Witness says security footage prompted him to leave Avakoum monastery

Nicosia, Cyprus. A prosecution witness in the Avakoum monastery fraud trial told the court on Wednesday that security footage showing Abbot Nektarios apparently faking a religious trance convinced him to leave the community for good.

Footage and monastery vote

The witness said officials at the Bishop of Tamassos showed him the footage shortly before his departure. He said it appeared to show Nektarios impersonating Saint Porphyrios during an “alleged trance” before fainting.

“The alleged trance was pure theatre,” the witness said, adding that it made him realise “I did not belong to these people.”

The prosecution challenged his account of “oppressive treatment” at the monastery, pointing to his vote to elect Nektarios as abbot. The witness said he voted “after being instructed” and that Nektarios had done “preliminary work” to secure the result. He said the vote did not mean the abbot’s behaviour towards him had changed.

Defence evidence and finances

The defence presented photographs and short videos from the witness’s two years at the monastery, including trips to Jerusalem and Istanbul, arguing that they showed he was treated no differently from other monks.

The witness rejected that conclusion, saying ten videos of ten seconds each could not establish how he had been treated over two years. He added that footage intended for the defendants’ social media accounts would not show mistreatment.

Asked about the monastery’s finances, he acknowledged that it covered his food, utilities, clothing and travel costs, but said he did not know where his salary had gone. He said his complaints about the abbot’s conduct had persisted throughout his stay.

Nektarios and Porphyrios deny charges including conspiracy to defraud, forgery, theft, money laundering and submitting false tax returns.