Paphos Criminal Court on Wednesday rejected a bail application by a 51-year-old monk accused of attempted murder at Agios Neophytos Monastery, ordering him to remain in custody because of the seriousness of the charges.
The court set 26 October as the date for the trial to resume. The case had been referred to it by Paphos District Court.
The monk is accused of the attempted murder of a 53-year-old monastery worker and a 27-year-old monk. The two had tried to stop him striking the monastery’s abbot with a knife he was holding, but were themselves struck before he was disarmed and arrested by police.
According to the charge sheet, during the incident inside the monastery he attacked the 53-year-old, a maintenance worker, with a sharp object, seriously injuring him. He also attacked a novice monk, who suffered a lighter injury to the hand.
The attacks were preceded by an attempt by the accused to attack the abbot, after the abbot told him to hand over the keys to the cell he lived in and leave it.
The monk has been in custody since the incident early on the morning of 7 August.
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