Archimandrite Melchisedek has issued a lengthy statement after his name was mentioned in connection with the Crete mafia case, stressing that he has never engaged in illegal activity and that attempts to link him are part of a wider attack on the Church.
Statement on alleged involvement
“I do not know, nor could I know, if he had any illegal activity. I never believed he had the ability to promote me by unfair means, and I never received any political or other mediation from him for my election,” Melchisedek noted in his statement regarding the publication of alleged conversations between the group’s supposed leader and Panos Kammenos.
Attack on the Patriarchate
“Because I was deemed worthy to bear the title of Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne, dark circles that have always opposed our Patriarch found the opportunity once again to create problems for the unity of the Church, using vile and despicable methods,” he added.
Full announcement
The Archimandrite continued at length:
“With regard to what has recently come to light, I feel the need to express my humble opinion in order to help the truth prevail and to ensure the faith of the flock is not shaken — not towards me personally, but towards the institution of our Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
As part of the police investigation carried out in our region and beyond, a large criminal organisation was dismantled which, according to what has been revealed, included uniformed officers, priests, businessmen and political figures from our local society. People from every group that exists in our small community.
In recent days I have seen fragments of conversations being circulated without coherence. These mostly concern third parties but attempt, in a shaky way, to implicate me as well. Among all those arrested, there was one person with whom I had some communication, as I do with thousands of people every day — by phone, online, and face to face.
This person, like anyone I meet, has a past, a present and a future that I cannot know, as none of us can. Unfortunately, this person was involved in the police investigation, and in this way our communication became known to third parties, misinterpreted and used to cast suspicion.
I want to clarify the following:
- I never handed over holy relics to anyone as ‘payment’. My respect for the relics is absolute, and I could never move them outside the prescribed ecclesiastical order, let alone in exchange for benefits.
- My contact with the individual concerned was limited to the framework of the Church’s liturgical life. He is a member of the flock, whom I treat without discrimination. I did not know, nor could I know, if he had any illegal activity. I never believed he had the ability to promote me by unfair means, and I never received from him any political or other intervention in my election. I did not know his intentions, nor would I ever yield to pressures contrary to my calling and position in the Church.
- My respect for His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch is absolute. Under no circumstances do I wish his person or the institution he represents to be tarnished through me. Because I was deemed worthy to bear the title of Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne, dark circles that have always opposed our Patriarch have seized this chance to cause problems for the unity of the Church, using vile and despicable methods.
- I wish to stress that in the thousands of pages of this extensive case file, my name has been brought to the surface by others and publicised in a way that exposes me lightly — or perhaps with deliberate intent. There is an effort to smear my name. For what purpose?”
Closing appeal
Concluding, he said:
“Christ, even on the Holy Cross where His enemies placed Him, asked His Father to forgive them. As a clergyman, I cannot deviate from His example. Even if I am wronged, even if I feel slandered without cause, I ask our Father to forgive them and give me the strength to face this situation as our faith commands.
I ask the faithful not to be scandalised and to pray to Almighty God to enlighten our minds, so that we may see the Truth at the end- the Truth we all know, but which some have chosen to conceal for their own reasons.”
Signed: Archimandrite Melchisedek Ambelikakis
Also read: Crete mafia scandal: priest blackmail and Cyprus relics
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