of a police operation, we will not stand idly by."

Also, Methodios stated that many lies were told against them, such as, as he stated, that they were training Russian commandos.

"Whoever comes, we will host him, we will give him bread to eat. If he is Turkish, we will give him a glass of water. And it was all created from our efforts, because everything was taken from us. Many times I don't have five euros to buy something for old men. Other brothers help us and I owe them," says Methodios.

By the way, not long after the start of the war in Ukraine, in May 2022, the abbot of Esphigmenou Bartholomew, who is the head of a recognized brotherhood that is not in schism, stated that the "occupied monastery" was visited by "Russian Cossack nationalists in military uniforms".

He then said that for at least 20 years, Mount Athos has been systematically used to strengthen Russian nationalism, as he stated.

"The world is feeling the unpleasant consequences of that today. Holy war, fundamentalism, a twisted view of the Orthodox faith, murders in the name of God," the abbot enumerated, as reported by the Greek portal "Orthodox Times."

On the other hand, Methodios believes that the renegade brotherhood suffers persecution because of its attitudes like the early Christians "not from our enemies, but from the patriarch himself who should be our father, as well as from our spiritual community".

He said in a statement carried by "Pronews" that the brotherhood has also severed ties with the Greek Orthodox Church.

He also believes that "European money is a 'Trojan horse' in order to allow women to enter Mount Athos" and reminds that the monasteries of Mount Athos provide part of the funds through the Greek state and the European Union, which is why they feel that they should allow women to enter Mount Athos because they also receive money from female tax payers.