PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Authorities
on Mt. Athos refuse Emergency medical attention to Esphigmenou monk with severe
burns.
Mt Athos, Greece, July 17,
2006 -- A severely burned monk from the
Esphigmenou Monastery on Mt. Athos was taken into custody by local Greek Police,
while seeking emergency medical attention for severe burns on his face and body.
When the monastery previously
called for emergency medical services they were denied any help. They then
called the coast guard for help ferrying the monk, but they also refused.
The monastery pleaded with the
authorities to get critical medical attention and they finally agreed to allow
the monk to go to a hospital, but the authorities would offer no assistance.
When they arrived at the port however, one monk was assaulted by the
authorities, all the remaining monks were detained and their vehicle was seized.
Four monks have died since the
start of the blockade, three from being denied basic medical attention and one
died in an accident trying to avoid the blockade. These actions are yet another
act, in a long line of inhumane tactics, being used against the defenseless
monks of Esphigmenou Monastery.
The monks of Esphigmenou, the
most populous monastery with 105 fathers, on the remote Greek peninsula Mount
Athos, disagree with the politicizing of their faith by patriarch Bartholomew of
Constantinople (Istanbul), and as a result, are under siege. The
patriarch, obsessed with quashing dissenting voices, has ordered the Greek
police to enforce a blockade, to starve the monks into submission.
More recently, patriarch
Bartholomew pressured the Greek government and local authorities to create an
imposter monastery with the same name, Esphigmenou in order to transfer all
property, divert mail, and transfer bank accounts to his new creation, while he
starves the real monastery of Esphigmenou. The creation of this shadow
brotherhood amount to an illegal taking of the Monastery’s property and also
violates the charter of Mount Athos since the new abbot does not even meet the
minimum qualifications set forth in the time honored rules of the historic
charter. Basic human rights laws
and local laws are being broken in order to appease the patriarch.
“No one should be treated like
our monks and Monastery by the Greek government”, said Abbot Methodios. “The
denial of permits for our Monastery, the blockade of basics needs, medical
supplies and doctor’s visits for emergency medical services, has resulted in
the untimely death of four monks. The cutting off of our emergency telephone
lines, the threat to confiscate our fishing boat if we venture to go out to fish
for our food, the embargo on fuel oil for heat, the unwarranted confiscation of
our farm Tractor and our building supplies, the sanction, expulsion from Mt.
Athos laborers found to be working at the Monastery, certainly are Human Rights
violations and Violations of International Treaties to which the Greek
government is signatory” said Abbot Methodios. “Someone in the Greek
Government has to be held responsible for these lawless acts against us.”
Mount Athos is a semi-autonomous
region of Greece, the power of the state is vested in the Foreign Minister, Mrs.
Dora Bakoyianni .The chain of command authorizing the use of Greek Police and
Armed Forces to blockade food, medicine, doctor’s visits and heating oil
ultimately resides under her authority.
The Esphigmenou monks live a life
of spiritual tranquility in the unbroken tradition of the brotherhood in the
monastery which was established over 1500 years ago. Mount Athos is the
spiritual center of the Orthodox Church, where the monks are considered
defenders of the faith. Its remoteness and rugged natural beauty attracts
pilgrims and tourists alike, who come to see the art and architecture of the
Byzantine Empire.
The Monastery's library houses
372 original Christian manuscripts codices and 8,000 books some dating back to
the 4th Century. The treasury includes numerous religious articles such as
rare 13th Century mosaic icons and relics of saints.
For further information please
contact:
John Rigas, tel (USA):
(617) 971-0091, fax: (617) 524-7142
On the web: WWW.ESPHIGMENOU.COM