A legal clash between church and state is at the heart of a high-profile case involving the Metropolitan of Tamasos and Orini, Isaias, whose trial over alleged personal data violations has been postponed to January 22, 2026.
The Metropolitan’s lawyer, Elias Stefanou, requested the delay to examine what he described as a “conflict” between ecclesiastical law and state law. The alleged offenses, violations of personal data, led to the dismissal of monks by the Church’s synodal court. But under state law, the same actions are considered criminal, raising complex questions about how the two legal systems intersect.
Stefanou also told the court that a large portion of the witness material had been delivered to him only two days before the proceedings, leaving him little time to study it.
The case stems from complaints by monks of the Monastery of St. Avvakum who were deposed after raising concerns about being monitored through the monastery’s closed-circuit cameras. The monks said they were unaware that the Metropolitan and another monk, also a defendant, had access to the recordings.
Financial allegations are also part of the case. Evidence submitted by the monks was reviewed by the Financial Police, prompting criminal charges. The Metropolitan entered a “non-admission” plea for the financial irregularities during his first court appearance.
The case grabbed headlines in 2024 when several videos from the monastery’s cameras leaked online, causing public outcry. The monks claimed the videos were edited, but two independent experts later contradicted that claim, according to the synodal court.
Legal experts and observers are watching closely, as the case underscores the sometimes uneasy relationship between church and state law, especially in emerging areas like personal data, where prior clashes involved property disputes rather than privacy concerns.
