Church

Published by Athens News, March 25, 2005

Arab revolt in Jerusalem Church

Greece probes church land sales after Palestinians call for the Arabisation of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate

THE ARAB Orthodox backlash against Patriarch Eirinaios of Jerusalem has spun out of control after revelations that the patriarchate had secretly sold extremely valuable and politically crucial properties in Arab East Jerusalem, on the 1967 border between Israel and the Palestinian territories, to Jewish investors.

Two Palestinian-run hotels, the Imperial and the Petra, as well as a number of shops and homes in the same area, were sold to two groups of Jewish investors from outside Israel by the patriarchate's ex-financial officer, Nikos Papadimas, according to a bombshell report published in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv on March 18.

Diplomatic sources told the Athens News that the value of the package deal is estimated at about $320 million.

The revelations have brought a virtual Arab Orthodox revolt against Eirinaios, with calls that the patriarchate be "Arabised".

The Greek government and opposition parties have distanced themselves from the patriarch, cutting him loose amidst a torrent of media rumours that the government would like to force Eirinaios to resign. Many believe this is the best way to preserve the patriarchate's control over Christianity's holiest shrines and to perpetuate the Greekness of the patriarchate.

A six-member group of foreign ministry and finance ministry officials, led by Ambassador Panagiotis Karakasis went to Jerusalem to investigate the land sales between March 22 and 24. They met with Eirinaios for four hours on March 22 and were expected to be granted rare accesss to patriarchate financial records, denied even to the church's bishops.

Eirinaios had given Papadimas a sweeping power of attorney that granted him complete administrative control over all real estate, including the power to sell and rent, and over cash assets. But the patriarch later claimed that Papadimas had abused this, and he sued his former financial officer in a Greek court for "felony-level crimes". Some sources at the patriarchate have suggested that Papadimas may have embezzled as much as $5 million. Greek authorities have isssued a warrant for his arrest.

Eirinaios has absolved himself of all responsibility for the land sales, claiming that he and the Holy Synod had not personally approved the deal. But the synod has not had a say in the administration of church property for decades, and it was Eirinaios who gave Papadimas carte blanche over church assets.

In a statement issued on March 18, the patriarchate stated that "the power of attorney discussed is null and void because it was not issued by the patriarch with the consensus of the Holy Synod... A buyer or seller of such a strategically inmportant property necessarily has the responsibility to know that the explicit written approval of the patriarch of Jerusalem and the Holy Synod is needed to make such a transaction." It is questionable whether an Israeli court would annul a property sale on the grounds that internal church regulations were not followed.

The revelation mobilised Palestinian and Jordanian Orthodox faithful against the patriarchate as never before. One Orthodox Christian Jordanian MP, Audeh Qawash, gathered the signatures of 67 members of the 110-member Jordanian parliament on a petition requesting immediate drastic measures to deal with the crisis. Some are even calling for King Abdullah to withdraw recognition of Eirinaios.

In an effort to coordinate the response of Jordanians and Palestinians, Qawash met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei on March 22, but nothing was made public on the outcome of the meeting.

Jordanian authorities plan to cooperate with the Greek government in an attempt to forge a joint approach between Jordan, Palestine and Greece.

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Panagiotis Scandalakis met in Athens with the ambassadors of Israel, Jordan and Palestine on March 23 in order to cooperate towards transcending the crisis. The foreign envoys underlined that the Greek character of the patriarchate is not being challenged, a position that relieved Athens after the uproar in Jerusalem.

Nevertheless, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) discussed the land sales at a special meeting on March 22 and pledged that it will "work through legal, political and religious means to Arabise the Orthodox Church and all other churches and will insist on their Arab features". It also insisted that the Greek flag and any other foreign flags be removed from churches and shrines in the Holy Land and "that the Palestinian flag will be the only one raised on all churches".

Palestinian MP, Hanan Ashrawi, also called for the Arab faithful to take control of the Orthodox patriarchate. That a politician of her stature had taken such an extreme position rang alarm bells in Greek diplomatic circles.

Greek diplomatic sources told the Athens News that such a move is legally and ecclesiologically impossible and that a move to Arabise the patriarchate would "destroy our house and theirs".

The council decided that it "strongly denounces and condemns the involvement of any party or individual from inside the Orthodox patriarchate in the selling of properties and real estate in the City of Jerusalem". It also demanded that the Palestinian National Authority "take all necessary legal action against all involved" and vowed that it "will raise the issue in international society and the International [UN] Security Council for the purpose of putting an end to the continuous Israeli aggressions and will explain the illegal and illegitimate forged deals on the properties of the Orthodox Community followers".

The Palestinians also said they would ask the Greek government to take necessary legal action against Greek citizens involved in the selling of "properties belonging to the community followers".

In fact, the title to the properties in question belongs to their patriarchate, which is run by the mostly Greek Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre. But the patriarchate's flock is overwhelmingly comprised of Palestinian and Jordanian Arabs. The Arab Orthodox faithful have long demanded enforcement of a 1958 Jordanian law, which required the patriarchate to give an annual financial accounting to joint committees of clergy and laity. The church hierarchy has long expressed reservation about the law, but some bishops stress the critical point that its provisions guarantee the preservation of the Greek character of the patriarchate.

"The PLC praises the announced Greek stand regarding the case and affirms its care to strengthen and develop the Greek-Palestinian relations for the purpose of serving the best interests of both peoples. The PLC hopes that the Greek parliament and Greek government would exert the necessary effort to affirm that the deal was illegal and will cancel it completely," a March 22 communique stated.



Volume 7 Number 14 - Tuesday, April 5th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY