Manipulation and Mendacity: How Some Distort Orthodoxy

​I was informed of a previously unnoticed but highly perilous figure in a recent blog post. Kyriakos Velopoulos, an obscure, ideologically ultranationalist Greek politician with a questionable reputation, has emerged as a significant threat to Orthodoxy. Although this insignificant leader is touted as Greece’s ‘solution,’ his political party garnered 3.7% of the vote in the Greek Parliament. Velopoulos is bolstered by the tabloid melodramatic media and opportunists who propagate a distorted Orthodoxy, prioritizing sentimentalism over ecclesial law. These pseudo-Orthyodox protestant coteries support squatting criminals masquerading as monks who have infiltrated the Holy Mountain, Athos.

Velopoulos warned the Mitsotakis Government against interfering with the monks and the thousand-year-old rules that supposedly grant Mount Athos autonomy in a bold but misguided proclamation. This claim, however, is a gross misinterpretation of the truth and a clear sign of Velopoulos's mendacity and lack of political acumen.

This dynamic duo, the Hellenic legislator Velopoulos and amateur blogger Nicole Skatamatakis, demonstrate a shocking lack of understanding about the rich history of the Holy Mountain, Orthodox ecclesiastical tradition, and Greek law. This particular pundit’s blog is a publisher of anti-Orthodox rhetoric that mirrors the views of the schismatic Russophile monks of Mount Athos, who label Patriarch Bartholomew as 'corrupt and a heretic.' To call them ignorant would be a kindness, as it distracts from their true aim of sowing discord and disunity. This should be a cause for concern and a call to vigilance for all who value the truth and the integrity of Orthodoxy. It's up to us to preserve the truth.

POLITICO: Velopoulos "sells populist politics with the same panache that he markets miracle baldness cures and “handwritten letters” from Jesus on TV."

​Here is a brief history of Esphigmenou. Velopoulos, the schismatic Methodite charlatans, and illiterate individuals like Skatamatakis should pay attention, though they likely won't, as it doesn't benefit them to promote the whole truth.

​According to tradition, Mount Athos was established by the Theotokos, the Abbess of the Peninsula, as the Garden of Panaghia. Early ascetics and cave dwellers settled there as early as the fourth century. In the seventh century, the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor wrote of a volcanic eruption witnessed by monastic inhabitants. Mount Athos became a protectorate of the Byzantine Empire and an ecclesiastic territory of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, with the ecumenical patriarchate's spiritual authority remaining ever since and in perpetuity. This profound history underscores the gravity of the situation at hand.
The Hagiorite tradition attributes the foundation of the Esphigmenou Monastery and Xiropotamos to Emperor Theodosios II the Younger and his sister Pulcheria in the fifth century. Tradition also mentions Eudokia, the wife of Theodosios, as a monastery builder alongside the previous two. Velopoulos, the schismatic Methodite charlatans, and illiterate individuals like Skatamatakis should pay attention to this rich history.

​​Among the saintly spring of Esphigmenou, many holy men have emerged. For example, in the eleventh century, Anthony, a monk from the Esphigmenou Monastery, settled in Kyiv as a monastic missionary to Kyivan Rus. Anthony chose a cave at Berestov Mount overlooking the Dnieper River, where a community of disciples soon grew, today known as the Golden Dome of Kyiv Caves Monastery. Coincidentally, this monastery has recently been occupied by openly schismatic representatives of Moscow’s espionage church under the omophorion of Onouphry, with ties to the Moscow Patriarchate.
​Also among the many saintly individuals who emerged from Esphigmenou was Gregory Palamas, who served as Abbot of the Esphigmenou Monastery until 1335. The Muscovite church deemed Palamas heretical.

​Mount Athos, the Ecumenical Patriarch’s ecclesiastic territory, holds immense historical significance. Various Roman (Byzantine) Chrysovoula guaranteed its protection, which was secured by Constantinople until the 13th century. The peace of Mount Athos was disrupted by the arrival of invading Crusaders and later by Catalan pirate invasions. Yet, its significance and sanctity remained intact.
It was not until the Ottoman Empire took control of the peninsula in the late 14th century that security and protection returned to Athos despite difficult constrictions. Surprisingly, the Holy Mountain thrived during the Ottoman years, a testament to its resilience and enduring spirit. Sultan Selim I, a significant benefactor of the Xeropotamou Monastery, played a crucial role in protecting the Holy Mountain. In 1517, he issued a fatwa and a Hatt-i Sharif, declaring that the place where the Holy Gospel is preached shall be restored whenever it is burned or damaged. This support from the Ottoman ruler reassured the Athonite community of their historical protection, for which they remain grateful.

A chronological history of Mount Athos from the end of Ottoman rule to modern times:

ATHOS: Post-Ottoman Rule (1912-Present)

​1912: Liberation and Integration into Greece

• Balkan Wars: Mount Athos was liberated from Ottoman rule during the First Balkan War.
• 1913: Officially became part of the Kingdom of Greece.
• 1913 Treaty of Bucharest: The political status of Mount Athos was established under Greek sovereignty while maintaining its autonomous status.

