PHOTO: From the main welcoming ceremony of the Prime Minister in Protato, Karyes. Photos do not lie: Only a few more than half of the abbots were present.
Nine Monasteries Objected and were absent: Karakalou, Philotheou, Chilandariou, Dochiariou, Xiropotamou, Zografou, Grigoriou, Konstamonitou and Ag. Panteleimonos!! They should be rewarded and respected by all Orthodox faithful!
By Nick Stamatakis
Despite the many pressures exerted on the Monasteries, it was ultimately decided by a narrow majority to receive the Prime Minister with an ecclesiastical reception. Nine Monasteries (Karakalou, Philotheou, Chiliandariou, Dochiariou, Xiropotamou, Zografou, Grigoriou, Konstamonitou, and Ag. Panteleimonos) insisted that the Prime Minister, who took the lead in passing the anti-evangelical law on same-sex marriage, could not be received with ecclesiastical honors. At the same time, the rest thought that the reception was an honorific reference to the office of the Prime Minister of Greece and would convey the intense dissatisfaction of Mount Athos with the legislation.
The Holy Mountain is neither a museum of piety nor a stage of power. It is a land of mourning, compunction, and prayer—“τόπος ὀδύνης ψυχῆς,” as the Fathers have called it. It exists to call the soul to repentance, not to give absolution to worldly authority. The spectacle of helicopters, security entourages, and choreographed photo-ops stands in stark contradiction to the stillness (ἡσυχία) and invisibility prized by the monastic life.
Repentance was entirely absent during the Mitsotakis visit!!… The prime minister did not even know how to cross himself correctly!!! And a monk kissed his hand!! Yes my friends a monk kissed his hand instead of him kissing the monks’ hands!!
The faithful cannot help but see this visit as a form of theatrical repentance—“ψευδομετάνοια”—a veneer of humility over a life and policy framework that has shown consistent disregard for Orthodox teaching. This is not mere speculation; it is a cry rising from the conscience of the Church.
100 million Euros Bought Absolution for Mitsotakis
At the same time as the whole country of Greece is rocked by the earthquake of the EU subsidies scandal, and the Mitsotaks government, as well as the whole cleptocratic Greek political system – is ready to collapse to its foundations by the EU subsidies scandal, the (slim) majority of the Athos monasteries are perceived to accept 100 million euros of EU subsidies, offered by the same corrupt politician who was undoubtedly at least aware of the huge EU subsidies scandal and accept him with open arms!!
The Athos monasteies have been receiving EU subsidies From 1981 to now (2025) for 44 years of continuous EU financial assistance. Structured support across five major funding phases: 1980s start-up, 2000–2006 CSF, NSRF 2007–2013, NSRF 2014–2020, and the current 2021–2027 frameworks (including 2025–30 investments). So, Athos has enjoyed roughly four and a half decades of EU-backed restoration and development support through ESPA (NSRF) and related structural programs.
The question on everyone’s mind is simple: If Athos succumbed to the EU subsidies and accepted an enemy of Orthodoxy like Mitsotakis, what else will they accept? Will they welcome the Pope and the Union with the Catholics? Some of them already co-celebrated with the Ukrainian schismatics…
In 1517, the Dominican monk Johann Tetzel, who, by order of the pope, was raising money by selling indulgences, said that “as soon as the sound of the gold coin is heard falling on the disc, the soul leaps out of purgatory,” that is, its place of punishment.
In the end, we all have to question the Athos elders: What good is it to bow your head to secular authorities to get money and make TV series like the one about “St.Paisios, From Farasa to Heaven” if, to do that, you sell yourself to the Antichrist??!! Your value for Orthodoxy and Christianity is in the values of faith you represent!! If you are abandoning the Faith for money, YOU ARE WORTHLESS!!
The Silence of the Monks: A Cause for Alarm
The most alarming aspect of this visit was not the Prime Minister’s presence—but the silence of many of the monks.
Where is the prophetic voice of the desert?
Where are the spiritual fathers who once thundered against emperors and wept over the sins of kings?
When St. John the Baptist confronted Herod, he did not bless him—he rebuked him. When the prophets of Israel saw injustice, they did not offer hospitality—they tore their garments.
This silence is interpreted by many as acquiescence or, worse, spiritual complicity. But as our Lord said, “If these remain silent, the stones themselves will cry out” (Luke 19:40).
A History of Betrayals and Forgetting
Let us not forget: this same Prime Minister presided over unprecedented restrictions on the Church during the COVID-19 period—locking temples, forbidding the Divine Liturgy, silencing bells, and criminalizing Holy Communion. He has publicly endorsed policies that undermine the very moral fabric of Christian life, including legislation that redefines marriage and family.
How is it that the same man is now received with honors on the Mountain of the Theotokos?
Are we so quick to forget? Or have we, God forbid, grown comfortable with spiritual hypocrisy?
