Esoteric Source

The Maetreum of Cybele, Magna Mater, a faction of matriarchal priestesses living in a historic Palenville inn, has filed suit against the Town of Catskill after being denied a religious property tax exemption on their three-acre parcel along Route 23A.

The property has been denied the exemption since 2007, though the Maetreum — which was federally recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) religious organization — was granted the exemption on 2006.

“They refused to renew the exemption without reason,” said Cathryn Platine, the group’s leader, known as Reverend Mother Battakes.

Platine, a native of Ohio, has lived on the property of the former Central House hotel since 2002, purchasing the property with a group dedicated to practicing the Cybelline faith.

Their belief system — devised by Platine in 1999 after years of study and independent ministry — hinges on the relationship between the natural world, the divine feminine and stewardship of the Earth and its people.

The Maetreum of Cybele, Magna Mater is loosely translated as “Goddess church of Cybele, the Great Mother,” according to Platine. It is a goddess-centric faith that revives ancient practices of Neolithic Anatolia, through to the last days of ancient Rome.

The group also moved to Palenville in 2002.

In their search for an appropriate site to practice their beliefs, the tightknit hamlet seemed the perfect location for the group. Nestled at the foot of the Catskill Mountains in the majestic Hudson River Valley, the richness of nature would surround the Maetreum in this tiny and historic Catskill community.

They purchased the property from the Genetelli family, the former owners of the Central House at 3312 Route 23A, and set out to restore its 19th-century style — complete with an operational telegraph room and old-world parlor room.

Since those initial dreams, however, many changes have impacted the Maetreum’s dynamic as an organization and has interrupted the cosmetic restoration work.

A labored, drawn-out lawsuit over a property tax exemption hasn’t helped either.

“It’s religious discrimination,” said Platine. “Their (the Town’s) argument is ridiculous on its face.”

The Town’s position is that the property does not conform with exemption standards under state real property tax law.

During a Greene County Court hearing on Dec. 2, 2009, attorney Hannelore Smith said, “Regardless of whether they are a religious organization, regardless of whether they have an IRS exemption, the RPTL still requires more.”

Platine is at a loss as to what more they require.

Dan Vincelette, the town’s primary counsel in this proceeding, said during a phone interview that the 2007 exemption was initially denied because the group was experiencing structural turmoil during that year.

“From what we were told by members of the group there was a split,” Vincelette said. “She (Platine) was no longer living at the property sometime in 2007.”

Platine confirmed she had not lived on the property for about a year, and there was a six-month hiccup in the organizational structure of the Maetreum in 2007, but, she said, the property continued its religious functions throughout that time.

The Maetreum acts as a convent or nunnery, housing priestesses who practice their unorthodox faith from day-to-day, in addition to hosting public events and providing hospitality services to the needy, according to Platine.

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