Mount Athos monastery at mercy of an earthquake, abbot warns

In the wake of a series of earthquakes that recently shook the monastic community of Mount Athos in northern Greece, Archimandrite Vartholomaios, the abbot of the Esphigmenos Monastery, issued a stark warning about the precarious state of the monastery’s buildings.

The abbot expressed grave concern over the condition of the complex, which is currently occupied by religious zealots who are preventing essential inspections and restoration work. 

According to Archimandrite Vartholomaios, these occupants are refusing to allow public authorities access to the site, obstructing any efforts to assess or repair the structures.

“They block any restoration projects under the pretext that accepting financial aid—what they call ‘evil money’ from the EU—would lead to the loss of Mount Athos’ traditional isolation, among other absurd claims,” the abbot said. 

He further criticized the occupiers for their stance, suggesting that they might prefer to burden the state budget or seek ‘blessed’ funds from oligarchs in ‘holy’ Russia.

Archimandrite Vartholomaios emphasized that Esphigmenos Monastery is likely the only monastery on Mount Athos that has not been properly maintained and warned that it could collapse in the event of a strong earthquake.