Church Seizures

May 18, 2015 (Source: http://hotca.org)

On the occasion of the sorrowful events which are unfolding in the Monastery of the Holy Fathers in Chios, His Eminence, Metropolitan Gerontios of Piraeus and Salamis as the press representative of the Holy Synod made the following statement:

“It is tragic for one to find that in 2015 court and police authorities of a democratic country, members of the European Union – by the mandate of the local Metropolitan of the State Church – have taken actions against a religious minority.

Before the body of the ever-memorable Archimandrite Ambrose could even be buried in Chios, Mark, – the local State Church Metropolitan – has ordered the facilities of the Monastery to be sealed under the pretext of protecting the island’s national treasures, according to news reports.

We ask, what legal basis motivated the court and police forces who sealed parts of the Monastery, and even attempted to seal the Holy Bema of its central church (Katholikon)? By what authority did the Metropolitan of the State Church seek and obtain the authorities as cohorts against a Monastery which has belonged to the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians for nearly 100 years?