A 40-day-old baby got injured when the priest blessing it in the church stumbled and fell. The baby suffered a broken leg and head injuries The incident occurred in the Church of Koimmissi Theotokou in Nikiti, Halkidiki, in Northern Greece.
The parents had taken the baby for the special blessing on its 40th day after the birth.
The priest was holding the baby in his arms, and while he walked to some icons, he stumbled and fell, practically over the baby, the shocked father Yannis Nazlidis told media.
“I took the baby and helped the priest to get up,” he added.
Then he saw that the baby’s leg was hanging.
The horrified parents took the baby to the hospital where doctors diagnosed a broken leg and head bruises. Meanwhile, the baby is hospitalized in Thessaloniki. Doctors declare optimism about the baby’s health condition, however, they do not rule out surgery.
Citing locals, media report that the priest is 78 years old and that there have been other incidents requiring that he should have gone into retirement long ago.
The father filed a lawsuit against the priest and the Metropolis to which the Church belongs.
“I filed a lawsuit against the priest, because I think he is responsible for the injury of my child and there should be no incidents with other children,” said the baby’s father.
Also the Metropolis of Kassandria is responsible because the priest may not want to go in retirement, but it can’t be that other little children are at risk, because the priest is very old,” he added.
