Following yesterday's decision by the Council of State, A long-running legal dispute is finally coming to an end which began in 2017, regarding the administration and management of the sacred pilgrimage sites of Kythira. The Church of Greece and the Holy Metropolis of Kythira and Antikythira had filed appeals calling for changes to the long-standing management framework, which recognizes the administration of pilgrimage sites as the responsibility of the Municipality and is managed exclusively by the Local Property Committee.
In a joint statement, the The Mayor of Kythira, Mr. Efstratios Charchalakis, and the Chairman of the Local Property Committee, Mr. Evangelos Venardos, they pointed out that «Today marked the definitive end of the seven-year legal battle… from which the local Church emerges a double loser, both substantively and morally.». In the statement, they condemn the actions of the Metropolis, describing the appeals as «unjustified and provocative» and emphasize that the administrative framework governing the Holy Pilgrimage Sites, which has been in place for centuries, has been reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.
By his decision Council of State, the management regime remains unchanged, confirming that The holy shrines are the property of the municipality, and their management is the exclusive responsibility of the Local Property Committee. At the same time, they pointed out that transparency in the management of revenue from pilgrimages is ensured through public accounting laws.
The case leaves behind a period of legal costs and division, while the two men express the hope that this will be the last time the people of Kythira are divided in this way. Below is the statement from the Mayor and the President of the EEPKA.
JOINT STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR OF KYTHIRA AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE LOCAL PROPERTY COMMITTEE
Kythira, October 10, 2024
Kytherians and Kytherians,
Today marked the definitive end of the seven-year legal dispute over the administration and management of the Holy Pilgrimage Sites of Kythira, which began in 2017 with the unfounded and provocative appeals filed by the Metropolis of Kythira and the Church of Greece before the Council of State.
Specifically, in 2017, both the Holy Metropolis of Kythira and Antikythira and the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece filed appeals with the Supreme Court of Cassation essentially seeking to alter the centuries-old system of administration and management of the Holy Pilgrimage Sites of Kythira, under which these sites constitute the common property of the people of Kythira (jus patronato publico), they are the absolute property of the Communities of Kythira and, currently, the Municipality of Kythira, and their administration and management belong exclusively to the Committee for Local Property of Kythira and Antikythira. The Church attempted to overturn these indisputable historical and legal facts, just as it had attempted to do both in 1985 (under Metropolitan Iakovos) and in 2000 (under Metropolitan Cyril), though without success. In particular, the 1956 decision of the Council of State from 1986 (Section C) definitively ruled that Presidential Decree 272/85 is lawful and constitutional, thereby closing the matter, which the current Metropolitan has unjustifiably reopened, thereby dividing the people of Kythira.
It is truly a shame that a Metropolitan who has served in Kythira for 20 years—and who is distinguished by his gifts and virtues—still refuses to accept a historical, legal, and religious status that has existed for centuries—a status that only the fascist, collaborationist occupation government of Ioannis Rallis attempted to overturn through Article 15 of Law 514/August 17, 1943, when, in a coup d’état and in a fascist manner, it appointed the incumbent Metropolitan of Kythira as President of the Domestic Property Administration, instead of the Justice of the Peace or the relevant Financial Commissioner, as had been the case until then. This fascist provision was repealed by Article 84 of Law 1416/84 and Presidential Decree 272/85, which, through the vigorous intervention of constitutional scholar Mr. G. Kasimatis, restored popular administration, normalcy, and democratic order to the institution.
This entire legal dispute, this entire division of the community, could have been avoided if, in 2017, the Metropolitan of Kythira had heeded the dozens of exhortations and appeals from organizations, associations, and citizens, and had not filed a lawsuit against the institution that constitutes the very essence of Kythira’s local government. Letters and pleas from respected Kythirians who have contributed immensely to Kythira were tossed into the trash, and an unimaginable stubbornness prevailed, leading to a legal battle lasting seven full years, from which the local Church emerges a double loser: both substantively and morally, while the Municipality and the Local Property Authority were forced to incur legal expenses amounting to thousands of euros to address an issue that had been legally resolved as far back as 1986, costs that will, of course, be legally claimed.
