The Orthodox world is divided by the story of the Archimandrite Ephraim of Mount Athos, one of the greatest centers of spirituality of Eastern Christianity.
The monk, abbot of the monastery of Vatopedi, the largest and most important of the Holy Mountain, was arrested last December 24th by decision of the Court of Appeal of Athens as part of an investigation that began in 2008 regarding a suspect land sale that caused millions in damage to the Greek treasury.
The decision created a stir because of Ephraim’s age, for the aura of untouchability that still surrounds the Orthodox Church in Greece, but especially for high-level contacts that the Archimandrite wove for many years with the people that count in politics and business, inside and outside his country.
Just one month ago the Archimandrite had organized a 'tour' in Russia of the most precious relic of Mount Athos, a venerated belt that belonged to the Virgin Mary, with great public success in all the cities where it passed.
And not surprisingly, the most heated protests over the arrest of Ephraim came right from Moscow. The Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, number two of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow and his manager for 'external relations', said to the Interfax news agency that the millions of faithful who had come to know the monk during his travels with the relic of the Virgin were “surprised” that “the abbot of one of the largest and, one might say, exemplary monasteries of Mount Athos” had been arrested on his return to Greece, “an Orthodox country”.
“Their surprise is understandable - he added – like the feelings of many Greek bishops, priests, lay and faithful who believe that the decision against the Archimandrite Ephraim is a hostile attack against the monks of Athos and against the entire Orthodox Church”.
The Patriarch of Moscow, Cyril, spoke intervened with a letter to the Greek President Karolos Papoulias to ask for his release: “Millions of believers in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and other countries ... are anxious over the police measures taken against an abbot of the monastery of the Holy Mountain who is well known in the Orthodox world, in the days when the Greek Orthodox Church celebrates the Nativity of Christ”.
Compared to these positions, the silence of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, under whose jurisdiction falls Mount Athos, is deafening. For some observers, behind all this there is once again the rivalry between the Patriarchates of Moscow and Constantinople, because the latter does not agree with Ephraim’s proximity with Moscow. The question, however, is more complex.
If the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul has not yet taken an official position, many of the patriarchs and bishops close to Bartholomew have commented on the arrest.
There have been claims of respect and solidarity - like that of the Bishop of Edessa, Joel, who wrote to the President of the Greek Supreme Court - but also those who have taken their distance.
Particularly significant is that of the Metropolitan Nektarios of Petra. The 'rebirth' of the monastery of Vateopedi, the work of“hyperactive” Ephraim and the many “business opportunities” unveiled by his multiple acquaintances, according to the bishop, was only a “trap” for the Orthodox Church.
The ascetic lifestyle - when the monks, according to some stories, ate “worms and vegetables” - had lost ground in a monastery that had become a favorite luxury destination for ambassadors, politicians and businessmen, and the recipient of their donations.
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The Archimandrite “came and went from the offices of all the powerful” in Greece: “What other man of the Church enjoyed similar introduction?”.
Faced with this evolution, Bartholomew himself had repeatedly recalled Ephraim, and had recently taken away from him the administration of the monastery of Vatopedi, leaving only the spiritual management.
In response, the Archimandrite had staked everything on bringing the Russian Orthodox closer, making no qualms about playing on the ancient rivalry between the patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow, and the latter’s ambition to add Athos.
Ephraim, recalls the Metropolitan Nektarios, had a two-hour personal interview with Vladimir Putin during his visit to Russia.
And yet, the Russian 'tour' of the relic of the Virgin's belt had created a scandal among the monks of Mount Athos, organized by foundation “Friends of Vatopedi”, led by a Russian tycoon, a close friend of Putin, when the news had already leaked out that the investigation was tightening a circle around Ephraim, had aroused the opposition of nine of the 20 Athos monasteries. Their fear was that the relic would be used to serve the personal purposes of archimandrite.
In light of all this, the bishop calls for caution: “The message that we must all gain from this case is not to use churches and monasteries as political offices. And it must be understood that it is Ephraim who is under investigation, not his faith nor the Church”.
In the face of those who today vehemently ask that Ephraim be released and proclaim his innocence, like the dozens of people who demonstrated in front of the Court of Appeal of Athens, Nektarios invites us not tojump into “populist events” that have little or nothing to do with the Church.