EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis) As Helleniscope has been following closely in recent weeks, the crisis at the historic Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai has escalated dramatically. After mounting reports of mismanagement, financial scandals, and even accusations of betrayal against Archbishop Damianos, the Sinai Brotherhood has now issued an official announcement. In it, the Brotherhood formally declares the removal of Damianos from his office, citing grave canonical and administrative violations. We publish here their full communiqué in English and in Greek. Finally, we have to note that two of the Sinai monks are American citizens…
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Announcement of the Sinai Brotherhood
At Mount Sinai, August 16/29, 2025
ANNOUNCEMENT
I. The Sinai Brotherhood, as the supreme governing authority of Sinai, convened in synod on July 27 and 30 of this year and removed its abbot, Archbishop of Sinai Mr. Damianos, on account of the following acts:
A) He systematically did not reside in Sinai, but spent long periods mainly in Athens and elsewhere. Since 2018 he has lived in the Monastery no more than two or three months in total.
B) He effectively abolished the function of the supreme governing authority of Sinai, the Sinai Brotherhood, by not convening it as prescribed by the regulations, usurping its authority in an arbitrary and authoritarian way—for example, in matters of expulsion of monks, appointments and dismissals of administrative bodies, etc.—thus systematically violating the Fundamental Regulations of Sinai.
C) For years he kept in his private residence in Athens a woman, Mrs. Aikaterini Spyropoulou, in flagrant violation of an Ecumenical Council canon that clearly prescribes deposition. He appeared with her at the Monastery during his short stays, lived with her in the same quarters, was publicly accompanied by her, and allowed her to interfere in the governance and administration of the Monastery. A classified report by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs—recently leaked—addresses this scandalous matter.
D) He engaged in continuous financial abuses. For example, in 2024 the official revenues of the Athens Metochion amounted to €538,638, but the central Monastery received only €60,558, while his officially recorded personal expenditures alone amounted to €62,893.
E) He repeatedly misused Monastery property, selling assets without informing or obtaining the approval of the Brotherhood, in violation of Articles 8 and 14 of the Regulations. For example:
the sale of property at 108 Kifissias Avenue, Athens (63 sq.m.) for €75,000;
the sale of a basement storehouse at 42 Archaeological Museum Street, Thessaloniki (245 sq.m.) for €41,000.
F) He arbitrarily concluded harmful contracts transferring the Monastery’s intellectual property rights without consent. Notably, he signed an agreement with UCLA (California, USA) for digitizing palimpsest manuscripts, ceding rights to a company whose executive was the son of Spyropoulou, Damianos Kassotakis. When the Brotherhood objected, he unilaterally dismissed the Monastery’s steward, Fr. Symeon, without justification. Another son of Spyropoulou, Vasileios Kassotakis, was arrested in Cairo airport on charges of misappropriating digital material belonging to the Monastery.
G) He collaborated with government officials in Athens to pass a law establishing a new legal entity in Greece under the Monastery’s name, including a new (!) statute for the Monastery—different from the existing Fundamental Regulations—without the Brotherhood’s knowledge or approval. This, now published as Greek state law, constitutes the ultimate betrayal of the Monastery by the Archbishop.
Because all the above constitute the gravest canonical and statutory reasons for his removal, the Sinai Brotherhood, as the competent body, proceeded to depose him in full conformity with the law, submitting its decision to the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
II. The deposed Archbishop Damianos, accompanied by the aforementioned woman, two monks, and a group of hired Egyptian thugs, forcibly entered the Monastery on the evening of August 26, expelled the Sinai Fathers, and unlawfully occupied the premises, thereby overturning canonical order and legality.
