A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 7 Number 9 - Tuesday, March 1st, 2005 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian Laity
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ATHENS (AP)--The head of Greece's powerful Orthodox Church on Friday rejected growing calls for him to step down, but said two of his close aides had been suspended amid mounting scandals. "An archbishop does not resign," Archbishop Christodoulos told reporters outside the archdiocese. Two senior bishops and the head of the parish priests' association have called on Christodoulos, 66, to quit, following revelations that he was acquainted with lower-ranking clergy directly implicated in trial-fixing and other major corruption allegations. "Of course I have heard those calls. I weighed them and I rejected them straight away because I am not part of the problem," Christodoulos told private Alpha television. "I am called upon to lead a clean up of the church." Christodoulos said Metropolitan bishop Theoklitos of Thessaly, a close ally, handed in his resignation, while the church's spokesman also has been suspended. The Orthodox Church , which represents the official state religion, has been stunned by daily allegations of embezzlement, corruption and even sexual escapades. One metropolitan bishop has been suspended for six months and two lower-ranking priests have been arrested and taken into custody, while police have launched a manhunt for a fugitive drug-trafficking suspect who is a central figure in the church scandals. The corruption allegations also have implicated senior clergy at the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is closely allied with Athens. Last week, Greek church elders approved sweeping measures to increase financial transparency in the rarely scrutinized institution. At a meeting of the governing Holy Synod, Christodoulos easily defeated a no-confidence motion by 67-1 votes. But the scandals have badly damaged the church leader's image. A poll published Friday in Athens newspapers showed Christodoulos' popularity has plummeted from 65.5% in May 2004 to 41.7% last Monday. The nationwide survey by the Metron Analysis company of 2,193 Greek adults didn't include a margin of error. The survey also found that 60% of those polled favor full separation of church and state - a sharp increase from the 44.5% in July 2002. Separation would require constitutional change. Greece's conservative government has distanced itself from Christodoulos since the crisis broke but has not supported calls for him to quit. "We are not raising an issue of resignation for the archbishop," Education and Religion Minister Marietta Giannakou told state-run NET television late Thursday.
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