Greek police arrested a Russian monk staying on Mount Athos in northern Greece after it was revealed he had outstayed a two-month visa he was issued upon entry into Greece by three years.

The monk, who had been living in the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon on the “Holy Mountain”—as Mount Athos is known, located in the easternmost peninsula of Chalkidiki in northern Greece—was arrested at Makedonia Airport before boarding a flight to Moscow.

After checking his boarding documents, officers ascertained his two-month visa, issued in 2022, had long expired, leading to his arrest.

According to the police report, the monk had entered Greece in 2022 and travelled to the monastic community in Athos, where he lived for the next 3 years without renewing his visa.

“I intended to return to my homeland in 2022, but couldn’t find a ticket. I had been living all these years at the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon, and now I want to go back…,” the monk said during his testimony, claiming he was unaware of the offense he was accused of. “I thought I would just have to pay a fine,” he added.

Mount Athos is a semi-independent administrative region governed by twenty monasteries and is considered the spiritual heart of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for over 300 million believers globally. Pilgrims are issued a special document called “Diamonitirion” upon crossing into the region.

Apart from Greek monasteries, the monastic community also hosts monasteries from other countries, such as Russia, Bulgaria, and Romania, and serves as a spiritual retreat for nearly 2,000 Orthodox Christian monks. It holds the status of a UNESCO World Heritage site, and women are forbidden entry. Many a celebrity and politician has visited Athos, the most recent of whom was Hollywood megastar and director Mel Gibson.

The Thessaloniki Single-Member Misdemeanor Court, where his case was heard, found him guilty under the new law on illegal residence and sentenced him to two years in prison and a €5,000 fine, with no suspension or conversion of the sentence.

However, according to the law, the sentence is not enforced if the convicted person voluntarily agrees to return to their country of origin. The monk stated that this had already been his intention—to repatriate.