Ecumenical Patriarch condemns bishop’s remarks on Tempe victim’s mother

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has strongly condemned remarks made by Metropolitan Theoleptus of Iconium, who publicly criticized the mother of a victim of Greece’s deadliest train disaster.

The February 28, 2023, collision in Tempe killed 57 people, marking the worst rail disaster in the country’s history. 

Maria Karystianou, whose son was among the victims, serves as president of the Tempe Victims’ Association, advocating for accountability in the ongoing investigation.

Theoleptus, in a social media post, suggested Karystianou was using her child’s death for personal gain. 

“Does she look like a mother in grief? Everything about her seems staged,” he wrote, also mocking her appearance as “freshly done.”

Bartholomew denounced the comments as offensive and unacceptable. “No one has the right to insult a grieving mother,” he said. “We stand with the victims and their families and trust in the justice system to fully investigate the causes of this tragedy.” 

He called on Theoleptus to publicly apologize if he indeed made the remarks.