Priest accused of using tenant’s sobbing confessions to get her out from NYC apartment church owned

A priest has been accused of using 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  lawsuit claims.

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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 chased out 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.

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.