1920s: Establishment of Autonomous Status

• 1920:   Treaty of Sevres
• 1922:   Asia Minor Catastrophe influx of monks
• 1923:   Revised Julian Calendar controversy
  • Treaty of Lausanne
• 1924:   Second Hellenic Republic Charter of Mount Athos, the "Statute of the Holy Mountain",
• 1926: The Greek Constitution of 1926 reaffirmed the autonomous status of Mount Athos
• 1935:   Kingdom of Greece

World War II (1939-1945)

• 1941-1944: German occupation of Greece included Mount Athos. Despite the occupation, the monastic community managed to preserve its autonomy and protect its treasures.
• 1944-49: Civil War
• 1949-67: Post-War development of Greece Marshall Plan

Post-War Period

• 1963: Celebration of the millennium of Mount Athos, marking 1,000 years since the establishment of the first monasteries.
• 1967-74: Junta

Late 20th Century: Revival and Challenges

• 1970s-1980s: A period of decline due to a decrease in the number of monks.
• 1972:   Esphigmenou invasion by illegitimate schismatic pseudo-monks
  The first official condemnation by the Holy Epistasia of Mount Athos against occupants

“to expel the above [illegitimate brotherhood] from the Holy Mountain’s Epistasia [Council], as a first measure, by which it hopes that the Supreme venerable will perceive their sin and of the course that follows, with the express assurance that deviations from the letter and spirit of the Holy Athonite Charter will never be tolerated under the Holy Epistasia…”
The illegal occupants responded in writing, denouncing the Epistasia, the Athonite Charter, the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Church of Greece, and Greece’s Constitution.
Since then, those illegal occupants inside the Monastery have consistently maintained, at every opportunity, that they have not deviated from canonicity, but the Holy Mountain, Ecumenical Patriarchate, and every other autocephalous church has deviated from Orthodoxy.

• 1974:   Constitution of Greece article 105 (See Below)
• 1974-2005: Annual Epistasia reports reflect the thirty-year occupation and difficulty of the illegal occupants of the Monastery, exhausting everyone but the patience of two Ecumenical Patriarchs, Demetrios, and Bartholomew; patience and economia prevailed on the part of the All-Holy See.
• 1988: Mount Athos was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, highlighting its cultural and historical significance.

The heretical banner "Orthodoxy or Death" taints the sacred Athonite Peninsula, desecrates the Esphigmenou property, and undermines genuine Orthodox monastic values.

​During these fifty years of occupation, this illegitimate rabble of masquerading monks has denounced the Orthodox Church with tribal ad hominem attacks and familiar tropes. They claim that the Ecumenical Patriarch is a heretic, the Athonite community has betrayed Orthodoxy, and all autocephalous Orthodox Churches are schismatic. Only they are “Genuine,” “Traditional,” and the only “True Orthodox.” You know the type.
​
In 1999, Matthias Papalambrakopoulos, who lacks canonical ordination and now calls himself Monk Methodios, was put in charge of a group that illegally squats at the Esphigmenou Monastery. This openly schismatic group, led by their scandalous leader, seized the monastery's main building and all its property, including many metochia, buildings, bank accounts, and funds, involving themselves in money laundering. The squatter group "G.O.X. of Greece" has close ties to Moscow and promotes a similar anti-Orthodox agenda. These so-called Methodite squatters are neither monks of Mount Athos nor priests of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Masquerading monk Methodios

​The felonious "Methodios" Papalambrakopoulos claims that there is no Grace and there are no saints in the Universal Eastern Orthodox Church, which he considers to be in "schism and heresy." He denounces revered saints such as Saint Paisios, Iakovos Tsalikis, and Porphyrios, calling them "in denial of faith," "ecumenicalist," "heretical," and asserts they "did not have the grace of God," among other blasphemous statements.

Modern Developments and Controversies

• 2000s: Continued efforts to preserve the cultural and spiritual heritage of Mount Athos even as squatters remain in the monastery and shatter the tranquility of the Holy Mountain.

In 2002, after three decades of occupation, the Holy Mountain unanimously decided to expel squatters from Mount Athos. It then referred the matter to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the subsequent legal orderly ecclesiastic authority. After this, the antipatriarchal propaganda ramped up, and the ragtag joined forces with newly funded Russian apologists.
In 2003, The Holy Community of Mount Athos, with its accompanying extensive text, which is addressed to anyone interested, was forced to break its silence, having established the systematic disinformation campaign publishing “The truth about the Case of the owners of I. M. Esfigmenou:”
​

No one is persecuted, no issue of faith exists, no one is accused of not commemorating the Ecumenical Patriarch, no one's opinion is persecuted, no one's religious freedom and human rights are violated, no violence is exercised, no exclusion is carried out, no one is in danger and does not suffer, no one is deprived of food or medicine and medical treatment. It is considered the biggest lie operation against Mount Athos in its history.

