Orthodox clerics accused of sexual misconduct will have their personal affairs scrutinized by a five-member ethics committee that will forward its findings to the highest Church echelons, the Church of Greece decided yesterday, in the wake of high-profile allegations implicating a bishop in a homosexual scandal.

“We condemn, reject and abhor any form of perversion regarding human carnal life that relegates man to a bestial condition,” the Church of Greece’s ruling body, the Holy Synod, said in a statement yesterday. “We invite anyone who has evidence against clerics regarding moral misconduct to submit a signed charge [to the Holy Synod].”

Following a proposal by Archbishop Christodoulos, the Synod decided to form a committee composed of three bishops and two university professors to investigate such accusations and forward their findings to the Synod.

A Synod spokesman yesterday said the bishop of Attica, Pandeleimon, intends to take legal action against his predecessor, who has accused him of homosexuality.