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Catholic World News News Feature

Orthodox patriarch at center of mounting Jerusalem dispute April 26, 2005

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Ireneos of Jerusalem is the focus of an intense and potentially violent controversy as the Eastern churches begin their observance of Holy Week.

Patriarch Ireneos was confronted by angry Orthodox laymen as he left the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on April 24 following Palm Sunday services. Shouting demonstrators referred to the Greek Orthodox leader as "Judas Iscariot" because he has sold properties in the walled Old City of Jerusalem to Jewish buyers, thus diminishing the Christian presence there.

The patriarch's property sales are currently being investigated by the governments of Greece, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority. But Israeli courts have consistently backed Ireneos' contention that he has the personal authority to dispose of property that has been owned for generations by the Orthodox patriarchate. The mounting hostility toward the Orthodox leader has also been fed by reports that one of his key associates had been arrested in Italy, while another aide has fled, apparently to avoid indictment on corruption charges.

Along with his questionable associations and real-estate transactions, Patriarch Ireneos has developed a reputation for hostility toward other Christian groups in Jerusalem. Last September, at his prompting, Orthodox monks physically assaulted Franciscan friars inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in an astonishing act of violence that was captured on videotape. This year he has announced that he will not allow Armenian priests to join in lighting the "holy fire" in the basilica to begin Easter Vigil services.

The AsiaNews service reports that Israeli officials are showing a growing inclination to control the behavior of the Greek prelate, and to enforce the rules that govern the shared use of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by the different Christian bodies in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, his penchant for conflict has raised concerns about the prospects for a peaceful Holy Week among the members of the Eastern churches.

[For a more detailed story see the AsiaNews web site.]