A criminal appeals court adjourned a trial for a controversial series of monastery land swaps to March 23. The reason for the adjournment was the fact that the courtroom wasn’t not large enough to accommodate the 13 defendants accused in the case, including Vatopedi Monastery Abbot Ephraim and chief monk Arsenios.

Prosecutors claim 234 million euros that relate to the true value of the 76 properties that the Greek state exchanged for real estate surrounding Lake Vistonida between 2006 and 2008, while the indictment indicates that their value – based on the contract prices is 69.4 million euros. The monastery claimed that rights to the lake-side property is based on a land grant from a Byzantine emperor way back in 1080.