Limassol, May 11, 2020
Photo: beregovoe.cerkov.ru
In 2017, a family brought a case against His Eminence Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol, Abbot Epiphanios of Machairas Monastery, and the Cypriot Orthodox Church for “brainwashing” their son into becoming a monk. Another family joined the same suit that was seeking 2 million euros as compensation for “moral damages.”
According to the first mother’s testimony, her son, who was 28-years-old when he met Met. Athansios, was “strong, energetic, and outgoing, with many interests; he was bohemian, with a sense of humor, a people person; he loved boxing, hunting, shooting, and diving.”
“He didn’t have anything to do with religion, and he was in serious relationship with a girl whom he was planning to marry. All of this changed, however, when the elder [Met. Athanasios] came into his life. My son began to confess and commune every week,” the sorrowful mother recalls.
Three years later, the District Court of Limassol has decided to dismiss the lawsuit and award costs in favor of the ecclesiastical defendants and against the plaintiffs, reports Romfea.
In its ruling, the court notes that its task was to determine whether the son devoted himself “soul and body to monasticism” of his own free will, or whether it was the result of “mind-control, brainwashing, and proselytizing” on the part of Met. Athanasios.
The court found that “the son’s decision to follow the course he followed, ultimately monasticism, is the result of his own free will and judgment. The course that followed after intense reflection, as he said, is the right one and the one that led him to fullness, satisfaction, and joy in his choice. And these feelings, he still experiences to this day, without a trace of remorse.”
His Eminence exerted no psychological pressure, the court found.
The court further notes that, in addition to the monk’s own steadfast testimony that he chose his path of his own free will, there are other facts that refute the plaintiffs’ accusations. For example, in 2006, he discussed with Met. Athanasios whether he should complete his doctorate, and His Eminence advised him, not to abandon his studies, but rather to finish the program, despite his tight schedule at the monastery.
In the end, he not only finished his doctorate, but also had texts published in world-renowned journals.
