Mariam Soulakiotis

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Mariam Soulakiotis
Bornc. 1883 (1883)
Keratea, Greece
Died(1954-11-23)23 November 1954[1]
Averoff Prison, Greece
Details
Victims27[2]

Mother Superior Mariam Soulakiotis (c. 1883 – 23 November 1954;[2][1][3][4] Greek: Μαριάμ Σουλακιώτη), also known as Mariam Soulakiotou (Μαριάμ Σουλακιώτου)[5] and in the press by the moniker The Woman Rasputin (Η γυναίκα Ρασπούτιν),[1] was a Greek Old Calendarist abbess and convicted serial killer active between 1939 and 1951.[6][7] Greek authorities indicted Soulakiotis in February 1951 on charges including homicide, fraud, forgery of wills, blackmail and torture.[8] Sentenced to life in 1952, Soulakiotis died in  [el] in 1954.[3][6]

Soulakiotis was alleged to have committed her crimes in the Peukovounogiatrissas Monastery (Μονή Παναγίας Πευκοβουνογιατρίσσης) near Keratea, Greece. As of 2019, the monastery remains open and still has members who believe she was innocent and venerate her as a saint.[9][10]

Religious life[]

Soulakiotis was an avid Old Calendarist and a follower of the Matthewite sect, which the mainstream Greek Orthodox Church considers to be in schism.[11] She, together with Archbishop and hieromonk Matthew (Karpathakis) of Besthena, founded the monastery in 1927. After the death of Abp. Matthew, Soulakiotis succeeded him as abbot.[3]

Crimes[]

Soulakiotis' alleged modus operandi was to encourage wealthy women to join the convent, and then torture them until they donated their fortunes to the monastery;[6] once the money was donated, Soulakiotis would embezzle it and in some cases kill the donor.[3] Reuters reported that at the time of her arrest she had amassed three hundred properties across Greece this way along with "gold and jewels worth thousands of pounds."[1]

Soulakiotis also demanded strict adherence to ascetic practices among those in the convent, which police alleged led to the unnecessary deaths of 150 children from tuberculosis.[4] Victims of Soulakiotis' administration of the monastery also variously accuse her of torturing them, starving them, falsely imprisoning them, and beating them.[12][13] Soulakiotis denied all the charges against her until she died, terming them «κατασκευάσματα του σατανά» ("Satanic fictions").[4]

The number of Soulakiotis' victims is a matter of some debate; the most commonly cited figure of 27 murders and 150 negligent homicides comes from medical testimony during her trial.[1]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Embezzled Nuns' Dowries, Amassed Fortune". Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton Queensland. 25 November 1954. p. 10.
  2. ^ a b Newton, Michael (1 February 2006). The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Infobase Publishing. p. 412. ISBN 9780816069873.
  3. ^ a b c d Abp. Gregory (25 May 2005). "Matthewite Timeline History". True Orthodox Christianity. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Το κολαστήριο της Μονής Κερατέας και η αιμοσταγής ηγουμένη". Newsbeast.gr (in Greek). 5 February 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  5. ^ Κοψιδα, Πηνελοπη (10 September 2018). "Όταν η αιμοσταγής Ηγουμένη Μαριάμ άπλωσε τα δίχτυα της στο μοναστήρι της Νιράς". aromalefkadas - Ενημερωτική ιστοσελίδα της Λευκάδας (in Greek). Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Η μοναχή serial killer Μαριάμ της Κερατέας". ΡΕΠΟΡΤΕΡ. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Mariam Soulakiotis the killer nun". Emadion. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Tucson Daily Citizen Archives, Aug 23, 1952, p. 6". newspaperarchive.com. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Το μοναστήρι των νεκρών" [The monastery of the dead]. Espresso (in Greek). 22 May 2008. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Ιστορια Της Μονης" [History of the monastery]. Μονη Παναγιας Πευκοβουνογιατρισσης [Peukovounogiatrissas Monastery] (in Greek). 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Yannakopoulos, Joel (5 June 2012). "Old Calendar-New Calendar: the facts". Eastern Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  12. ^ Nevins, Scott (6 December 2014). "The Monastery of the Dead (Excerpts from the newspaper "Freedom" (Ελευθερία), 1950s)". Scott Nevins Memorial. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  13. ^ Karagiannēs, Giōrgos (1997). Εκκλησία και κράτος 1833 - 1997 (in Greek). pp. 106–107. ISBN 9789608402492.
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