Church trespass nets parishioner supervision

A parishioner of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was sentenced today to six months of court supervision for trespassing at the Oak Lawn church he’d been banned from.

Emanuel Papadopoulos, 52, was arrested in February 2008 at the church while attending a service commemorating his dead aunt. He had been banned in August 2007 by the Rev. John Artemas, after a feud with the pastor over the church’s finances.

He could have been sentenced to a year in jail.

Cook County Judge Colleen Ann Hyland said she chose the minimal sentence, citing the unusual circumstances of the trespassing case and Papadopoulos’ ”exemplary background.”

”It seems this was an aberration in the life of Mr. Papadopoulos,” she said.

He also will have to pay $230 in court fees and may not return to St. Nicholas until given written permission from the church.

A feud developed at the 1,200-member church in 2005 after a small group of parishioners, including Papadopoulos, asked a former pastor to see the parish’s financial statements, suspecting him of mishandling the money.

Since then, that priest was transferred to another church, lawsuits were filed, a priest was accused of hitting another parishioner and Papadopoulos was arrested.

Artemas, who attended the sentencing ”to show my support for Mr. Papadopoulos,” said he was ready to reconcile ”under the right circumstances.”

A relieved-looking Papadopoulos said he also hoped the ”whole situation could reconcile.” He has been attending services at other churches.

Lauren FitzPatrick can be reached at lfitzpatrick@southtownstar.com or (708) 802-8832.