Pilgrimage tourism is destroying Mount Athos.

July 26, 2026

 

 

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN HAS FALLEN! MASSIVE SCANDAL INVOLVING ENTRY PERMITS FOR ROMANIANS, ARRESTS, MONK-DEALERS, ILLEGAL TOUR GUIDES, CAR RENTALS AT €300 PER DAY, AND PRAYER ROPES MADE IN CHINA

Revelatory information and extremely serious allegations, brought to light today by Voicenews, lay bare the tragic state into which Mount Athos has fallen.

The former absolute bastion of Orthodoxy, compunction, and prayer is being transformed day by day into a field of unchecked commercialization and illicit enrichment.

The traditional pilgrim, who comes with reverence to be received as a guest at some monastic cell or to pray at a monastery, is being replaced by an industrialized model of “pilgrimage tourism.” It is an uncontrolled black-money machine, in which unscrupulous middlemen and aspiring “dealers” enrich themselves at the expense of the faithful.

According to our exclusive information, the phenomenon has assumed alarming proportions, particularly since pilgrimages to the Holy Land ceased because of the war. Hordes of foreign pilgrims, mainly from Romania, are flooding the Athonite polity through illegal “tour guides.”

The cost of a four-day guided-tour “package” reaches €700 per person! At the same time, the official cost of issuing a simple entry permit amounts to only €25. This artificially inflated demand and the occupation of the available places by organized groups have resulted in the ordinary Greek pilgrim being unable to find even a single place in order to visit the Holy Mountain.

The figures being revealed concerning the number of arrivals and the sums of money changing hands are staggering. During the eight peak months of the year (August, September, October, November, February, March, April, and May), it is estimated that between 500 and 1,000 people enter each day through the Pilgrims’ Office. With an average of 700 people per day, the illicit profits of the network of tour guides and middlemen reach the inconceivable sum of €140,000 per day!

We are talking about millions of euros in cash—undeclared, black money—changing hands on a daily basis!

At the same time, the allegations reveal an extensive illicit trade surrounding the issuance of entry permits. Illegal middlemen and “tour guides” are reportedly paying bribes of €50 and €100 under the table in order to secure the coveted invitations for entry.

The rampant abuses reach their peak within the peninsula itself, where a full-fledged… rent-a-car business is now operating! Certain monks, in cooperation with private individuals, make monastery vehicles available, renting them out for €300 per day to transport the groups.

At the same time, the shops of the monasteries and monastic cells are filling up with imported, counterfeit Chinese “handicrafts,” purchased in bulk from foreign platforms such as Alibaba and Temu and sold to unsuspecting tourists as authentic Athonite products!

The web of illegality appears to be beginning to unravel following the rapid developments and investigations surrounding the head of the Pilgrims’ Office in Ouranoupoli, Vasilis G. Reports speak of the systematic exploitation of the strict limits imposed on entry permits for foreigners (300 per month for each monastery, 20 for each monastic cell, and 50 for each skete). When foreign pilgrims became stranded because the limits had been exceeded and missed the boat departures, they were deliberately channeled into particular private lodgings in the area at a cost of €100 per night, as well as into particular restaurants—naturally, not without profit for the middlemen…

Unavoidable Questions: Who Is Responsible for the Fall?

In the face of this unprecedented corruption, Voicenews poses the questions directly and demands immediate answers:

The Holy Epistasia: Is it aware of the hundreds of illegal tour guides roaming unchecked through the monasteries, the €140,000 in black money changing hands each day, and the illegal rental of vehicles for €300 per day? If it knows all this, why does it tolerate the transformation of Mount Athos into a tourist business center?

The Civil Administration of Mount Athos: Where are state oversight and the enforcement of the law? How can the unchecked activity of criminal networks, tax evasion, and the defrauding of thousands of faithful be justified?

The Mitsotakis Government: Do the Ministry of Citizen Protection and the competent authorities know exactly what is happening in the Athonite polity? Why does the state tolerate the complete discrediting of the institutions, allowing criminal networks to operate unchecked under the gaze of the state apparatus?

The fall of Mount Athos is no longer merely spiritual, but institutional as well. The time for tolerance is over. Immediate intervention by the judiciary and a complete cleansing are required now!

SAVE THE LAST BASTION OF ORTHODOXY!

 

Greek source: https://aktines.blogspot.com/2026/07/blog-post_535.html