THE LAWYER of the Cypriot monk who was among three people caught in an Athens airport attempting to transport the remains of a nun to Cyprus in a suitcase has claimed that it was the dead woman’s final wish to be buried in Cyprus.
The 42-year-old monk, Effrem, has denied charges of sacrilege and quackery, saying the whole affair was down to a misunderstanding.
The Greek nun’s remains were reported missing by her family, but Effrem claims it was all down to lack of communication and that her family had not actually been informed on this last wish of hers.
The monk does admit, however, that he could have informed the family that he planned on taking the remains to Cyprus.
It was widely reported that Effrem, who has been suspended from the Kykko Monastery pending the case, claimed that he – along with the other two suspects in the case, a 54-year-old man and 60-year-old woman from Larnaca – had taken nun Eleni Vathiadou’s remains because she was a saint; even though she had never officially been declared a saint by the Greek and Cypriot Orthodox churches.
But Phileleftheros newspaper yesterday published an interview with Monk Effrem’s lawyer in Athens, Ioannis Idreos, who said no one had ever claimed they thought Vathiadou was a saint.
He added that the nun had a special relationship with Effrem, who had ordained her, and that she had expressed her desire to be buried in Cyprus on her deathbed.
“This was expressed not only to the monk, but to many other witnesses as well, the testimonies of whom have been submitted in writing to the prosecutor,” said Idreos.
“No one ever spoke about a saint,” he added. “Certain people came up with this issue and created scenarios that (the suspects) would make money out of it. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
The monk’s lawyer insisted the whole story had been blown out of proportion, the proof being the mild charges that had been brought against his client and the other two suspects in the case.
“(Vathiadou) was simply a spiritual daughter of the monk and she developed a spiritual bond with him. This is why before she went to sleep, she asked the monk for her remains to be transferred to the Cyprus,” said Idreos.
The three suspects have been charged with theft and desecrating the remains of a deceased person and are expected to stand trial towards the end of the month.
