The journalists reporting from the Greek parliament were stunned by the appearance of the Vatopedi monastery abbot Ephraim and the monk Arsenii in the parliament. The two clerics arrived in 2 Grand Cherokee jeeps, the latest models, and were accompanied by a group of lawyers and bodyguards, who made such a cordon around them, which even the president doesn’t have. Ephraim and Arsenii were walking arrogantly, but when they reached the journalists, they stopped and shook hands with them. The monks were surprisingly acquainted with the names of journalists and the media, which they represent, and also details about their personal lives.

They weren’t so talkative with the members of the parliament though. The clerics gave in many pages of statements, and refused to answer any questions. According to leaked information to the media, Ephraim claims that the real estate deals were dealt with by Arsenii, who only informed him what was going on in general. The abbot also insists that the Vistonida Lake certainly a property of the Vetopedi monastery. He also encloses documents of the same type, which proves the ownership of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople buildings, the patriarchies in Alexandria, Egypt and in Jerusalem, Israel but also the “St. Ekaterina” monastery in Sinai.

Arsenii’s written statement is also interesting. In it, the monk claims that the monastery wanted to own only the Vistonida Lake and that for the rest of the estates, including the Olympic one in Athens, he was asked to buy and re-sale them by representatives of the government! Arsenii also claims that he spends most of his time praying in the monastery and rarely goes out. An important detail is that all his travels outside the Holy Mountain are connected to real estate deals.

The members of the parliament commission were shocked by the arrogance of the two monks and by the fact that they demonstrated total repudiation of the parliament as an institution. The opposition PASOK, the communist party, and the left coalition asked from the commission not to accept the written statements and to summon Ephraim and Arsenii again. New Democracy voted for the acceptance of the written statements, and it remained unclear what the nationalist party LOAS wanted.

The Thessaloniki governor Panayiotis Psomiadis has to appear in front of the commission today.