A priest used the sobbing confessions of a woman struggling with a psychotic episode to have her tossed from a rent-stabilized apartment in New York City that the church owned, a shocking lawsuit claims.
Magdalena Max Avramovich, 56, lived in her apartment complex owned by the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Manhattan for nearly three decades where she paid just $1,540 a month in rent — before being given the boot in February over a spat with the church about her mental state, according to court documents obtained by The Independent.
Avramovich was diagnosed with schizophrenia during her first acute psychotic episode in 2004 — while she was living in the apartment complex.
But she claims antipsychotic meds prescribed by her psychiatrist allowed her to manage the illness without any major incidents, court papers said.
In October 2024, Avramovich’s doctor put her on a new medication that “slowly impacted” her symptoms until February of this year, when she spiraled into a full-on psychosis, according to court documents.
Avramovich cited “a stressful work-related event” as the final straw that sent her over the edge — when, in one week, she quit her job, gave away most of her belongings, and booked a trip to Serbia, where most of her family lives.
“My psychosis concocted paranoia stories surrounding my family, and the need to remove myself from my apartment and leave the country in some nonsensical attempt at helping them,” Avramovich said in the lawsuit.
In a last-ditch effort to piece together her own irrationality, Avramovich reached out to Zivojin Jakovljevic, a cathedral deacon at St. Sava, “seeking confession and a prayer” on Feb. 10, the lawsuit claims.
During her formal confession with the priest, Avramovich broke down in tears while detailing her “perceived situation” and unshakable paranoia that made her believe she needed to surrender her apartment, according to court papers.
The next day, Jakovljevic asked Avramovich if he could share the “sensitive information” from her confession with the church board, which doubled as her landlord, according to the affidavit.
It’s not immediately clear if Avramovich granted Jakovljevic permission to divulge her confession to her landlord. And typically, any Eastern Orthodox priest who breaks the sacramental seal of confession faces excommunication.
A church secretary emailed a “surrender agreement” to Avramovich on Feb. 14, which she signed.
Avramovich ditched her apartment and left for Serbia. She stayed with her family for a month while her psychosis slowly faded.
As she became lucid, Avramovich slowly recognized her errors and headed back to the Big Apple in April. She started taking her antipsychotic medications again and found temporary housing in the city, according to court documents.
Avramovich blames Jakovljevic for not realizing that she was in a “vulnerable state” and lacked “the requisite contractual capacity to sign away my 28-year rent-stabilized home,” court papers allege.
The Post reached out to Jakovljevic and the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church for comment.
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