Metropolitan Athanasios Yievtic: I wish the Lord enlightens the judges’.
15 January 2012Friday 13 January
By Aimilios Polygenis
Translated by vatopedi press
The former Metropolitan of Herzegovina, Mr Athanasios Yievtic spoke to the church newsagency Romfea.gr on the issue of the pre-detention of the Abbot of the Holy Great Monastery of Vatopaidi, Mr Efraim.
Metropolitan Athanasios stressed that ‘the news about his pre-detention had caused him great astonishment and profound sadness’.
He also expressed his surprise that justice had remanded in custody an Abbot on Christmas Eve in an orthodox country.
‘What Elder EFraim is going through is like a wreath of glory prepared for him by the Lord. Therefore we hope that He will strengthen and support him in his predicament’ added Mr Athanasios.
He also stressed that he wished that ‘the Lord enlightens the judges to allow the Elder to return to his monastery and to his brotherhood’. ‘It is not right that the Greek state humiliates the Holy Mountain which is protected by the Mother of God, in this way’, added Mr Athanasios.