A priest allegedly threw acid at seven metropolitan bishops and a police officer during a disciplinary hearing discussing his expulsion from the church at Petraki Monastery, according to police reports. He was arrested in Greece following the incident on Wednesday evening, while his victims are battling against serious injuries.
Information at this point shows that the Metropolitan Bishop of Kifissia, Kirillos, is in immediate danger of losing sight from one of his eyes. He is currently with the other bishops at Laiko Hospital and is expected to be moved to Gennimatas Ophthalmology Clinic to undergo surgery. He is one of the two bishops suffering from eye burns.
Glyfada’s Bishop Antonios and Bishop of Zakynthos Dionysios IV are also suffering from serious burns.
The other bishops who were injured include Nikodemos of Kassandreia, Kallinikos of Arta, Andreas of Drinoupolis and Demetrios of Goumenissa. They were all taken to the Laiko General Hospital, however emergency doctors assessed that some of them would need to be treated by the specialised burns unit at KAT.
The police officer who made the arrest was rushed to the 401 Military Hospital following the incident, and according to information, two lawyers are also among the injured.
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The gathering of bishops was held to examine whether the priest should be defrocked and the special hearing where the incident was held was expected to uphold his permanent dismissal from the clergy. It is alleged that the priest was involved in a drug trafficking case.
During the discussion, it is alleged that the perpetrator threw two bottles of caustic liquid at his victims.
Lawyer George Gikas told protothema that the case appealed his dismissal. At 7pm Greek time, the perpetrator approached the bench and said, “Are you all in kahoots with (the Bishop of) Veria? Has the Bishop of Veria talked to you?” The lawyer alleges that his client then took two large bottles of red liquid from his bag and started spilling these on the bishops yelling: “You’ve not been talked to by Veria, right? He hasn’t talked to you?”
The lawyer said that the room filled with blood and burnt cloaks as the priest continue to allegedly pour and spill liquid from the two large 2-litre bottles.
Athens Achbishop Ieronymos and Greece’s Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias rushed to be informed of the health of those injured.
Greece’s President Katerina Sakellaropoulou condemned the attack, and Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been briefed by Archbishop Ieronymos, statingthe government would do all it can for the victims’ speedy recovery.
