Supreme Synod Strikes Eirineos

Published by The National Herald, May 27, 2005

CONSTANTINOPLE (AP) – Christian Orthodox Christian leaders from around the world voted this past Tuesday, May 24, to stop recognizing the scandal-battered Patriarch of Jerusalem, Eirineos I, asserting a rare unified position on the crisis facing the Church in the Holy Land.

Representatives of 12 main Orthodox churches – meeting in the ancient seat of Orthodoxy – joined in an unusual Pan-Orthodox Supreme synod after Eirineos refused to resign over allegations that Jewish investors were granted church property leases in a mostly Palestinian part of Jerusalem.

The majority decision was reached after an 8-3 vote to remove Eirineos from the Diptychs of the Orthodox Church, an interruption of Eucharistic communion with Eirineos and a consequent ceasing to recognize him as the head of the historic Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Eirineos, the religious leader of 100,000 mostly Palestinian Christians, denies charges he was involved in leasing church property to anonymous Jewish investors in Arab areas. The properties in question, three buildings in the main square near the Jaffa Gate, have been occupied by Palestinians for generations. The allegations have provoked outrage among Palestinians, who see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

In the first major Orthodox summit in more than a decade, held in its spiritual capital of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), senior clerics from Russia, Greece, Bulgaria and nine other Orthodox Christian nations further isolated the controversial Patriarch of Jerusalem:

"We wanted him to resign of his own accord, but unfortunately, he refused, so we made this decision," said Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians. The Synod, attended by Eirineos, lacks the authority to fire him, but its decision to end recognition further isolates him and increases the pressure on him to resign.

The affair is seen as a rare consensus reached among senior representatives from the often-fractious Orthodox Church. In recent years, Bartholomew has clashed with the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow, as well as the Church of Greece, over the extent of his canonical authority.

The Greek Government also joined the fray on Tuesday, calling on Eirineos to accept the Synod’s decision.

"It is imperative that the historic responsibilities are accepted," Foreign Ministry Spokesman George Koumoutsakos said, echoing earlier calls by the Ministry for Eirineos to step down. "The consequences of dragging out the present unhappy situation will burden those who, through actions or omission, did not rise or are not rising to the occasion," he added.

But Eirineos remained defiant even after the Orthodox leadership effectively deposed him and opened the way for a potentially messy succession struggle by the historical caretakers of Christianity in the Holy Land.

When asked if he would step down, Eirineos replied with a terse "never." A showdown could put the entire structure of Orthodox governance to the test. Under Church rules, only the clerics leading the Jerusalem Patriarchate can formally dismiss Eirineos, who has refused to convene the group.

In Jerusalem, a spokeswoman for Eirineos said he would not resign, despite the decision on Tuesday, which she said was reached before he arrived at the synod. "The Patriarch says that he is not going to resign because he is not involved in any alleged leasing," said Libi Zipser, from the public relations firm which represents him. "The Patriarch declares that, according to the law, he is the only legal patriarch, and he was appointed for life," she said, reading from a statement which was issued by Eirineos and his aides in Constantinople after the Synod’s decision.

"The decision in Istanbul was taken without any proof or documents against him. The decision was made before he arrived and is purely political," the statement said.

But the ruling in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) could give the clerics a way to bypass the embattled Patriarch.

Bartholomew said that the Supreme Synod voted to back a decision by rebel church leaders in the Holy Land earlier this month to no longer recognize the authority of Eirineos.

"The Synod of Orthodox leaders has agreed to renounce the Patriarch (of Jerusalem) and, as a consequence, strike his name from the Orthodox record," Bartholomew said, adding there were three abstentions from the vote.

The proceedings in Constantinople are the first major Pan-Orthodox summit in more than a decade. Cornelius, the Metropolitan of Petra, said the vote this past Tuesday would boost efforts by church leaders in the Holy Land to depose Eirineos.

Speaking from Jerusalem, Father Demetrios, Secretary of the Holy Synod in Jerusalem, said the Church in the Holy Land will now start working to elect a locum tenens, the person who will execute the duties of the patriarch until a new patriarch is installed.

"It’s a day of rejoicing and the day of our freedom," Demetrios said. But Eirineos’ attorney, Francisco Ragoussis, signaled earlier Tuesday that his client would continue to fight his ouster.

"No one can try in any legal way to cut us off from our rights, religious liberty and religious duties, and any entity that is going to challenge these is going to be brought in front of international justice," he said in Constantinople.

A former financial adviser to Eirineos is accused of giving Jewish investors 198-year leases for two church-owned hostels and several shops in the Old City. Palestinians were outraged, claiming the deals were part of Jewish encroachment on Arab quarters.

Cabinet Secretary of the Palestinian Authority Samir Hueleileh said Palestinian officials consider Eirineos dismissed and demanded to have the property deal "revoked, and to ensure there would be no such deals in the future. Other than that, it’s an internal church matter, in which we will not interfere."

The scandal represented an embarrassment for the Church and Tuesday’s meeting was widely viewed as an effort by Bartholomew and other Church leaders to improve its image in the Holy Land.

For Bartholomew, a member of Turkey’s tiny Greek minority, who is considered the "first among equals" of the world’s Orthodox patriarchs, the meeting also represents an assertion of his authority, which is challenged by the Turkish Government and even by politically-oriented circles within the Church.



Volume 7 Number 22 - Tuesday, May 31st, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY