Abbot Nektarios refers back to the horrible occasions skilled all this time after the outbreak of the Abvakum Monastery scandal in his first submit on his social media account. “We owe you a proof for what you've seen,” he notes, amongst different issues.
Full submit:
My dears and dears
After a while, I’m contacting you. My abstention for therefore lengthy from speaking with you is because of one single reality. It’s the first time, since my brothers and I consciously and out of affection and religion in God selected the solitary life, that we reside unprecedented however on the identical time very troublesome and soul-destroying conditions for us. Conditions that shook our souls, however by no means put our religion in God to the take a look at.
As you all know, together with your love and assist and the blessing and assist of our Despot, we constructed our Monastery, which turned a degree of reference as a non secular pilgrimage. We put our effort and soul into it.
However since March fifth of this yr, each I and my brothers have been experiencing and experiencing horrible occasions:
a) We noticed hooded males unexpectedly invade the monastery, insulting the sanctity of its house,
b) we noticed not solely the official books and paperwork of our Monastery but in addition our private belongings and personal paperwork being illegally eliminated and in addition confiscated illegally,
c) we noticed our monastery being locked and abandoned, whereas such motion by a bishop is forbidden by the holy guidelines,
d) we had been pressured with insufferable strain and inhumane conduct to admit to acts, which we by no means did,
e) we had been illegally evicted from our monastery, being pressured to violate our sacred obligation of seclusion as monks inside our holy monastery.
And eventually, we noticed ourselves accused of actions, which the thoughts of man can not conceive. And from monks who do work, having the love of the world and the appreciation of our Despot, we became individuals who deceive the devoted, who steal from the Church, who sexually harass their fellow human beings, and so forth. And all this from in the future to the following.
Crucial factor, nonetheless, is that every one the “proof”, on which the inspiration of the unjust accusations towards me and the brothers of our Monastery is tried, is illegitimate and got here from an unlawful recording of everybody's personal life and personal conversations us, with out our understanding it.
Nonetheless, and never denying that you’ve got in reality seen snapshots of our way of life and heard our personal conversations, though we emphasize that their recording and publication was unlawful, we owe you – for what you’ve typically seen and you’ve got heard of us – a proof from the center.
We owe it to you, for the love and assist you’ve supplied us thus far:
a) the cash you gave us together with your coronary heart and plenty of of you out of your delay, we managed it just for the good thing about our monastery, which can also be your monastery. They weren’t a possibility or an event for private enrichment. And we’ve by no means refused any management, particularly from our Despot. Each inspection was welcome, as a result of as our individuals say “clear sky, lightning shouldn’t be afraid”.
b) we by no means entered into acts of sexual activity with one another or sought to enter into intercourse with different individuals or believers. However for phrases of on a regular basis life, that are heard in printed snapshots and which we repeat, that had been illegally recorded, we apologize and ask on your forgiveness, to the extent that you just choose, that these mustn’t have been heard from the lips of monks. However we’re human beings, carrying a heavy burden that we battle with daily. Their human frailties, which typically we defeat and typically they defeat us. And it’s, we repeat, human, that our day by day coexistence creates familiarity, belief and closeness between us, which is typically externalized in and by – in small measure for a lot of – “daring” jokes, however with none additional consequence or implied consequence.
c) a few of us even have financial institution accounts and actual property. This is because of the truth that on the identical time we’re additionally clergy, and as clergy we’re obliged to have a checking account for the cost of our wage, we’re additionally entitled to have any immovable property. We repeat, as clergy.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t make us thieves of the cash, which you donated to us for our monastery, which can also be your monastery.
d) the Holy Cross of Agios Porphyrios, aside from being a sacred relic, is for me personally an inheritance from blessed Athena Sideris, non secular youngster of Agios Porphyrios. You perceive, then, my respect for this sacred relic. It’s subsequently self-evident that it was not, neither is it, nor will it ever be an object for us to take advantage of. Neither will we inform you that he does or doesn’t carry out miracles, as a result of everybody experiences the miracle personally. And the very fact of its smelling, because it was illegally recorded and made public however misinterpreted, had as its solely objective the aesthetic perfume of the cross and in no case the proof or strengthening of its miraculous character. Far be it from us such or comparable thought or intention. Identical to the occasional smearing of it with alcohol, an motion that was not meant for something apart from the antisepsis of the heirloom and that alone. Anything is past actuality.
e) wanting to assist our Despot, His Beatitude and the opposite Excessive Monks from our aspect, we submitted a Memorandum. On this Memorandum, we identified the eleven (11) errors which have been made within the investigation course of so far, starting with the actions of our Despot. And whereas these errors result in the cancellation of the entire course of, sadly we didn’t get any response. And neither have we ever been summoned, to elucidate, nor do we all know, what the summoned witnesses testify. What we do know is that our presumption of innocence has been violated and we’re already thought of responsible. The worst factor, nonetheless, is that daily we’re condemned with out purpose within the conscience of the world, that’s, in your individual conscience. And that's unfair.
We owe you all these heartfelt phrases. On your love and assist. And we for our half, all brothers united and of 1 thoughts, guarantee you that we’ll endure this take a look at, drawing energy from you. And with no matter energy God provides us, we are going to proceed, asking to be checked and judged pretty, hoping for the restoration of our honor as monks and our dignity as individuals.
