Wild priest douses clergy with ‘sulphuric acid like ‘holy water’ at disciplinary hearing

An Orthodox priest doused 10 people with suspected sulphuric acid during a hearing over his drug use.

The priest was facing a disciplinary hearing for hiding cocaine under his cassock when the incident happened and has now been arrested.

The 37-year-old, named in local media as Theofylaktos Kombos, is said to have pulled out two bottles of suspected sulphuric acid he purchased online.

Witnesses say he ‘flung it like holy water’ at the victims.

It’s then reported he attacked bishops, synod lawyers, and security guards in the hearing while accusing the church of hypocrisy for charging him.

Witnesses at the scene say each bottle of liquid was around two litres in size.

By the time guards and police restrained him, at least 10 people had been hurt – including seven bishops.

Three bishops remained in hospital overnight, reports local media, awaiting treatment for eye injuries and severe burns.

One witness reported Kombos didn’t directly target anyone but instead was randomly ‘flinging it like holy water’.

They say it likely prevented more serious injuries.

The chaotic scenes, which have shocked Greece, broke out as senior bishops met for a disciplinary hearing in the Petraki Monastery in Athens, reports Vice.

They met to discuss the fate of the priest, who stood accused of possessing 1.8grams of cocaine in June 2018, while in the village of Alexandreia in Imathia province.

At the time of his apprehension, Kombos admitted to drug possession for personal use.

It’s also said he frequently clashed with other church members over financial irregularities.

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Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece’s Prime Minister, offered assistance to church officials following the attack.

The church is also facing allegations that a sect of runaway monks who seized control of monasteries in Mt Athos, helped the second-in-command of a neo-Nazi group, Golden Dawn, escape a 14-year jail sentence.

It’s alleged the monks aided the convict after they disappeared while released on bail.

It comes after news of a separate case where a monk was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography on a church laptop, within the Agrinio region.