The newly appointed abbot…
The newly appointed abbot of Esphigmenou Monastery on Mount Athos, whose monks are locked in a dispute with the Orthodox Church, gestures during a press conference in Athens yesterday. Chrysostomos, whom the Church appointed earlier this year to replace Esphigmenou’s rebel abbot, claimed he was threatened by four masked men on Wednesday and sprayed in the face with mace. About 100 monks at Esphigmenou have defied Church orders to leave the monastery. Deputy Foreign Minister Panayiotis Skandalakis is to visit Mount Athos by the end of January to help resolve the dispute.
