I believe these are the schismatic and heretical monks who have broken canon law and are in direct definance of their Bishop the Ecumenical Patriarch:
Wikipedia Article
Esphigmenou has been involved in a decades long dispute with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the 19 other Athonite monasteries, as well as the Church of Greece and other mainstream Orthodox churches and institutions.
The monastic community of Mount Athos is under the direct spiritual jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch and all Athonite monks are canonically required to commemorate (Greek: να μνημονεύουν) the Patriarch. However, since the 1970's Esphigmenou has become the stronghold for the staunchly conservative Greek Old Calendarists who accuse the Patriarchate of being ecumenist and refuse to commemorate the Patriarch. These accusations stem from the conciliatory approach that has been adopted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate towards the Roman Catholic Church, as manifested by meetings of the Ecumenical Patriarch with the Pope, such as the 2006 papal visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.
The monks of the monastery have broken all spiritual ties with the rest of the monastic community and do not participate in the common meetings at Karyes, the administrative center of Athos. The Esphigmenites are generally regarded as zealots by the rest of the Athonite community, while they regard themselves as "Genuine Orthodox Christians" or "Orthodox Christians in Resistance", seeing other Athonites as ecumenist heretics, while using as their motto the phrase Orthodoxy or Death.
The relationship between the Esphigmenites and the Ecumenical Patriarchate have greatly deteriorated since 2002, when Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople declared them as being in schism with the Orthodox Church.[1] Since the Constitution of Greece prohibits schismatics from dwelling in Athos, the Esphigmenites were ordered by a Thessaloniki court to leave the monastery. However they refused to comply, even when the Greek Supreme Court ordered their eviction. [2]
The Ecumenical Patriarch and the rest of the Athonite community reacted by declaring the Esphigmenites illegal, and sanctioned the formation of a new brotherhood, that recognizes the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate. Esphigmenou again gained global attention in December 2006 when members of the new brotherhood tried to force their way into the monastery's offices in Karyes. The Esphigmenou monks in the building attempted to defend themselves from the sledge-hammer wielding attakers who had smashed the front door of the building,[3] repelling the intruders with the only things they had to defend themselves with - crowbars and fire extinguishers. [4] In the ensuing clashes seven monks were severely injured.[5]
In January 2007, the District Attorney of Thessaloniki pressed charges against the Esphigmenou squatters for embezzlement of over 150.000 euros and estate belonging to the monastery. [6]
The BBC interviewed the Greek Governor of Mt Athos, George Dalacouras, during which the charges against the monks were brought into question as being poliically motivated and another pressure tactic to force the monks out. [7]
So if they and you are in schisim who is the real heretic?
