A violent clash at a monastic sanctuary on Greece's Mount Athos has left an Orthodox Christian monk in hospital, reigniting a decades-old religious dispute.
The monk, transferred from the isolated monastic community to Thessaloniki, is being treated for cuts and bruises to his face and upper body, according to hospital officials.
The incident underscores the ongoing tensions surrounding the long-standing disagreements in the region and is tied to a decades-old religious dispute.
Hospital officials said the monk is being treated in Thessaloniki for cuts and bruises to his face and upper body, after being transferred from Mount Athos, located about 175 kilometres (110 miles) to the east.
Mount Athos is a self-governed monastic territory in Greece, home to centuries-old monasteries where monks live in devotion to prayer and spiritual life.
Women are banned from entering the area.
A map of Mount Athos:
At the centre of the ongoing conflict is Esphigmenou Monastery, whose brotherhood continues to defy court and church orders to vacate the premises.
They refuse to recognise authority over them by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the spiritual home of the Eastern Orthodox Church based in Istanbul, Turkey.
This religious rift has led to repeated violent clashes, legal battles, and supply blockades between members of the defiant brotherhood and church-appointed replacements.
The controversy, which began in the early 1970s, was compounded by court decisions against the rebel monks, who are sustained by donations from outside groups of supporters.
According to monastic authorities, the latest incident occurred late Thursday, when a monk from the officially recognised brotherhood was attacked by rivals wielding gardening tools during routine groundskeeping work at an administrative building.
Father Bartholomew, abbot of the new brotherhood, said that the young monk sustained facial and rib injuries from punches and blows with a wooden object.
He added that a description of the alleged attacker was provided to police and that a Thessaloniki public prosecutor had also been formally notified.
“What is the point of having these decisions (to expel the monks) if they are not enforced? They must be implemented,” Father Bartholomew said.
In an online statement, the breakaway brotherhood denied the accusations.
“It is a well-known tactic for these perpetrators to play the victims," it said. "They feigned injury in a performance worthy of an acting class.”
Crete earthquake live: Aftershocks continue after 6.1 quake, tourist sites closed
The science behind Europe’s rising earthquake risk
Crete earthquake mapped: Where the magnitude 6.1 quake was most intense
Stock markets plunge after Trump threatens 50% tax on EU goods
Teacher suspended after holding minute’s silence for Gaza victims
100 years after Hitler’s infamous Games, the Olympics could return to Berlin