For the Sinai Brotherhood
Archimandrite Niphon, Dikaios
Monk Hesychios, Skevophylax
Monk Sophronios, Oikonomos
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Ανακοίνωση της Σιναϊτικής Αδελφότητας
Ἐν Σινᾷ, τῇ 16ῃ/29ῃ Αὐγούστου 2025
Α Ν Α Κ Ο Ι Ν Ω Σ Ι Σ
Ι. Ἡ Σιναϊτικὴ Ἀδελφότης ὡς ἀνωτάτη Ἀρχὴ διοικήσεως τοῦ Σινᾶ, συνελθοῦσα τὴν 27ην καὶ 30ὴν Ἰουλίου τρέχοντος ἔτους εἰς σύνοδον, ἔπαυσε τὸν καθηγούμενον αὐτῆς Ἀρχιεπίσκοπον Σιναίου Κον Δαμιανόν, ἐξ αἰτίας τῶν ἐξῆς πράξεων αὐτοῦ:
Α΄) Κατὰ σύστημα δὲν διεβίου ἐν τῷ Σινᾶ, ἀλλὰ διέτριβε ἐπὶ μακρὰ χρονικὰ διαστήματα κυρίως ἐν Ἀθήναις καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ (ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔτους 2018 καὶ ἑξῆς δὲν διέτριψεν ἐν τῇ Μονῇ πλείονα τῶν δύο ἢ τριῶν μηνῶν συνολικῶς).
Β΄) Κατήργησεν ἐν τοῖς πράγμασι τὴν λειτουργίαν τῆς ἀνωτάτης Ἀρχῆς διοικήσεως τοῦ Σινᾶ, τουτέστι τῆς Σιναϊτικῆς Ἀδελφότητος, μὴ συγκαλῶν αὐτὴν εἰς συνελεύσεις, ὡς προέβλεπον οἱ Κανονισμοί, νοσφιζόμενος αὐθαιρέτως καὶ αὐταρχικῶς τὰς δικαιοδοσίας αὐτῆς, ὡς ἐπὶ παραδείγματι ἐπὶ ζητημάτων ἀπελάσεως μοναχῶν ἢ διορισμοῦ καὶ παύσεως ὀργάνων διοικήσεως καὶ διαχειρίσεως κτλ., παραβαίνων ἐκ συστήματος τοὺς Θεμελιώδεις Κανονισμοὺς λειτουργίας τοῦ Σινᾶ.
Γ΄) Ἀπὸ ἐτῶν προσέλαβε εἰς τὸ ἰδιαίτερον διαμέρισμα αὐτοῦ ἐν Ἀθήναις συνείσακτον γυναῖκα, τὴν Καν Αἰκατερίνη Σπυροπούλου, παραβιάζοντας κατάφορα κανόνα οἰκουμενικῆς συνόδου ὁ ὁποῖος ἐπισύρει σαφέστατα εἰς περίπτωσιν παραβιάσεως αὐτοῦ τὴν καθαίρεσιν, μεθ’ ἧς ἀπροσχημάτιστα ἐνεφανίζετο ἐν τῇ Μονῇ, κατὰ τὰς συντόμους περιόδους διαμονῆς ἐν αὐτῇ, μεθ’ ἧς μάλιστα διέβιου ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ διαμερίσματι, καὶ συνωδεύετο ὑπ’ αὐτῆς ἀνελλειπῶς εἰς πάσας τὰς δημοσίας ἐμφανίσεις αὐτοῦ· ἥτις δὲ ἀνεμιγνύετο ἐκ συστήματος καὶ εἰς τὰ τῆς διοικήσεως καὶ διαχειρίσεως τῆς Μονῆς. Περὶ τοῦ ἀκραίου σκανδαλώδους τούτου ζητήματος διαλαμβάνει ἀπόρρητος ἔκθεσις τοῦ ὙΠ.ΕΞ. Ἑλλάδος, ἐλθοῦσα προσφάτως εἰς τὴν δημοσιότητα.
Δ΄) Διέπραττε κατ’ ἐξακολούθησιν σωρείαν χρηματικῶν καὶ οἰκονομικῶν καταχρήσεων. Ἐνδεικτικῶς, κατὰ τὸ ἔτος 2024, ἐκ τῶν ἐπισήμων ἐσόδων μόνον τοῦ ἐν Ἀθήναις κεντρικοῦ Μετοχίου, ὑψους €538.638 (€490.741 ἐξ ἐνοικίων καὶ €47.897 ἐξ ἐπιβεβαιωμένων δωρεῶν), ἡ κεντρικὴ Μονὴ ἀπέλαβε μόλις καὶ μετὰ βίας ὡς ἐπαίτης €60.558 (€54.800 εἰς μετρητὰ καὶ €5.758 εἰς δαπάνας Πατέρων· σημειωτέον ὅτι τὰ ἐπισήμως καταχωρηθέντα ὡς δαπανηθέντα ποσὰ τοῦ παυθέντος Ἀρχιεπισκόπου ἀνῆλθον εἰς €62.893).
