Bulgaria - Greece

Mar. 27 Militant Monks on Mount Athos: In the Esphigmenou monastry on Mount Athos in the north of Greece, 40 monks are reusing to comply with the decision of the cecumenical orthodox Patriarch in Konstantinopel. These monks are known to be the rebellous core of the Zelots who stick to an extreme traditionalism. It actually all started in 1924, when the autonomous Greek orthodox church decided to conform to the Gregorian calendar, like the rest of the Christian western world and abandoned the Julian calendar. This split the Greek orthodox church in two, although both considered the Patriarch in Konstantinopel their head. The calendar problem came to a head when the orthodox church began to open towards the West and the schism between the Roman Catholic church and Konstantinopel which existed since 1054 was abolished in 1965 and when Pope Paul VI visited Konstantinopel in 1967 and the occumenical orthodox patriarch Athenagoras returned this visit by going to Rome in the same year, the Zelots refused to include the orthodox patriarch in their prayers. In the course of these events the Zelots began to concentrate in four monasteries on Athos and started disobeying orders. The Athos monks refused to admit three delegations, so in March this year stern measures were served on the disobeying monks, including the removal of the Abbot Athanasius and many other senior brothers. The patriarch decision actually triggered the fierce reactions by the Zelots who made the Esphigmenou monastery their headquarters and counteracted by closing the gates and cutting themselves off from the outside world. The self-confined Zelots insist on the withdrawl of the patriarch's decision and the abbots and monks who are expelled from the Athos by the verdict found refuge from the seizure of the executing authorities at the monastery with the Zelots who hoisted a black flag from their belfry and wrote on their banner, Orthodoxy or death'. Photo shows no entrance to this monastery. The policeman has to live on his travel ration

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1054 Abbot Abbots Abolished Actually Admit Although Athanasius Athenagoras Athos Authorities Autonomous Belfry Calendar Comply Concentrate Conform Considered Core Counteracted Decided Decision Delegations Disobeying Esphigmenou Executing Existed Expelled Extreme Gregorian Hoisted Include Insist Konstantinopel Measures Militant Monasteries Monastry Monks Orthodox Orthodoxy Patriarch Patriarchs Prayers Ration Reactions Refuge Refused Removal Returned Reusing Schism Seizure Self-confined Split Stern Themselves Traditionalism Triggered Verdict Wrote Zelots

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