Abbot Nektarios allegedly used his mobile phone to monitor footage from cameras he had instructed to be installed, which also recorded audio, leading to a breach of worshippers’ data. This was possibly what the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, Eirini Loizidou Nicolaidou, referenced when she mentioned criminal offences.
In addition to the abbot, Archimandrite Porphyrios and Varnavas also had access to the camera footage and audio through a special application installed on their mobile phones.
In January this year, Nektarios asked a technician to delete all the recorded data up to that point.
Police investigations revealed the following details about the case involving the video and audio recording cameras:
On September 1, 2023, several months after initially installing cameras that recorded only video for monastery security, Abbot Nektarios requested the same company to install three additional cameras inside the monastery offices.
He specifically asked the technician to ensure that the new cameras recorded both video and audio, and he paid for the installation in cash. Nektarios was aware that the other two monks also had access to the surveillance system.
According to testimony, on December 27, 2023, the abbot asked a technician to delete the data recorded on the surveillance system in his office.
The technician deleted the data from the hard drives on the same day, erasing all stored data up to that date.
Additionally, on January 4, 2024, Nektarios informed the technician that Archimandrite Varnavas had permanently left the monastery and requested a change of access codes. From 7 January 2024, only Porphyrios and Nektarios had access to the surveillance system.
In mid-January 2024, Nektarios instructed the technician to stop the audio recording from the three cameras without providing a reason, which was carried out.
Furthermore, in January 2024, Nektarios asked the technician to remove the three cameras that recorded audio. Due to a heavy workload, the technician did not respond immediately but disconnected the cameras on 3 March after a reminder from the abbot.
For context, before the installation of Abbot Nektarios’s “personal” cameras, approximately 35-37 cameras had been installed in the Monastery of Saint Habakkuk, recording only video for the protection of the monastery’s property and relics.
Two of the initial cameras, which recorded video only, were placed at the tomb of Saint Habakkuk, two in the church, four in the bookstore, and one in the Archontariki (reception area).
The remaining cameras were installed around the perimeter of the monastery buildings, including the cells, church, tomb, Archontariki, and offices.
