(AP) Greek monks hurl petrol bombs at bailiffs
THESSALONIKI, Greece
Civilian authorities on Greece’s monastic sanctuary of Mount Athos say a group of monks facing eviction have attacked court bailiffs with rocks and petrol bombs.
No one was injured in the incident early Monday outside the Esphigmenou Monastery at the sanctuary in northern Greece, and no arrests were reported. The bailiffs retreated from the site.
About 100 monks in the 1,000-year-old monastery have been involved in a years-old dispute with the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, over his efforts to improve relations with the Vatican.
The monks have defied court orders to leave the monastery and allow church-appointed replacements to take over the site.
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