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Published by
Kathimerini.com,
May
11, 2004
Church stakes
raised
Bishops’ election ratified, despite Patriarchate’s
objections
Athens, Kathimerini, 11 May 2004 - The government
yesterday issued presidential decrees ratifying
the Church of Greece’s election of three bishops,
in what the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul
has seen as a direct challenge to its authority
over these and 33 other sees.
Yesterday was the deadline for the decrees to be
signed, 10 days after the new bishops were
elected. But the bishops have to be enthroned
within 30 days, leaving some time for mediation in
the unprecedented and bitter clash between the
Patriarchate and the
autocephalous
Church
of
Greece.
Under a Patriarchal Act of 1928, the Church of
Greece was given temporary administration of these
36 sees. The dispute erupted when the Church of
Greece went ahead with the election of three
bishops without adhering to the procedures
stipulated by the 1928 Act. This resulted in the
Patriarchate severing communion with Archbishop
Christodoulos, accusing him of undermining the
Patriarchate’s rights.
Yesterday, Education and Religion Minister
Marietta Giannakou met with Christodoulos and
briefed him on her talks with Patriarch
Vartholomaios in Istanbul on Thursday. “I
ascertained good will and a positive approach
toward a consensual solution,” Giannakou said.
“The government initiative will continue until it
succeeds.”
Sources say Christodoulos is not averse to making
a statement of respect with regard to the 1928
Act, as the Patriarchate demands. But information
reaching Athens from patriarchal sources suggested
some bishops there would not be satisfied with
this and wanted a decision by the Church of Greece
Hierarchy retracting everything the Patriarchate
disagreed with — which Greek bishops would not
accept.
An
opinion poll by the VPRC Company for Kathimerini
and SKAI Radio found that Christodoulos has a 68
percent approval rating among Greeks and a 27
percent negative rating. Vartholomaios has a
positive rating of 56 percent and a negative one
of 30 percent. Also, 62 percent believe that it
was “probably a mistake” for the Patriarchate to
punish Christodoulos. Only 20 percent thought it
“probably correct.”
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