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This program contains discriminatory language.

I'm sitting on a ferry in the Egean Sea.

It's taking me to an ancient monastic community in northern Greece,

where I've come to investigate a violent rift inside the Orthodox Church,

the boat is heading to a peninsula called Mount Athos.

It's a rugged stretch of land, with towering peaks cloaked in dense forests

that tumbled down to the craggy coastline below.

Known among Orthodox Christians as the Holy Mountain, monks first

arrived here more than a thousand years ago, drawn to the natural beauty and remote

location. Today it's home to 20 different monasteries. One however however, might not be able to call Mount Athos home

for much longer. I'm headed to the Holy Monastery of Espegmenu to meet a brotherhood that has

become known as Greece's rebel monks after breaking away from the mainstream church several decades

ago. Legally, only brotherhoodhood that adhere to mainstream orthodoxy

are allowed to remain on the peninsula.

So the police have long been trying and failing to get the mound of the monastery.

These eviction attempts have led to some violent classes.

In 2013, the story made headlines across the country when the leader of Esfigmenu,

Abbot Methodius, was jailed for inciting violence following an incident during which

Molotov cocktails were launched at police.

Today, the Esfigmenu Brotherhood are holed up in their fortress-like monastery,

which bears a banner emblazoned with awards, orthodoxy or death.

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