​In 2005, the Patriarchal Synod officially and finally announced for full transparency that the self-proclaimed “monks” were, in fact, defrocked and not part of the Body of Christ’s Great Church. The few remaining individuals masquerade as monks against the unanimous rulings of the Holy Mountain’s Epistasia, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the Greek government and national courts. 

​In 2010, a Conference on the issue of the Esfigmenou Monastery was held in Thessaloniki where eminent theologians Professors P. Vasiliadis, F. Hatjiantoniou, and D. Karagiannakidis made powerful presentations (all available on YouTube) concluding proposal by the then Archimandrite Elpidophoros Lambryniadou, Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod:

The Methodites “usurped a monk's qualities, impersonating a saint's virtues, while in reality, they violated all the principles that govern both nobilities.
The Monastery of Esfigmenou is Patriarchal and Stavropigian. This is how they founded it, and this is how the fathers over the centuries have maintained it,
The current residents of the Monastery, proven by historical research, are settlers who illegally, irregularly, and fraudulently settled, taking advantage of the tension in the rapport among the Holy Community in 1972. They resemble those whom the Lord characterizes as thieves of the flock, devouring it and not entering through the door but by night, in secret, and by stealth. Accordingly, they are not entitled to remain in the Monastery of Esfigmenou and, as squatters, must return to the normal continuations of the tradition and spirit of its founders and forefathers, never cut off from the flock of the Patriarchal Church of Constantinople.”

​Now, back to the political thug Velopoulos and supermarket tabloid blogger Nikos Skatamatakis, who both need a reminder of Greece’s responsibilities and actions.

​An essential primer on the
LEGAL FRAMEWORK of Mount Athos

1. Greek Constitution According to art. 105 § 1 of the Constitution "From a spiritual point of view Mount Athos is under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate". According to §2 of the same article "Mount Athos is administered, according to its status, by the twenty Holy Monasteries, among which the entire peninsula of Athos is distributed, the territory of which is inalienable. Its administration is carried out by representatives of the Holy Monasteries, who make up the Holy Community. Absolutely no change is allowed in the administrative system or in the number of the Monasteries of Mount Athos, nor in their hierarchical order and position in relation to their subordinate parts. It is forbidden for heterodox or schismatics to live on Mount Athos."
Finally, according to § 4 of the same article, "The exact observance of the canonical regimes is in terms of the spiritual part under the supreme supervision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and in terms of the administrative part under the supervision of the State, to which the safeguarding of the public order and security."
The Hellenic Republic has utterly failed “in terms of the administrative part under the supervision of the State, to which the safeguarding of the public order and security.” It becomes clear that the powers in charge are deficient in their capacity to lead yet always present for the photo op. In particular, the civil administrators of Mount Athos failed the Holy Mountain in its fundamental responsibility to safeguard public order and security.

​According to many legal actions, “Efforts to approach were made from the beginning both on the part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Holy Community [of Athos]. Especially since 1996, the Holy Community and the Greek State have held many meetings with the aim of understanding and normalization, but all of them ran into the intransigence of the occupiers of the Monastery, who continue to maintain a generally defiant attitude that has nothing to do with Agiorite tradition.
In light of decades of decisions, both ecclesiastical and secular, through all proper channels and various levels, ecclesiastically via the Holy Epsitasia and the Holy Sacred ecumenical Patriarchate, the dozens of legal court cases, and the continued failure of the Greek government, the stalemate continues. The court states, “The Holy Community, after ascertaining for a number of years all of the above, concluded that the situation is now irreversible and extremely dangerous, both from a spiritual point of view and from the point of view of public order and security.”

The legitimate Brotherhood of Esphigmenou Monastery with His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Konaki in the capitol of Athos, Karyes

​In July 2013, the fake monks from the Esphigmenou Monastery at Mount Athos proved the courts correct when they threw Molotov cocktails at court bailiffs who were attempting to fulfill the court decisions from their administrative offices in Karyes:
“The ‘monks’ were charged with instigating violence and were later sentenced to 20 years in prison. The incident occurred when the bailiffs arrived on July 29, 2013, to evict the schismatic pseudo-monks from the konak in the capitol. In response, the squatters threw three Molotov cocktails and an explosive device. Abbot Methodios and Monk Antypas, the primary aggressor, were both immediately sentenced and are still at large by the authorities.”
In the end, Matthias Papalambrakopoulos is a criminal according to all ecclesiastic and Greek courts, which have deemed him and his cohorts to have violated dozens of laws and found them guilty on all counts. History will illustrate that since its foundation, Mt Athos was safe for millennia under the Romans (Byzantine), Ottomans, and even Hitler and the Junta kept Athos untouched. It was not until the sacredness was betrayed by the criminal rabble under the schismatic Methodios and promulgated by the Karagiozi -Kyriakos Velopoulos that it was defiled. 

​The current Greek government must step up and fulfill its responsibility.

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