Ε΄) Προέβαινεν ἐξακολουθητικῶς εἰς περιουσιακὰς ἀτασθαλίας καὶ καταχρήσεις, καὶ δή εἰς πώλησιν περιουσιακῶν στοιχείων τῆς Ἱερᾶς Μονῆς, ἄνευ οἱασδήποτε ἐνημερώσεως τῆς Ἀδελφότητος καὶ ἐγκρίσεως μάλιστα τῆς Γενικῆς Συνελεύσεως, κατὰ παράβασιν τῶν ἄρθ. 8 & 14 τῶν ΘΚ. Ἐνδεικτικῶς ἀναφέρεται ἡ πρόσφατος πώλησις α) ἀκινήτου ἐπὶ τῆς Λεωφόρου Κηφισίας ἀρ. 108 ἐν Ἀθήναις, ἐπιφανείας 63 τ.μ., ἀντὶ ποσoῦ €75.000, καὶ β) ὑπογείου ἀποθήκης ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ Ἀρχαιολογικοῦ Μουσείου ἀρ. 42 ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ, ἐπιφανείας 245 τ.μ., ἀντὶ ποσoῦ €41.000.
Ϛ΄) Προέβαινεν αὐθαιρέτως κατὰ τὸ δοκοῦν εἰς βλαπτικὰς συμβάσεις ἐκχωρήσεως καὶ μεταβιβάσεως πνευματικῶν δικαιωμάτων τῆς Μονῆς, ἄνευ ὡσαύτως συνεννοήσεως καὶ συναινέσεως τῆς Ἀδελφότητος. Ἐνδεικτικῶς ἀναφέρεται συμφωνία ψηφιοποιήσεως τῶν παλιμψήστων χειρογράφων καὶ ἐκχώρησις τῶν συναφῶν πνευματικῶν δικαιωμάτων εἰς τὸ Πανεπιστήμιον Los Angeles (UCLA) τῆς Καλιφορνίας, ἩΠΑ, ὅπου βασικὸν στέλεχος τῆς ἐργολάβου ἐταιρείας τοῦ ἔργου ἐτύγχανεν ὁ υἱὸς τῆς Αἰκατερίνης Σπυροπούλου, Δαμιανὸς Κασσωτάκης. Καὶ ὅταν ἡ Ἱερὰ τῶν πατέρων Σύναξις ἐτόλμησε νὰ προβάλῃ τὶς ἀντιρρήσεις της ὁ Ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Σινᾶ, αὐταρχικῶς καὶ αὐθαιρέτως ἔπαυσε τὸν Οἰκονόμον καὶ μέλος τῆς Συνάξεως π. Συμεὼν χωρὶς δικαιολογίαν, μὲ τὸν λόγον: «διότι εἶσαι ἀνεπαρκέστατος».
Ὁ ἕτερος ὡσαύτως υἱὸς αὐτῆς, Βασίλειος Κασσωτάκης, ἐργαζόμενος σὲ ἕτερον παρεμφερὲς ἔργον, συνελήφθη εἰς τὸ ἀεροδρόμιον τοῦ Καΐρου ὡς ὑπόδικος ὑπεξαιρέσεως ψηφιακοῦ ὑλικοῦ, ἀνήκοντος εἰς τὴν πνευματικὴν ἰδιοκτησίαν τῆς Μονῆς.
Ζ΄) Συνήργησε παντοιοτρόπως μετὰ κυβερνητικῶν ἐν Ἀθήναις παραγόντων, ὥστε νὰ ψηφισθῇ νόμος ποὺ ἀφορᾶ ν.π.δ.δ. μὲ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς Μονῆς ἐν Ἑλλάδι χωρὶς καμμίαν γνῶσιν καὶ πολὺ περισσότερον ἔγκρισιν τῆς Σιναϊτικῆς Ἀδελφότητος. Μάλιστα, μέσα εἰς τὸν σχετικὸν νόμον ὅπως ἐδημοσιεύθη εἰς τὸ σχετικὸν ΦΕΚ συμπεριλαμβάνεται καινούριο (!) καταστατικὸ τῆς Μονῆς, διαφορετικὸν ἀπὸ τοὺς ἰσχύοντας Θεμελιώδεις Κανονισμούς, χωρὶς καμμίαν γνῶσιν καὶ ἔγκρισιν τῆς Ἀδελφότητος, ἐμφανιζόμενον ὡς νόμος πλέον τοῦ ἑλληνικοῦ κράτους (!), ὅπερ συνιστᾶ ἐσχάτην προδοσίαν τοῦ Ἀρχιεπισκόπου κατὰ τῆς Μονῆς.
