A longtime Manhattan renter is taking her church to court, accusing her priest of weaponizing the confession booth to push her out of a rent-stabilized apartment she had held for nearly 30 years. In a new civil suit, the tenant says she was in the middle of a psychotic episode when she signed an out-of-court “surrender agreement” that cut short her below-market lease.
According to The Independent, Magdalena Max Avramovich filed a 14-page complaint on May 22 alleging that Father Zivojin Jakovljevic and St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, which is also her landlord, used details from a February confession to pressure her to give up the unit. The outlet reports that court papers say Avramovich renewed her lease last year and that it was not set to expire until July 31, 2027.
What the lawsuit alleges
In an affidavit attached to the complaint, Avramovich lays out a tight February timeline. She says she texted Father Zivojin on February 10 to seek confession, met with him that afternoon, and then received a “surrender agreement” by email on February 14 that gave her five days to vacate. The affidavit says she “sobbed uncontrollably” during the confession and that she signed the surrender agreement while impaired, before flying to Belgrade on February 19. She returned to New York on April 5 and then retained an attorney.
The filings include the plaintiff’s affidavit and ask the court to declare the surrender agreement void and unenforceable.
Why the building and rent status matter
The suit says St. Sava owns the building where Avramovich lived, which makes the parish both her spiritual home and her landlord in a single relationship. That overlap raises practical and ethical questions because rent-stabilized status gives long-term tenants specific protections and renewal rights that do not vanish easily.
For background on succession and other rent-stabilized rules, see Homes and Community Renewal, and for information about the parish itself, the church’s website at St. Sava offers additional context.
Religious and legal stakes
Eastern Orthodox tradition treats the seal of confession as inviolable, and parish materials state that disclosure of confessions is canonically prohibited. A parish note from St. Michael Antiochian Orthodox Church explains that what is said in confession is considered strictly confidential.
On the civil side, New York contract law allows a party to seek rescission of an agreement signed while mentally incapacitated or under undue influence. That principle is discussed in recent court memoranda, including a federal case summary hosted by Justia that explains when agreements can be voidable for incapacity or coercion.
What’s next
St. Sava has time to file a formal response, and the complaint asks a judge to void the surrender agreement and restore Avramovich’s tenancy, according to The Independent. The outlet reports that church leaders and Father Zivojin did not respond to requests for comment.
Avramovich’s affidavit says she has restarted medication and is living temporarily in a place she found online while she fights to get her apartment back. The case, which touches on housing law, mental-health protections, and religious confidentiality, is expected to move through Manhattan civil court in the coming weeks. The plaintiff’s complaint contains the filings in full.
