Multi-page memorandum of the legal advisors of the monks on holiday to the Investigative Committee
Before the end of May, it is estimated that the case of the Holy Monastery of St. Havvakum will be concluded from the ecclesiastical side, according to authoritative ecclesiastical sources of the KYPE.
The same information states that the Holy Synod, in the event that there is a dispute over the decision of the six-member Synodal Court – which based on estimates there will be – is expected to function as a Court of Appeal and will be convened as an emergency and before the regular session that is set for in June, to make a final decision on the case.
On Monday, starting at 09:00, all five members of the Monastery's brotherhood have been summoned before the Investigative Committee of the Church of Cyprus, while the exact place where they will be presented, according to church circles, has not been specified.
In a clarifying question, church sources told KYPE that the Investigative Committee will give its findings to the six-member Synod Court from where it got the mandate and then the Synod Court will proceed with their study and announce its decision. They reiterated that if there is a questioning of the decision – which it seems that there will be – which will be taken, as the Archbishop had stated and this is how it is foreseen, the Holy Synod will function as a Court of Appeal, i.e. it will meet on an extraordinary basis and take a final decision.
Submission of a memorandum to the Investigative Committee
In the meantime, the two Archimandrites on holiday and the other members of the brotherhood of the Holy Monastery of St. Avvakum, together with their two legal advisors, went to the Archdiocese this morning .
Their legal advisors, Andriana Klaidis and Anastasios Vavouskos, submitted a multi-page memorandum to the investigative committee of the Church of Cyprus, with which they bring to its attention the objections of their clients regarding the procedure, which, as they say, they have already made known to the Commission of Inquiry with their letter dated March 29, 2024 to which they never received an answer and with this Memorandum they request that they examine it and rule on the proposed objections with reasons.
The memorandum was received by the Secretary of the Commission of Inquiry, the Protopresbyter, Father Kyriakos Kyriakou.
In his statements after the submission of the Memorandum, Anastasios Vavouskos said that today they filed a Memorandum with the objections to the validity of the procedure, which they had filed ahead of time.
“Unfortunately, we returned because there has been no response and we will await the response of the Investigative Committee. For so long we have been trying and fighting for an honest fair trial and judgment and we are happy because since yesterday the media also supports our positions after the revelations from authoritative church sources as it is reported that the removal has already been pre-decided. It's a sad state of affairs, but it's the reality. Now we wait. Now it is the responsibility of the Holy Synod to prove that there is no such pre-decision, in which case it should release our clients and the procedure for Metropolitan Tamasos should be started legally or proceed with deposing, in which case it will prove the exact opposite”, he added.
Answering a question, Anastasios Vavouskos said that Monday and Tuesday they have been called to testify as witnesses and in no case as defendants, as an apology. He noted that those who have been summoned will be introduced.
“All five members of the brotherhood. We have declared that we respect the institution of ecclesiastical justice despite any objections we have about the legality of the process,” he said.
When asked if they were asked to present their own witnesses, Mr. Vavouskos said that he foresees this. the Charter, adding that they will see with his colleague whether they will do it or not.
Asked what it means in the document they received that “you are invited to testify about what happened in the Monastery of St. Avvakum on December 5” and whether this is something general and vague, Mr. Vavouskos replied: “It is, but we will respond accordingly. You will simply allow us to announce only what is happening and not what will happen”.
Asked to comment on a Police announcement that, for a case unrelated to the Monastery case, the Larnaca Court detained three persons, who are rumored to have been in Tamasou Metropolis that night, Andriana Klaidi said that they have no such information. “It is a matter that the Police are looking into and they can give you an answer to this matter,” he added. to cancel the proceedings up to this point, that is, the proceedings before the Metropolitan of Tamasos and Orenis Isaias, the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus, the Six-Member Synodal Court and the Commission of Inquiry”, and reference is made to the events of March 5, as well as to articles of of the Charter of the Church of Cyprus.
It is also requested, before the monks testify, that their objections be discussed by the Investigative Committee and the Commission's reasoned response to them.
Finally, it is mentioned in the Memorandum how the Commission of Inquiry will examine the case of summoning High Priests, who have already publicly or in any other way made their position on the case.
