Greek church dignitary goes to jail

30 June 2008 14:09 Source: FoNet

ATHENS -- For the first time in the history of the Greek Orthodox Church an archiereus will serve several years in prison.

Metropolitan Panteleimon Bezenitis, who was earlier relieved of his duties, has been sentenced to six years after being tried and found guilty on fraud charges.

The VIA religious news agency also said that the verdict had been confirmed by a higher instance court.

Bezenitis used his position to illegally gain some USD 200,000 from a monastery's funds.

The investigation also showed that he had over EUR 1mn in his bank account. The origin of this money could not be determined.

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