No process could be began within the ecclesiastical court docket that may permit the additional ecclesiastical prosecution of the 2 monks of the Monastery of St. Avvakum, their attorneys state in a letter to the Holy Synod.
With the letter, the attorneys of the 2 Archimandrites of the Monastery, Nektarios and Porphyrios, name on the Synod to adjust to the Constitution by appointing a Fee of Inquiry and on the similar time reveal that: The Metropolitan of Tamasos and Orini imposed penalties on their shoppers, i.e. a vacation and suspension of duties them, with out expressly complying with the overall provisions required for the imposition of an ecclesiastical penalty.
The identical letter states:
Most Reverend and Theophilest,
We confer with your letter dated 12/03/2024 and we reserve the precise to request data contained therein.
Nonetheless, it’s established that what we had communicated to you in our letter dated 07/03/2024, has not been noticed, in violation of what’s expressly supplied for within the Constitution of the Church of Cyprus, as defined intimately under:
In line with the Ecclesiastical Prison Process (Appendix B of the Constitution of the Church of Cyprus, article II.2), any grievance submitted to the jurisdictional our bodies of the Church of Cyprus must be referred to the Fee of Inquiry, in order that the stated grievance could be investigated and to guage whether or not there are doubtful indications for prison prosecution.
The Fee of Inquiry is supplied for by article II.12 and consists of 5 clergy, of which no less than three are Excessive Clergymen, with a five-year time period. Due to this fact, in the course of the current session of 8.3.2024, the Holy Synod ought to have referred the case of our shoppers to the prevailing Fee of Inquiry and never arrange an advert hoc Six-Member Synodal Courtroom, the operation of which isn’t foreseen by the Constitution.
Quite the opposite, the operation of a 5-Member Synodal Courtroom is supplied for with an annual time period of workplace for its members, who’re elected in September of every yr (Article 79 C of the Constitution). Earlier than this Courtroom, the Fee of Inquiry will current its findings and this Courtroom will resolve on the guilt or innocence of the accused.
The formation of an advert hoc Six-member Synodal Courtroom, along with a choice that violates the Constitution, additionally constitutes a violation of the precept of pure justice, which derives from the Structure and prohibits an individual's prison case from being tried by a Courtroom fashioned after the completion of the alleged deed. The Courtroom must be topic to the act.
It’s equally vital to emphasise that as a result of this important irregularity and non-observance of prison ecclesiastical process, no course of could be initiated that may permit additional ecclesiastical prosecution of our shoppers.
Because of the above causes and particularly the non-observance of what’s imposed for the awarding of Ecclesiastical Justice, as these are expressly supplied for within the Ecclesiastical Prison Process, any process that seems to be promoted towards our shoppers, blatantly contradicts the Constitution of the Church of Cyprus.
In continuation of the above, our shoppers, like all defendant, have the precise based mostly on Ecclesiastical prison legislation to be told and to know the explanations for which they’re referred to as to look earlier than an Ecclesiastical Courtroom in addition to the proof that allegedly helps any accusation.
With out affecting the due significance of the above, we inform you that the Metropolitan of Tamasos and Orinis imposed penalties on our shoppers, i.e. a vacation and suspension of their duties with out expressly complying with the overall provisions required for the imposition of an ecclesiastical penalty.
Specifically, he didn’t invite my shoppers to a listening to and so they weren’t given the precise to problem what they allegedly did. Quite the opposite, by exerting stress, illegally abducting and imprisoning them and below circumstances of terror and worry and threats, the Metropolitan secured towards their will their signature on admissions for allegedly committing ecclesiastical ethical offenses and in precisely the identical method secured the their signature with out their will for his or her voluntary elimination.
Primarily based on the above, any additional ecclesiastical prosecution of our shoppers contradicts the very Constitution of the Church of Cyprus and particularly the Ecclesiastical Prison Process. We await your quick optimistic response for the needs of the correct administration of justice.
We’re at your disposal for any particulars and clarifications.
Yours sincerely,
Andriana Klaidi Nikolaos Koulouris
TTC TEMPLE COURT CHAMBERS
The attorneys of the complainantsN
