Over a period of ten years, more than 50 so-called religious weddings in Varympompi, Attica have been conducted by fake priests.
Years have passed and now with some couples separating and going their own way, they have filed for divorce only to discover that they were in fact not properly married in the eyes of God.
The three priests who officiated these weddings were not part of the Greek Orthodox Church, with one of the priests being dismissed from his duties after being charged with fraud.
Metropolitan Bishop of the area Athinagoras told Greek newspaper Eleftheros Tipos, "the problem is referring to more than 50 weddings conducted before 2010." He added that when he took office at the time, he changed the regulation and banned priests who were not part of his metropolis.
The couples had registered their marriage at the relevant municipalities, however, their marriage was non-existent to the Greek Orthodox Church.
Those who were married in that area during the specific time period will need to validate their marriage the judicial way, in order for their commitment to be united in front of the state and the Church.
It is unclear if the priests also conducted ceremonies in other areas.
