The hearing in the case of the Holy Monastery of Saint Avvakum continued on Monday before the Nicosia Permanent Criminal Court, with five prosecution witnesses testifying, among other things, about monetary contributions they made toward the construction of the monastery, as well as for the purchase of icons and a reliquary, which, as they stated, they either did not see materialize or have not, to date, received clear information regarding their fate.
During today’s proceedings, the witnesses described their financial contributions, their communication with the monks, and their expectations regarding the use of the funds they had donated.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The first witness, Marina Tomazou, stated that she met Father Nektarios in 2008 and that starting in 2020, when he was serving at the Church of St. Nicholas in Fterikoudi, she began visiting him along with her relatives for confession, developing, as she said, a relationship of trust with him.
According to her testimony, Father Nektarios often referred to debts which, as he told her, were related to the construction of the Monastery of Saint Abbaqum. She testified that on several occasions she gave money as a contribution toward the construction of the monastery and for other needs of the hermitage, via the Quick Pay app, with Father Nektarios’s account as the final recipient.
The witness stated that between January 16, 2020, and July 31, 2023, she made 36 transfers totaling €4,620, while 14 transfers, totaling €2,000, made between June 30 and September 8, 2020, were marked, as she said, with the description “icon of Saint Abbaqum.”
She referred to an icon which, as she testified, she decided to commission in memory of her father, following a suggestion by Father Nektarios. According to the witness, she had been informed that her father’s name would be inscribed on the icon, which would cost €2,000.
She stated that she paid the amount in installments and was later informed that the icon cost €3,000. Since she could not pay the additional amount, as she said, Father Nektarios told her that he would settle the remaining balance himself.
The witness also described an incident that occurred during an icon procession in Fterikoudi, when she noticed that her father’s name was not engraved on the back of the icon. Instead, as she testified, the names of herself, her daughter, and her husband were hastily written in chalk.
During her cross-examination by the defense attorney for Father Nektarios, Eustathios Efstathiou, the witness stated that her complaint is that even now she does not know where the money she paid went, adding that she felt she “deceived,” since the icon was intended to be made in memory of her father.
The second witness, Charalambos Tomazos, stated that he followed Facebook accounts linked to the Monastery and the first defendant and was kept informed through posts about the Monastery’s needs and appeals for donations.
As he testified, both he and his wife made periodic donations to support the needs of the retreat center and, later, the Monastery of Saint Avvakum. He estimated his personal contributions at approximately €1,750, which, as he said, were paid via Quick Pay or in cash, with Father Nektarios as the final recipient.
The witness emphasized that he did not give the money as a gift to Father Nektarios, but for the needs of the monastery, and that if he had known it would be used for another purpose, he would not have made the contributions.
When asked by the defense when he first began to have doubts about whether the money was being used for the monastery, he replied that this happened when he learned from the media about the events concerning the monastery.
The third witness, Loukas Psyllos, referred to a donation of €3,000 for the purchase of a reliquary for Saint Thekla.
As he testified, in September 2023, while visiting the Monastery with his fiancée, they were informed that donors were being sought for reliquaries of various saints. After receiving information—which, according to him, came from Father Timothy—he was told that the cost of the reliquary for Saint Thecla amounted to €3,000.
On September 24, he said, he handed Father Timothy an envelope containing that specific amount, which he had gradually saved from his meager earnings.
It was agreed, he said, that a prayer for the health of his family would be inscribed on the reliquary.
During cross-examination, Father Nektarios’s defense attorney presented a photograph of a reliquary, which is being held as evidence, stating that it had been manufactured and that it was the reliquary he had ordered.
The witness replied that, to be convinced, he would need to see the prayer that had been agreed upon inscribed on the reliquary.
Mr. Efstathiou stated that this particular reliquary, according to the defense’s position, had been stolen from the Monastery on March 5, 2024, and that the photograph shown to him came from the basements of the Metropolis of Tamassos.
He explained that, according to the defense’s position, the prayer had not yet been inscribed due to the intervention of third parties.
The witness, however, expressed doubt as to how it could be proven that this particular reliquary was the one for which he had paid, since, as he said, it did not bear the agreed-upon inscription.
The fourth witness, Dimitra Portokalli, spoke about her communication and interactions with Father Nektarios and about monetary payments which, as she testified, she made for the creation of an icon of Saint Jude Thaddeus as part of a vow she had made.
The witness stated that, due to a health issue she was facing, she had decided to purchase a specific icon and discussed the matter with Father Nektarios.
As she testified, she was subsequently informed that the icon would be painted in Greece by a specific iconographer, and that the process would require a significant amount of time and money.
Initially, she said, she believed it was simply a matter of purchasing an icon; however, she was later informed that it would be particularly large and would require specialized iconography.
Ms. Portokalli stated that she agreed to pay the sum of €5,000 in installments and that, once the payments were completed, the icon painting would begin in Greece.
During a meeting that, according to her testimony, she had with Father Nektarios on June 16, 2022, she asked him about the progress of the icon and whether it had been completed, in view of the feast of Saint Jude Thaddeus on June 19.
As she stated, Father Nektarios explained to her that the icon was not yet ready, as it was large and required a great deal of work, while he assured her that there was no cause for concern.
She testified that she continued to seek updates on the status of the order, but, as she claimed, has not yet received the icon.
She also stated that she has receipts and evidence of the payments made and that she intends to request a refund and consider filing a complaint regarding the matter.
The fifth witness, Eugenia Michael, referred to a payment of €600, which, as she testified, she paid in installments to purchase an icon of Saint Paisios, which was to be placed on the iconostasis of the monastery.
According to her testimony, after she had paid off the amount, she discovered about six months later that the iconostasis with the icons had not been completed.
The case involves the monks Nektarios and Porphyrios, who face, among other charges, conspiracy to defraud, forgery, and use of forged documents, theft from a representative, illegal possession of property, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and filing a false tax return.
The two defendants deny any involvement and have not admitted to any of the charges against them. They remain free under the same conditions of release.
The next court hearing is scheduled for September 9, 2026, at 9:30 a.m.
Source: CNA
