wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Greek Orthodox elect new patriarch of Holy Land

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8858 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05433
August 22, 2005

Greek Orthodox elect
new patriarch of Holy Land  
 
Theofilos promises to annul all leases of church property to Israelis

by Michele Green
Ecumenical News International  

JERUSALEM - The Greek Orthodox Church in the Holy Land has elected a new
patriarch to replace its deposed spiritual leader, Patriarch Irineos, who was
dismissed over a land scandal that angered the church's local parishioners
and embarrassed its leadership.  
  
	The church's Holy Synod on Aug. 22 voted 14-0 to elect Metropolitan
Theofilos, a Greek-born cleric, as the new patriarch. The election leaves in
doubt the fate of Irineos, who has refused to accept his dismissal by his
bishops and leader's of the world's Orthodox churches.

	Irineos, who is accused of improprieties in connection with
controversial property deals in Jerusalem's Old City, has denied any
involvement in the long-term leasing of church property in the Christian
Quarter to Jewish investors believed to represent ultranationalist groups
trying to stake a claim to the Holy City.

	The ousted patriarch, who was elected in 2001, was not available to
comment on the election of his successor. An earlier petition asking a
Jerusalem Court to bar the election was dismissed. The court ruled that the
issue is an internal church matter. Irineos has maintained control over the
patriarch's official quarters, although he has been barred from the
patriarchate's offices by senior church officials.  
  
	Theofilos will lead the church's 100,000 parishioners in the Holy
Land, most of them Palestinians. The local parishioners have long resented
the domination of the church by Greek clerics and bitterly opposed a spate of
sales of church land to Israelis. The church is one of the biggest
landholders in Jerusalem.  
  
	Israel had refused to recognize Irineos's dismissal, pending an
investigation by a government committee. Jordan and the Palestinian Authority
have, however, accepted the dismissal, and are believed to be all but certain
to recognize his replacement.  
  
	Archbishop Aristarchos, secretary-general of the patriarchate, said
he believes Theofilos will help restore the church's prestige in the wake of
the land-sale scandal.	
  
	"We feel that we are stronger now to face and overcome the crisis
that we passed," he said.

	Theofilos has served Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher and is
a former Metropolitan of Tabor in Galilee. He also has served as the Greek
Orthodox Church's envoy to Qatar and Moscow.  
  
	Arab clerics within the church said Theofilos has promised to
dissolve all leases of church land to Israelis.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to
pcusanews-subscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org or
pcusanews-unsubscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org

To contact the owner of the list, please send an email to
pcusanews-request@halak.pcusa.org