Media: Greek authorities plan to clear St. Panteleimon’s Monastery on Mt Athos
A protest against the authorities' actions took place in Uranopolis.
On 21 July, there was a rally held in Uranopolis against the actions of the authorities, who plan to evict monks from the Esphigmenou Monastery using police and special equipment, reports Newsfire.gr.
Sources from the publication report that a similar forceful approach is also planned for the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon, and police will enter Bulgarian, Romanian, and Serbian monasteries as well.
According to a source from Athos, the situation on the Holy Mountain is as follows: “Washington has tasked us with changing the status of the monastic republic. Greece should not have an uncontrolled center of free thought and independence. To achieve this, the last place in the country where power belongs to the monks – the monastic republic of Mount Athos – needs to be dismantled. The first step will be the opening of a new police station to monitor the situation in the monastic republic, both criminal and political. Essentially, the Greek authorities’ task is to reform the monastic republic, removing its autonomy and independence to ensure everything is under control and to eliminate any potential places where opponents of the government might reside.”
As the UOJ reported earlier, police are preparing to storm the Esphigmenou Monastery on Mount Athos.