Greek police have detained Kallinikos, the abbot of the Spileo rock monastery in Kalavrita, and monk Seraphim, after they attempted to sell 17 Byzantine icons and two gospels from 1737 and 1761 for 200,000 euros. Authorities report that at least one icon and the gospels were stolen from the Sparta area. The arrests followed a dawn operation with a policewoman posing as a buyer interested in the icons. Four others, who collaborated with the abbot and his assistant, were also detained. The Ministry of Culture is assessing the items to determine their religious and commercial value. The Metropolitan of Kalavrita, Ieronymos, placed both under guardianship upon learning of their arrest.
Greece lacks a central, publicly accessible national register for valuables in monasteries and temples. Some establishments create local registers to safeguard their items from theft and resale. Church sites under UNESCO protection, like the monasteries of Meteora, have stricter controls.
Recently, clergy have faced allegations of criminal activity and misuse of church property, including lands and relics. In Crete, a corruption network involving drugs, extortion, and ties between local mafia and clergy was uncovered, resulting in nearly 20 arrests. Central to this scandal is Bishop Damascene, former abbot of the “Holy Trinity” monastery and a titular bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In 2017, allegedly under blackmail, he signed a false certificate claiming 175 acres, including Stavros Beach, did not belong to the monastery. This enabled two local hoteliers, accused criminal group leaders, to sell the land to an Israeli company for 1.5 million euros, which later resold it to a German company. Following internal church disputes, Damascene was removed as abbot and now faces serious charges of abuse and involvement in a mafia scheme.
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