The Dragoman’s Testimony
“I swear that I never saw Alikakos with a camera.”
It is interesting to see what was testified under oath, in the context of the lawsuits filed by Archbishops Aristarchos and Isidoros, by the Patriarchate’s dragoman, Archimandrite Matthaios, and an archbishop, Aristoboulos of Madaba, who were called by the plaintiffs to testify.
The position of the dragoman is very important in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. In a relevant doctoral dissertation, we read: “The position of the Elder Arch-Secretary, along with those of the Elder Dragoman, Elder Sacristan, and Elder Chamberlain, are considered the four most honorable administrative positions within the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood.”
It further states:
“He bears responsibility for the order of the ceremonies, especially when these are performed simultaneously by other Christian Communities at the same Shrine.”
This is proven both by the audiovisual material from each year during the Holy Fire ceremony and by the very testimony of Sacristan Isidoros: “He signals me to enter.”
The dragoman is considered a person of absolute trust by the current patriarch and remains in this position for life.
During the Holy Fire ceremony on Holy Saturday, which lasts several hours, we observe that the only moment he supervises with attention is when the sacristan approaches the Holy Sepulchre with the oil lamp in his hands. He opens the door for the sacristan to enter, and he then closes it. Note that while the sacristan is inside the Holy Sepulchre to light the two oil lamps (his own and the red glass one for the guards), the dragoman stands directly in front of the door like a guard. As soon as the sacristan exits, he immediately closes the door again and ties it with a ribbon. But why does he tie the door? Evidently, because no one else, apart from the patriarch, should under any circumstances enter and see what is on the Holy Sepulchre.
Watch the scene clearly at the beginning from the 2020 ceremony, where the church was empty due to the pandemic.
This dragoman, in his statement, testified under oath that I concealed my journalistic identity and then, he says, he sensed that “something was not right” with me, and as further proof, he stated that “I never saw Mr. Alikakos with a camera or any other recording device.” (You can see the document of his sworn statement here)
I present just a few of the photos I took of him with my… invisible Fujifilm X-T3 camera, weighing 849 grams (with the lens), which he swore on his priesthood he did not see.
Finally, the testimony of Archbishop Aristoboulos is less interesting. “With the video, Isidoros’ dental problem was revealed worldwide.” (You can see the document of his sworn statement here)