Διὰ τὸν λόγον ὅτι ἅπασαι αἱ ὡς ἄνω ἀβελτηρίαι καὶ ἀτασθαλίαι τοῦ Ἀρχιεπισκόπου Σιναίου συνιστῶσι σοβαροτάτας καταστατικὰς αἰτίας παύσεως αὐτοῦ, προβλεπομένας ὑπὸ τῶν ἰσχυόντων Θεμελιωδῶν Κανονισμῶν τοῦ Σινᾶ, (τοὺς ὁποίους παρεπιπτόντως ὁ ἴδιος ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Δαμιανὸς ὢν ἀκόμη ἀρχιμανδρίτης καὶ γραμματεὺς τῆς Μονῆς τοῦ Σινᾶ τὸ 1971 συνέταξεν ὁ ἴδιος προσωπικῶς καὶ ὑπέβαλεν εἰς τὴν Ἀδελφότητα πρὸς ἔγκρισιν), ἡ Σιναϊτικὴ Ἀδελφότης, ὡς τὸ ἀρμόδιον καταστατικὸν ὄργανον, προέβη εἰς τὴν παῦσιν αὐτοῦ, τηρώντας σχολαστικῶς τὴν ἀπὸ τὸ Καταστατικὸν προβλεπομένην νόμιμον διαδικασίαν καὶ ἐπεξηγώντας ἀναλυτικῶς τὴν ἀπόλυτον καὶ ἀδίρητον ἀναγκαιότητα αὐτῆς εἰς τὸ ὑποβληθὲν πρὸς τὸν πατριάρχην Ἱεροσολύμων σχετικὸν ὑπόμνημα.
ΙΙ. Ὁ ὡς ἄνω παυθεὶς πρώην καθηγούμενος Ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Δαμιανὸς μετὰ τῆς ὡς ἄνω ἀναφερθείσης γυναικός, μετὰ συνοδείας δύο μοναχῶν καὶ ὁμάδος μπράβων πληρωμένων αἰγυπτίων, εἰσέβαλον τὴν ἑσπέραν τῆς 26ης τοῦ τρέχοντος μηνός, αὐθαιρέτως ἐντὸς τῆς Μονῆς, καὶ βιαίως ἐξέβαλον ἐξ αὐτῆς τοὺς Σιναΐτας Πατέρας, ἐγκατασταθέντες ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ καταλύσαντες οὕτω τὴν κανονικὴν καὶ καταστατικὴν ἐν τῷ Σινᾶ νομιμότητα.
Διὰ τὴν Σιναϊτικὴν Ἀδελφότητα
Ἡ Ἱερὰ τῶν Πατέρων Σύναξις
Ὁ Δικαῖος, Ἀρχιμανδρίτης Νήφων
Ὁ Σκευοφύλαξ, Μοναχὸς Ἡσύχιος
Ὁ Οἰκονόμος, Μοναχὸς Σωφρόνιος
Well…and there you have it…the details aren’t pretty, but they are consistent with other situations and accusations we have seen over recent years…
As suspected there was a long-simmering pot that simply boiled over…
How is the Jerusalem Patriarchate going to fix this?
Damianos is quite old now anyway…well overdue to step down, especially because of this turmoil, and because he has become ineffective. 90 years old, and bishop of Sinai for 50 of those years…has anyone checked if his cognitive abilities have declined recently? Maybe he went senile in his old age, like many others do? Even if not, if any of this article is true, what ever happened to the meaning and value of the prayer “…and a Christian end to our lives, WITHOUT SHAME…”?
And even if these fresh accusations are proven to be without merit down the road, the video of the monk getting dragged out by “bouncers” in the middle of the night certainly cannot be classified as being “without shame”…
Shouldn’t the bishop himself or an entire Patriarchal Synod that is “sleeping at the wheel” care about those words, too, and protect his otherwise prestigious legacy from worse “public shaming”?