Archimandrite Gregory Wendt was a priest in the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). He was the abbot of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos Monastery in Weaverville, North Carolina. The clergyman was received into the OCA on October 28, 2003. A copy of the OCA Vital Statistics for that year is linked above.
Prior to his reception into the OCA, Archimandriate Wendt was the abbot of a Byzantine Catholic monastery and the principal of a private academy in Miami, Florida. Both were called Holy Cross, and were a part of the Eparchy of Passaic.
In March of 2001 a novice monk and student at the academy, Mykhaylo Kofel, brutally murdered a nun. During the investigation into the murder, the young man, who had been brought from the Ukraine to Miami at the age of 14, accused Archimandrite Wendt and his second in command, Igumen Damian Gibault, of sexually abusing him. Mykhavlo’s statement to law enforcement, which is a matter of public record, is linked above. The two clerics have steadfastly denied the allegations, and no charges were ever filed against them. In addition, the other novices testified that they were not abused, and that they did not observe Mykhavlo being abused.
Archimandrite Wendt, Igumen Gibault, and another monastic at the Weaverville monastery, Hieromonk Nicholas Terenta, were released by the OCA to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on October 25, 2011. However, this release was not announced until February of 2012. There is a link to the OCA Pastoral Changes above.