Nikodim Tsarknias

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Archimandrite Nikodim Tsarknias (Greek: Νικόδημος Τσαρκνιάς, born Νικόλαος Τσαρκνιάς, Macedonian: Никодим Царкњас) is an ethnic Macedonian Orthodox Christian monk who originates from Greek Macedonia. In 1973 he was an ordained as a member of the Greek Orthodox Church. In 1991 he was expelled from the Church of Greece.

The reasons for his expulsion are disputed. The Church of Greece accused him of serious ethical misconduct, and after a decision of the Holy Synod he was brought to ecclesiastical justice. He was found guilty by both the first-instance court and the ecclesiastical court of appeals,^[1] and he was then dismissed on March 11, 1992.

According to Tsarknias and ethnic Macedonian sources, when the Archimandrite was personal secretary to the Florina diocese's bishop, he opposed what he saw as an attempt by the Bishop to eradicate ethnic Macedonian religious customs. It is argued that, in 1991, after declaring his ethnic Macedonian identity and communicating with parishioners in the Macedonian language he was dismissed from his ecclesiastical post in the diocese of Florina; the Church of Greece argues, however, that Tsarknias declared his ethnic Macedonian identity only after the accusations for ethical misconduct were brought against him.^[1] Tsarknias assumed the same post in the diocese of Edessa but was dismissed there for the same reasons.^{[citation needed]}

Following his expulsion from the Greek Orthodox Church, he became an ordained member of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. He established a Macedonian Orthodox Church in the town of Aridaia, Sveta Zlata Meglenska, where he conducts mass in the Macedonian language every sunday^[2]. On May 10, 1994 Amnesty International wrote to the Greek government expressing concern for safety of the Archimandrite and his sister, Maria.^{[citation needed]}

The Archimandrite has claimed that he has been harassed due to his ethnic Macedonian identity. His house has been stoned and attacked numerous times since he confessed to his ethnic identity in 1991^[3]. He recently featured on a Greek television program^[4] where he was accused of being a liar and called a "Skopjan".^[5] During the course of the interview another priest telephoned the station and accused him of being a "terrorist" and "satanist".^[6] He has been the subject of numerous court cases, the latest being over the establishment of the Macedonian Church in Aridea.^[7] He was sentenced in May 2004 to three months in Prison on the charges of establishing and operating a church without authorization. In November 2006 he appealed this decision to the European Court of Human Rights.^[8]