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A defrocked Greek Orthodox priest was charged on Thursday after he attacked seven bishops and three other people with acid during a disciplinary hearing, the Associated Press reported.
The 37-year-old suspect, whose name was not released, was taken into custody by heavily armed police officers late Wednesday.
The suspect allegedly threw a substance, which has been identified by his lawyer as acid, at the victims following the bishop's announcement at a disciplinary hearing that he would be formally removed from the clergy for alleged misconduct.
The man was removed from the priesthood for what church officials called "ecclesiastical and criminal offenses," which included charges of fraud and illegal possession of drugs. Additionally, the Associated Press reported that church officials said the suspect made threatening posts on social media ahead of the hearing.
The victims were hospitalized with burns, and two remain in serious condition. The arresting officer was also hospitalized with burns.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
Photographs of the scene of the attack in central Athens, shown on state ERT TV, showed bloodstains and acid burns on the walls of the room where the hearing was held and on small desks where the bishops had been seated.
Discarded black robes thrown off by the bishops and attending clergy also had bloodstains and burn holes.
The governing Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church described the attack as "abhorrent and unprecedented," confirming that the suspect had been removed from the priesthood after holding the lower rank of deacon.
The attack was also condemned by Greece's government, President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I who is based in Istanbul, Turkey.
Police have not said what caustic substance was used in the attack but the suspect's lawyer described it as acid when talking to reporters outside a courthouse where the charges were being prepared.
"The suspect ... is a psychiatric patient who is taking strong medication," his lawyer Andreas Theodoropoulos said. "He did not fully comprehend the consequences of his action ... but was responding to a perceived injustice."