The Threat of a Politicized Monasticism
There are growing signs that certain influential monasteries are blurring the sacred line between asceticism and diplomacy. This is not new in Orthodox history—but it is always dangerous.
The Holy Mountain is a lamp on a stand, not a stepping stone for political narratives. When spiritual institutions align themselves too closely with temporal powers, the light flickers, and the salt loses its savor.
Let us recall that Athos is not only Greek but also Orthodox. It belongs to the whole Church. And it bears witness not through influence but through holiness.
A Call to Discernment and True Witness
The faithful are not scandalized because a politician entered the Mountain. They are scandalized because it was done without discernment, without repentance, without spiritual substance.
To the monks: we ask for your voice, your tears, your spiritual protest. Do not allow the sacred to be used as cover for the profane.
To the clergy: we plead for courage, not silence. The Church is not a chaplaincy to the state but the Body of Christ, the Ark of Truth.
To the laity: remain vigilant. Do not be swayed by appearances or propaganda. The True Church is crucified with Christ—it does not dine with Pilate.
Conclusion: Let the Stones Not Cry Out
Let us not forget the holy purpose of Athos: to remind the world that there is another Kingdom, not of this world. A Kingdom not built on ballots, policies, or media, but on repentance, asceticism, and divine grace.
If the Church does not speak now—if those entrusted with the legacy of the saints remain silent—then the very stones of Athos will indeed cry out. And what they will cry is not glory, but lamentation.
May the Most Holy Theotokos, protectress of the Mountain, guard its purity and intercede for her people, that we may return not to outward forms but to the deep and inward life of true repentance and faithfulness.
“Ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.”
July 5, 2025, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
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MORE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
In the photo above, more elders from the participating monasteries were invited to stand, to show that ALL the monasteries were present!!
For the record, there are several monasteries that refused to accept EU subsidies for many decades. Not surprisingly, they are among the ones that voted “No” in this case.
We have written before that Mt. Athos is divided, and one might argue that there is a schism, at least on the “political level” that has taken root in recent years, and it is sad to watch… The reason is simple. Political Control of Mt. Athos is an easy way to influence the larger Orthodox populations of the world. We have written extensively in the past on how Fr. Daniel of St. Panteleimon Monastery established the Δανιηλαιους brotherhood in the years prior to WW1, after being banished for speaking out about the corrupt Patriarch that allowed (in exchange for generous donations) the takeover of the Monastery by Russian “agents in monastic vestments”, etc…
However, it is also true that Mitsotakis is an individual that was formally excommunicated by retired Metropolitan Ambrosios of Aigialia, he is an individual in charge of a regime that shut down Church services during COVID, imprisoned priests who “dared” to violate his edicts, and as this article accurately points out, pushed for the secular “codification” of sodomite unions, defiling the term “marriage” in the process, an age-old religious term that has nothing to do with secular opinions.
And yet, the “bastion of Orthodoxy” provides a “reception” for this violator of Orthodox tradition. Some of the monasteries who formally “greeted” Mitsotakis today are the same ones that “yesterday” were signing decrees of protest to the Government over the Digitization of the National ID, the nasty LGBTQ “marriage” law, etc…Of course, we should not forget that 7 out of the 20 monasteries of Mt. Athos had also voted in favor of sending a delegation to the “enthronement” of Epiphanios. We must also not forget that Esphigmenou monastery has not been represented at the table by the monks that have been under siege for many years now, but instead are “represented” by the Bartholomew-appointed “new Esphigmenou abbott” who has “taken over” that seat and vote, even though he operates from Karyes, and not from within the actual monastery walls of Esphigmenou.
Nevertheless, there is not much additional commentary here that is worth adding. The problem speaks loudly on its own. Mt. Athos harbors a “political-secular cancer” within that needs to be cured… Of course, if we read the Book of Revelation, it is clear that the messages to each of the 7 Churches of Asia Minor prove that nothing has changed 2000 years later (some good, some not good), so perhaps in an ironic way the Mt. Athos community is truly preserving Orthodox tradition, including with localized pockets of of “bad tradition” of spiritual apostasy from the way that the Church Fathers, Confessors, and Martyrs, an apostasy that has always surfaced from time to time within the boundaries of our Church, even within the monastic community.
As a final note, remember that the “Bartholomaic edict / threat to silence the monks of Mt. Athos under penalty of eviction” applied mainly to the monks living in the “cells” (κελιωτες μοναχοι) , comprising about 60% of the population of the Holy Mountain, who on paper are affiliated with one of the 20 monasteries, but in actuality are semi-independent as ascetics. They don’t actually have a vote in Mt. Athos’ affairs, because only the 20 Monasteries send their own representatives to the governing Council to vote on matters concerning the Holy Mountain. If the “monks in the cells” did have a voice in “government”, we can rest assured that they are usually not siding with “new teachings” that come out of Constantinople or elsewhere, but rather the opposite – being quite conservative and not “innovative”… It is a shame, but this is the situation on the Holy Mountain these days…
Χάνονται για να μην πω ξευτελίζονται
τα ιερά μας κρατήματα από τους
ίδιους τους θεματοφύλακες και τον
τεκτονισμό.
