Athonite Skete Monks Protest PM's Visit to Holy Mountain

KARYES — On July 20, 2025, Athonite monks from the sketes issued a strong public protest against the official visit of Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Mount Athos. The full text of their statement was published by the UOJ's Mount Athos bureau.

The statement includes a photo showing Mitsotakis with the eight abbots who received him:

• Ephraim (Vatopedi)
• Nathaniel (Iviron)
• Tikhon (Stavronikita)
• Peter (Dionysiou)
• Eliseus (Simonopetra)
• Gabriel (Pantokrator)
• Alexios (Xenophontos)
• Methodios (Hilandar)

The statement points out that twelve abbots are not pictured. This is because the majority of Athonite monks were opposed to receiving the Prime Minister, according to the statement.

Mitsotakis has been widely criticized by Orthodox authorities for supporting same-sex "marriage" in the Hellenic Republic.

“In the name of truth: the Holy Mountain was neither united nor in agreement with the visit and reception of the antichrist Prime Minister!" it reads.

The skete monks emphasize that they represent two-thirds of all Athonite monks—1,400 out of 2,100.

“From the photo above—an undeniable testimony to the objective reality—we see that only eight monasteries out of twenty were represented!”

They cited Scripture: “We read in the Book of Genesis (chapter 18, verse 32): ‘And he said, Lord, wilt thou destroy it for ten's sake? And He said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.’”

The monks recalled that if there had been even ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities would have been spared from destruction: “We hope that on the Holy Mountain there will be many times more than ten righteous men.”

They also invoked a historical warning from the Fall of Constantinople: “A similar case is the vision of five outstretched fingers seen by Mehmed II during a celebration, which filled him with fear and confusion.

The humble monk Gennadios Scholarios (the future Patriarch of Constantinople) interpreted it thus: ‘This vision, my king, is a message from God: it is He who gave you the City—not you who took it! Had there been even five true Christians in Constantinople, you would not have captured it!’”

The statement also includes sharp criticism of the “treacherous actions” of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and other hierarchs, citing the 2016 Council in Crete: “The Holy Mountain has deep roots of resistance… beginning with the false council of Kolymbari in Crete…”

In conclusion, the Athonite skete monks call for spiritual vigilance and declare: “We hope for an awakening—for the final battle against the ultimate mark of the Antichrist.”

Read also