This would seem to be an illustration of the beneficial aspects of the collegial system of church governance which the Orthodox have. If a rotten egg somehow gets into a position of authority, the Synod of his brother bishops has authority to depose him and rectify the situation.Another interesting news item from BBC online
Jerusalem clergy dump patriarch —Greek Orthodox Church leaders in Jerusalem have broken off contact with their local leader, Patriarch Irineos, and say they regard him as dismissed.
This is interesting. I had just been reading an old *Our Sunday Visitor *article that discussed some of the inflammatory things that Patriarch Irineos had been accused of doing last year. I was planning on looking around the web to see if the same thing had happened this year. Thanks for the info.
Part of the problem is the Greek-Arab division in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. While all of the accusations could be true, it is also possible that this is a scheme to oust the Patriarch because he is Greek and they want to install an Arab Patriarch… if this is what is happening then we are watching history in the making and probably nothing can prevent it and effect any reconciliation.
” quote, Fr.Ambrose }It doesn’t seem to be the case. The synod allegedly met today and voted to dismiss the Patriarch, who then left in a huff for his residence, apparently contesting the validity of the proceedings. I suspect this is the end of the road for him, however. I’m not sure there is a qualified Arab to serve as Patriarch at this point (though there might be for all I know) as almost all the episcopate is currently Greek.
There may not be a possibility to elect an Arab Patriarch for Jerusalem from the actual bishops of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem , and indeed it may not be a wise move vis-a-vis the Israelis who may refuse to recognise his election and thus prevent his installation. But at least they can ensure that he is someone with a pastoral heart for all the membership of his diverse flock - Arabs, Greeks, Jews, Russians.
No, not really. Jerusalem is an unusual Church.
Since the Antiochan Patriarchate is far more ecumenically minded than Irenios and his supporters (who at last reading were threatening to hold a schismatic counter synod in Jerusalem to contest his deposition) the appointment of a Syrian or Lebanese Patriarch could only improve relations between the Churches, and might help cut down on these periodic and unedifying fisticuffs in the Holy Sepulchre. The Israeli authorities might baulk at an Antiochan, but given their implication in the property scandal, they would be morally on very weak grounds if they resisted.
How pleasing if the Israelis now feel concerned about the weak moral ground of their actions and policies!
Both the Jordanian and Palestinian governments have recommended that dismissal of Irenios be recognized respectively by the King and the Palestinian authority. Israel said it would not intervene.How pleasing if the Israelis now feel concerned about the weak moral ground of their actions and policies!
Jordan (and Jordan alone) has control over both the Christian and Muslim shrines in Jerusalem and has had since 1994.
It’s a bit more complicated than that, as the legal framework for the Church’s operation is set out in Jordanian law which has been accepted and implemented by Israel (and, so far as I know, not amended since the 1950s). As a specific example, the Church cannot sell outright any property it owned prior to 1967 because Jordanian law forbids it. The properties you mention are rented to the State of Israel under 100 or 200 year leases to get around the restrictions set out in Jordanian law.
This is indeed an interesting problem. We will have to see how many of these “non Jewish” ethnic Russians ultimately register themselves as Christian. I would be surprised if this turns out to be as high as 400,000. The majority of these Russians (like most in Russia) may be completely secularized and have no genuine religious affiliation at all. Given the net emigration of Palestinian Christians, however, those Russians who will be willing to formally identify themselves as Christian may represent our best hope for keeping Chrisitanity alive in the land of its birth.
Are you saying that the Jordanian Government has control of not only the Christian and Muslim holy places in Jerusalem but of ALL the real estate which is owned by the Church and by the Muslim religion in Jerusalem?