A recent report by the Adelaide’s The Advertiser newspaper sent shockwaves through the Greek Diaspora community, shedding new light on a controversial Archimandrite at the centre of a police investigation.
The Adelaide masthead report has published allegations that the family of an elderly Greek woman has reclaimed jewellery valued at more than one million dollars that the embattled clergyman, Father Ioannis Christodoulos, had taken. The Archdiocese of Australia has suspended Father Christodoulos. Father Christodoulos is now in Greece, sources told Neos Kosmos, and faces uncertainty about a possible return to Australia.
The same sources indicated that he is unlikely to resume his duties within the Archdiocese of Australia.
The jewellery, which includes a gold necklace worth over $500,000, was reportedly handed over to Archimandrite Ioannis Christodoulos to be displayed in a museum belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church in Constantinople (Istanbul).
The collection encompasses numerous gold necklaces with chains, a diamond necklace, intricate gold bracelets and pendants, solid gold watches, gold pins with precious gemstones, and over 20 high-quality opals in various sizes.
According to the newspaper, detectives from the Directorate of Economic and Cybercrime Investigation initiated a probe into Father Christodoulos in June, following earlier revelations by The Advertiser. The initial reports exposed significant monetary gifts received by the clergyman in cash from “a devout elderly Greek woman within his congregation.”
Simultaneously, it was revealed that Father Christodoulos maintained a secret double life.
The cash voluntarily given to Father Christodoulos by the faithful woman is estimated to be around $700,000. The investigation uncovered detailed financial records indicating that substantial sums were transferred to the priest’s bank accounts, amounting to over $700,000 from 2017, with the majority being transferred in the last two years.
However, the priest has not been interrogated by the police yet, as he left Australia for Greece. The jewellery was returned to the woman’s relatives due to their demands and police intervention.
In response to the initial reports, Archbishop Makarios suspended Father Christodoulos in late June, and the Archdiocese launched its own inquiry.A close relative of the elderly woman commented on the recovery of the jewellery, calling it “extremely significant” for the family.
The relative revealed they only knew the extent of the jewellery given to Father Christodoulos after the police became involved. The Archdiocese was unaware of the priest’s actions or any museum in Constantinople.The woman’s relatives were contemplating legal action against Father Christodoulos for the money they had given him.
They were informed that the funds provided had yet to be deposited into the local parish bank account.
An attorney representing Father Christodoulos declined to comment on the allegations.In the initial reports by The Advertiser, it was suggested that the Greek priest had fallen victim to identity theft, with someone assuming his identity and creating a fraudulent profile on the gay Grindr app. Father Christodoulos had argued then that “only a fool” could be an Archimandrite and maintain a profile on a gay dating app “with his photo, believing it would go unnoticed.”
Due to his behaviour, Father Ioannis Christodoulos, who arrived in Adelaide from Greece in early 2011, was previously removed from the Greek Community’s churches in South Australia. He spent time in various Old Calendarist monasteries, even sending a disparaging letter to Metropolitan Nikandros of South Australia, which led to his defrocking.After his dismissal from the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia (GOCSA), and a brief stint in Wollongong, the priest returned to Adelaide in 2014 and attempted to establish a new church.
He was reinstated, and in July 2020, he was appointed as the priest of St. Nectarios in Fawkner, Melbourne. However, he has never served there as the recent reports prompted his suspension by the Archdiocese.
