Greek Police Arrest Abbot of Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos

Greek police arrested Archimandrite Ephrem, the Abbot of Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos. This monastery is the repository of the Holy Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God that recently visited Russia. The Greek procurator’s office accused Fr Ephrem of striking a number of deals in exchanging several cheap plots of land belonging to Vatopedi monastery for expensive property in Athens. Investigators believe that these deals caused the loss of at least 100 million Euros (4.078 billion Roubles. 130.7 million USD. 83.6 million UK Pounds) to the government. Fr Ephrem himself declared his innocence and rejected the charges against him. He’ll stay under arrest until the end of the court proceedings.