The cohabitation and involvement of a third person who “influenced the administration” of the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine of Sinai constituted the main argument of the monks who revolted against Archbishop Damianos, as mentioned in their letter.
The memorandum referred to Ms. A.K., who allegedly had access to monastery files and records, resulting in her being considered to influence the Archbishop’s decisions.
The woman who was presented as the “central figure” behind the Archbishop’s choices has spoken for the first time. Through a letter to orthodoxia.info, Katerina Spyropoulou gives her own response, rejecting what is attributed to her.
The 70-year-old retired philologist and mother of four children speaks of “gossip swamp,” “cannibalism” and “anthropophagy.” As she notes, she was forced to position herself publicly for the sake of her children, who – as she maintains – were also unjustly targeted. In her letter she emphasizes that her devotion to Archbishop Damianos stems from the spiritual support he offered her during the difficult period of her daughter Christina’s illness, who eventually passed away.
In this context she includes her personal presence alongside the Archbishop for more than six months, when he was injured in an accident at the monastery and required hospitalization in Egyptian hospitals. As she emphasizes, she is “fought against as a mother, as a mother of many children, as a woman, as a fighter” because she dedicated the last years of her life to supporting her spiritual father.
Closing her letter, Katerina Spyropoulou warns that she will take legal action against those who slandered her, noting that any amounts that may arise from legal actions will be donated to the Holy Monastery of Sinai.
Katerina Spyropoulou’s letter
I AM THE “AK” or “AS”
Lately the fire of the “coup” monks of Sinai has been concentrated on my person with the ultimate goal of harming the revered person of Archbishop of Sinai Mr. Damianos. I am obliged to speak for myself, because using my person as a pretext, they attack Archbishop of Sinai Mr. Damianos.
I am therefore Katerina Spyropoulou who in recent days has become the object of slander and abuse without my will. Until now I endured with great humility so as not to stir up the gossip swamp set up by those who appear to be Orthodox monks. But after all this anthropophagy and cannibalism, I owe it to my children who have also been falsely abused, to speak, to testify my truth.
I think it’s important to emphasize that I am in my seventieth year of age. I myself am a philologist and retired teacher (according to others illiterate!) having taught for 30 years in secondary education. I also taught in schools abroad, in Sydney, Australia and in Nuremberg, Germany. I also attended the Theological School of Athens until the 4th year. I didn’t get a degree for reasons you will understand below.
I had 4 children, two boys and 2 girls whom I raised with much love and devotion, providing them with my former husband with every material and spiritual provision. All my children hold degrees and doctoral or postgraduate studies. I am grandmother to a wonderful granddaughter. The only thing in my life I am proud of is my children, because they became good and virtuous people, with love for their fellow human beings. But my greatest reward and my pride and my hope is my good Christina who is now in God’s embrace and became my own angel who protects me from up there. Christina lived 42 years with a great cross as she suffered from a rare disease, Tuberous Sclerosis, which caused physical and mental disability. She had five open brain surgeries with all the consequences and was confined paraplegic to a wheelchair. I served her uncomplainingly with patience, care and much love and affection. And the only little word she said consciously when she saw me and felt me beside her during her painful life was “ma-ma” and my own eyes would tear up and my soul would break. Thus in practice I was taught and acquired nursing knowledge.
In this constant difficulty of my life, the comforting and strengthening word of my spiritual father Mr. Damianos helped, so that I could endure and carry my cross with courage, boldness and hope.
I have known Sinai since January 1978 when it was under Israeli occupation and the Bedouins lived in tents and essentially there were no paved roads. I was fascinated by the beauty of the granite landscape but also by the spirituality of the place.
In 2018 our spiritual father had a serious accident in the four-meter deep shaft of the small elevator inside the monastery due to lack of foresight in its construction by some monk. I felt that the time had come to repay his benefaction like a benefited child to his father. I stayed for his care for 6 months, first at the El-Galaa military hospital in the Intensive Care Unit as allowed by the Egyptian doctors because they saw my knowledge regarding the nursing of a polytrauma patient and his psychological support in his terrible pains. Septicemia was prevented. Another two months in a hospital room where he received special treatment on his left leg so they wouldn’t cut it and skin grafting was done. Another two months at the Cairo Dependency with frequent hospital visits for changes. The result was that he emerged from this adventure and is in better health condition than before according to the confession of those who saw him.
I am a Greek Christian mother of many children and I address every woman and mother and every reasonable person. I should emphasize that our Lord Jesus Christ protected and loved women. He did not distinguish man from woman. I am fought against as a mother, as a mother of many children, as a woman, as a fighter, as someone devoted to high ideals because I dedicated my last years to helping my spiritual father.
I reserve my legal rights against those who slandered me in writing and reproduced false news and slanders against my person and the harmful consequence to my reputation and dignity. The amounts that will come from the legal appeals will be given to the Holy Monastery of Sinai.
Forgive me brothers that I was used in your scandal.
Katerina Spyropoulou
