Three sons of Father Triandafyllos have confessed.

The black-robed figure of an elderly Orthodox priest has been at the center of the drama unfolding since icon painter Savvas Xeros was injured by a bomb that he was allegedly carrying in Piraeus on June 29.

Father Triandafyllos Xeros and his wife Moschoula expressed support for Savvas, 40, denying that he was a member of November 17 but the victim of a frame-up. It emerged, however, that Savvas had confessed to a number of serious crimes since 1984 and so had his brothers Christodoulos, a 44-year-old maker of musical instruments, and Vassilis, a 30-year-old mechanic. On Saturday, the priest buckled under the weight of the revelations.

“All these days, I prayed... that God reveal the truth, that the guilty become known. And God performed his miracle and the police have done their job well. And the truth is known and the guilty are known. And I am happy for this, even though my own children are included. Whoever has done wrong must pay. And he will pay. Either here or in the life hereafter. It is better that we pay here,” said Father Triandafyllos, who has six sons and four daughters. “My children and the others wanted to change the world with bombs,” he told reporters. “Society does not change with bombs nor with wars, but only when you are close to God and the Church. My children made the mistake of turning their back on the Church,” he said.

On Friday, the priest said he was very sorry for his children’s involvement in the murder of British defense attache Stephen Saunders, asking his widow for forgiveness. “I hope God will give her the strength to go on with her life,” he said.