Police recently arrested the father of a family living an “early Christian” community lifestyle in a basic hut on the Peloponnese in a case dubbed the “Amish” of Greece.
The extended family was living in a semi-underground structure with a mud roof, resembling a cave complete with a 30-meter (98-feet) tunnel, and arrested the 45-year-old father for not sending their children to school.
He was taken into custody and his 15-year-old son was located and taken to a juvenile facility under a prosecutor’s order while authorities were looking for the rest of the family not found during a search.
The case has captivated public opinion in Greece. Many argue that as long as the family did not bother anyone, the police should have left it alone to live under its own chosen lifestyle.
The family was living without electricity or running water in a community likened to the lifestyle of the Amish in the United States. The hut was found near the village of Manna in the Corinthia region.
Στο μεταξύ τα κορίτσια φαίνονται πιο φυσιολογικά από τουλάχιστον το 90% των Ελληνίδων που πάνε σχολείο. pic.twitter.com/3r7ZYsDbMf
— GreekGirlPosts (12μελής ομάδα 5 ατόμων) (@greekgirlposts) February 19, 2024
Amish family lived in “deplorable conditions”
Initially, when the police went to the area last Sunday, they found the “Amish” family, originally from Ikaria, living in primitive conditions for the past three years.
When the family members saw the police, they attacked them, with the daughter of the family even hitting a police officer with a wooden bat, causing injury.
During a thorough search of the improvised dwelling and the father’s car, a pellet gun, 102 bullets for a hunting rifle, 81 cartridges, 7 makeshift bows, 20 arrows, 4 knives, an improvised rifle, and an axe were found and confiscated.
The family had three other underage children, one of whom was a one-year-old infant all living amidst the mud in what was described as “deplorable conditions.”
Further investigations led to the discovery, hidden along a rugged path used by the family members in their attempt to escape, of two makeshift firearms with modified one-inch barrels and a military-type M-4 rifle.
Charges were filed against the four arrested individuals—the father, mother, adult daughter, and one underage son—for arson, serious physical injury, threats, disobedience, damage to property, resistance, and weapons offenses.
The family’s father told MEGA TV that they do not send their children to school because they do not consent of the Greek public education system.
He stated, “We are a community of early Christians, following the examples of ancient Russia or the Amish in America, rejecting technological progress and living traditionally, like the first Christians.”
He added, “I call my wife Sister Sebastiani and my son Brother Nikolaos. We are all brothers.” According to him, there are four such communities in Greece.
«Ποτέ δεν μου άρεσε το σχολείο. Ήμουν άσχετος. Για κάποιον λόγο με συμπαθούσαν οι δάσκαλοι κ μου έβαζαν καλούς βαθμούς» λέει στο Μega 1 από τα 6 παιδιά του 46χρονου που συνελήφθη. Εδώ και τέσσερα χρόνια ζει με την οικογένειά.
Telegram: https://t.co/Ddt1qk8ww1#Παλαιοχριστιανους pic.twitter.com/FMz6QUy8XL
— Καθίκι (@KYTKYTKYTKYTKYT) February 20, 2024
He claimed that the weapons found in his possession were not weapons but “artifacts.”
“In ancient Greece, bows were considered shameful; ancient Greeks had spears,” he explained. “During Roman times, because we are Romioi, which means not Greeks, but Romans, the bow came to Byzantium.”
“Therefore, we have the bow in our emblem, which differentiates us from the Greeks,” added the 45-year-old. “It is an artifact, we make it traditionally, and we do not treat it as a weapon; it is a sign of our civilization.”
Father of “early Christian-Amish” family in Greece was working remotely
Interior Minister Niki Kerameos requested an investigation into the employment status of the 45-year-old father.
“I have requested that relevant authorities conduct an inquiry to determine the employment status, and under what capacity, the 45-year-old father of the ‘early Christian’ family in Corinthia is serving in the Eretria Municipality on the island of Evia,” stated Kerameos in Parliament on Monday.
According to the mayor of Eretria-Amarynthos, Nikolaos Gournis, the 45-year-old, has been working remotely in recent years.
Since the 2020 pandemic, “he has been providing remote services, as instructed by the previous administration,” Gournis said. “He has been completing the tasks assigned to him,” he added.
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