The underlying tension within the Hierarchy activates the hypothesis of what is happening in Church of Saint Isidore in Lycabettus. Faced with this situation, Mr. Archbishop Jerome brings the matter to Holy Synodat the next meeting of which, in early October, he will report on all the actions taken so far, on the results of the investigations carried out by the Church, and on the measures that will be taken in order to finally deal with the unprecedented situation.

The archbishop’s decision was a response to the intense concern that many hierarchs are now expressing about the tolerance and persistence of the “miraculous fraud”, as they call it, by priest Dimitris Loupasakis, who promises miracles from the Holy Cross, which he keeps in himself. church, causing thousands of desperate believers to flock there. The archbishop’s entourage announces that a solution has been found that will satisfy everyone after months of effort. Probably, the design involves the transfer of the cross to another environment, to a place where no one can dispute that if there is a miraculous effect, then it will be more useful there than anywhere else.

The decision to take the issue to the Holy Synod does not seem to reassure the hierarchs, who have long pointed out that what is happening daily on the slopes of Lycabettus is nothing but a shameful exploitation of human suffering and despair. In fact, it is considered a well-known secret that if the church of St. Isidora did not belong to the jurisdiction of the Athenian metropolis, i.e. jurisdiction of the archbishop, then the reaction of some metropolitans would have been expressed long ago and in raised tones. about the need to take decisive measures to put an end to this situation, which is detrimental to the Church and faith. In this context, there is no shortage of voices criticizing the belated reaction, as well as the decision to bring the issue before the Holy Synod. As they say, this is a matter for the exclusively competent metropolis, and not a question that the Holy Synod should decide, but they hint at procedures that will once again lead to delays without a solution.

Complaints

Many hierarchs express their dissatisfaction with what is happening in the church of St. Isidore.

The annoyance of the bishops comes mainly from the fact that internally in the Church the case of St. Isidore has been investigated for a long time and there is no doubt that this is a fraud, and its initiators become discouraged until they see that no measures are being taken to restrict their activities. In addition to the theological documentation, which, according to the hierarchs, is not in doubt in the relevant reports compiled, there are serious allegations of a financial scandal.

As commonly mentioned, the Church of Saint Isidore is one of ten chapels belonging to the Clergy Insurance Fund. It is the only company out of ten that consistently shows liabilities in its financial statements. Overcrowding and the daily rush of people contrast sharply with the emerging official economic data.

However, the delay in trying to put an end to what the Church officially considers to be a deception of the faithful by the priest of St. Isidore is largely due to the very strong pressure exerted by very powerful factors in the political and economic life of the place.

However, for the Church, a “knot in the crest” has probably come, since many hierarchs are faced with the reaction of the faithful of their metropolitans, who rush to St. Isidore, discover that this is an established industry, whatever their expectations or hopes, they refute and protest before local metropolitans with a request to stop the deception.

This caused the violent reaction of Metropolitan Nectarios of Argolia, while other hierarchs expressed their protest internally, to the competent bodies of the Church. In addition, the archbishop’s entourage reports that the decision to transfer the case now to the Holy Synod is the result of public and private “ejections” of bishops, which forced some procedures to be accelerated.