Το θεριό του διχασμού στο Άγιον Όρος , δυστυχώς είναι γεγονός.
Το επόμενο ταρακούνημα που τα
ρίχτερ του θα είναι τα υψηλότερα στον
χώρο της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας θα
είναι η συνάντηση Βαρθολομαίου με
τον Λέοντα στο Άγιο Όρος, όπότε και θα γίνει το
Πάντρεμα που ο Λέοντας θα κατασπαράξει την Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία
η οποία σιγά σιγά θα αφομοιωθεί με τον ίδιο τρόπο που αφομοιόνωνται οι
ανά τον κόσμο ομογενείς. Το τελευταίο
το επιβεβαιώνουν οι μεικτοί γάμοι που
γαμεύονται και πληθύνονται.
Η μόνη μας Ελπίδα είναι η Ορθόδοξη
Ρωσία ας την βάλλομε όλοι στην
προσευχή μας να δώσει ο Θεός να γίνει
η Μόσχα η Τρίτη Ρώμη δια την
Σωτηρία ημών και την Δόξαν του
Θεού και Πατρός ημών.
Δυστυχώς το Φανάρι άφησε το φυτίλι
του να τσιμπλιάσει ….. και να σβύσει
το ανέσπερο φώς.
Μια προσευχούλα για τον Καπετάνιο που ανεμοδέρνεται ….,
Very disturbing news….
How vomit inducing that a holy Monk of Athos kissed the hand of Judas Betrayer PM Mitsotakis who should bow down in repentance to the Monks‼️
Just Anaxios
The verse “μακαριοι ων αφεθησαν αι ανομιαι, και επεκαλυφθησαν αι αμαρτιαι” does not mean that the “ρασο” absolves (covers) the individual’s sins, just because it is wrapped around him as a covering (καλυμμα)… Christ had thieves, deniers, doubters, etc within his following of 12 Apostles…of course nothing has changed within the larger body of the Church, but unfortunately we do live in times where the percentages of “violators” may be much higher than the historical average, and the technological means to expose the “violations” are at a peak…
However, perhaps the most disturbing problem here (that Sister Paisia is most likely inferring as “emetic”), is that several of these hegumens / monks are likely “Great Schema monks”, which means that they made the following promise to God during their tonsure to the Great Schema:
«Ἀποτάσσῃ τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, κατὰ τὴν ἐντολήν τοῦ Κυρίου;»
«Ναί, τοῦ Θεοῦ συνεργοῦντος, τίμιε Πάτερ».
So if they promised to God to “reject” the world, and those in the world, in accordance with the Command of the Lord, what are they doing “accepting” Mitsotakis?
And to add to the problem at hand, these hegumens are leading many monastics who are not Great Schema monks, but in order to become “rasoforoi”, made a promise to God to “remain obedient to these abbots” and “to remain forever in their monastery of tonsure”… blind obedience to men who now appear to be violating their own Grand Schema promises to God…quite a spiritual mess…a very unhealthy situation, indeed. But per the other post, this is also one of the reasons that 60% of the monastic population of Mt. Athos lives in smaller groups, “in the cells”, outside of big cenobitic monastery walls…
Tough times, indeed, but once in a while there do exist “rebellions” within Mt. Athos monastery walls, and you see abbots getting “thrown out” by the brotherhood, or even “resigning and leaving the monastery”…that happened in one of the big Mt. Athos monasteries (not to be named here) in the year 2000…let’s see what happens over the long-run. There is always hope.
Mr. Nick, this article reveals you are a true Orthodox Christian not afraid to challenge evil. I am in shock about what you revealed. The Lord protects you from wolves pretending to be holy.
I will always be mindful of the fact that many pulpits are occupied by masters of deceit, hiding under the guise of an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
I will never be silent and thereby shield a so-called “church leader” from scrutiny or challenge. Psalm 39:2
Many blessings for Mr. Nick.
Dear Jane, with all due respect, be mindful and do not be so willing to give accolades when we really don’t know who anyone truly is these days. There’s a lot of controlled opposition out there and ppl will do crazy things for money. Use caution, we are all being followed in some way or another, especially the conservative Orthodox faithful fighting for what’s right!
Mr. Nick is an honorable journalist.
I wasn’t talking about Nick. Generally speaking, sorry!
Shameful and an embarrassment! Like a fish out of water, PM could not even do his Orthodox Cross correctly. Was it a papist cross, playing baseball hitting all the bases with an open hand? What in the world….. truly did not belong there. A spectacle for all to see; and let us not forget, God is allowing this to happen for the rest of us to see…..and hopefully learn from it. I pray that the monks and abbots in question wake up soon. Ντροπή και αίσχος!
Repent before it’s too late. ☦️