We hope that both those who signed the appeals and—more importantly—those who prompted them by exerting pressure, expressing supposedly well-founded legal and historical views, etc. (and in fact, recently they seemed to be gloating over their supposed impending victory!) will realize the magnitude of their mistake. The judgment of the people of Kythira is already very harsh on all of them. It is also severe for those of their institutional representatives who have systematically avoided, up to this day, taking a public, clear, transparent, and unambiguous stance on this specific issue. History records and judges each of us for our stance.
The Council of State rejected the Church’s appeals and upheld the interventions filed by the Municipality and the Local Community. Therefore, the decision is final and IRREVOKABLE:
1. The sacred pilgrimage sites of Kythira and all their movable and immovable property were and remain the PROPERTY of the Municipality of Kythira.
2. The administration and management of all matters concerning the Holy Pilgrimage Sites fall EXCLUSIVELY under the jurisdiction of the Local Property Committee.
3. The funds collected from the offering boxes at the Holy Pilgrimage Sites constitute PUBLIC REVENUE and are spent in accordance with PUBLIC ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES and with absolute transparency (Law 4412, Transparency, etc.) and not as funds belonging to a mere church where the auditor (the Church) is the same as the auditee (the Church), without the slightest disclosure or public scrutiny. The funds of the Holy Pilgrimage Sites are allocated exclusively to the Pilgrimage Sites and NOWHERE else.
4. Matters of Divine Worship (and ONLY those) fall under the responsibility of the two Ecclesiastical Councils, presided over by the respective Metropolitan, and he has never been interfered with or hindered by anyone in the exercise of these liturgical and pastoral responsibilities.
5. Both Article 84 of Law 1416/84 and Presidential Decree 272/85, as amended and currently in force, are LEGAL and CONSTITUTIONAL matters that we will not allow to be challenged again by anyone, regardless of their public office or position.
6. The «Operating Regulations» of the two Holy Pilgrimage Sites, which were adopted by the Holy Synod without proper procedure «Operating Regulations» for the two Holy Pilgrimage Sites, the process by which they were adopted circumvented every notion of democracy and consultation (we “discovered” them by chance at the National Printing Office without the Municipality or the Committee having been informed in the slightest!), are rendered meaningless, unenforceable, and unlawful, since the Council of State did not alter the provisions currently in force in any way, nor did it take them into account.
7. Panagia Myrtidiotissa and Agia Moni were, are, and will always be SACRED PLACES OF PILGRIMAGE, not monasteries.
Women and men of Tsirigota,
The Municipality and the Committee will continue to work for the benefit of the Local Heritage and for the advancement and enhancement of the Sacred Pilgrimage Sites of Kythira, with a strong sense of responsibility and duty, absolute transparency and legality, and above all, with respect for the distinct role of the local Metropolitan, as defined by the legislature and as has now—once again—been confirmed by the Council of State.
In closing, we would like to extend our warmest thanks to the professors of public law at the Law School of the University of Athens, Mr. Spyridon Vlachopoulos and Mr. Panos Lazaratos, who were impeccable in their arguments before the Supreme Court of Cassation; the State’s Legal Representatives from 2017 to the present; the Kythirian lawyers who supported the entire process from the outset and offered valuable advice and insights, the elected officials of local government and the local municipal administrations from 2017 to the present who took a clear and unambiguous stance, without hiding behind political, personal, or familial concerns, and all the residents of Tsirigo who expressed their anxiety to us daily regarding the progress of the case, as well as their sadness and disappointment toward those who provoked an unwarranted and baseless legal dispute that should never have begun in the first place.
As of today, Kythira and its institutions are much stronger!
We hope this will be the last time that certain people divide the people of Kythira in this way.-
THE MAYOR
EUSTRATIOS ΧΑΡΧΑLAKIS
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE EEPKA
EVANGELOS VENARDOS
