Defrocked Irenaios..calls for ‘religious intifada’ (Greek Orthodox)

Kathemerini (International Herald Tribute Greek edition) ^ | June 18, 2005 | Staff

[Mrs. Don-o]

Defiant to the end, the former head of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, Irenaios, yesterday asked Israeli police to bring him 14 bodyguards after an ecclesiastical tribunal officially defrocked him, demoting him to the rank of a simple monk.

Meanwhile, Irenaios’s aide Meletios — a former Arab archimandrite who was deposed earlier this week — called for a “religious intifada” against Greek Orthodox authorities and for a stop to Greek administration of the Jerusalem Patriarchate’s property.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Seems to be a longstanding property dispute. Does What does he mean by a "religious intifada"? In a place like Jerusalem, that seems to go beyond overheated rhetoric and to constitute a threat of serious violence.

[GSlob]

Conflict unresolved is a conflict postponed, and festering. Let them go at it, just protect the bystanders.

[stormlead]

The thing is, they can't defrock him. He's a patriarch. Only the Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian governments in concert can take away his position, and so far, only the Jordanians have indicated that they would support such a move. The rest of the Orthodox Church can talk itself blue, and it won't change anything, unless it provokes a schism. It really bothers me to see Christians at each others' throats- there's nothing more unholy than political infighting and power struggles in one of God's Churches. The heads of the Church fight and the faithful weep.

[moog]

It really bothers me to see Christians at each others' throats- there's nothing more unholy than political infighting and power struggles in one of God's Churches. The heads of the Church fight and the faithful weep.

Good point. Contention is not beneficial to one's health.

[Lion in Winter]

From the rest of the article...

"The former patriarch had been given three chances to present himself before the Patriarchate’s 12-member Synod to defend himself on charges of leasing prime Patriarchate property in Jerusalem’s Old City to Jewish investors. Irenaios had refused to attend from the outset, dismissing the procedure as illegal."

"A tribunal set by up the Holy Synod based its final ruling on Irenaios’s “anti-canonical and anti-ecclesiastical actions,” citing the former patriarch’s intransigence and his insistence on conducting liturgies. It called on Irenaios “to receive divine enlightenment for repentance and wisdom” and warned both clergy and faithful to “close their ears to misleading information,” without elaborating."

Looks like he has had chances to answer the charges regarding the land deals, but he refused. Seems to me his superiors have been quite fair to him. He must be just a stubborn man or even worse.

[Lion in Winter]

PING

[Lion in Winter]

Yes, it sad to see any trouble in any Church, but it is WORSE to have clergy who are NOT up to the job. It is probably best to come clean and get all the trouble right out in the open, right up front... not cover it up at all.

When the Roman Catholic Church started having troubles with victimised young men coming forward and sueing the Church because they employed priests who were the victimizers and had even moved many of them from parrish to parrish to hid the problems, I said it made all Christians look bad.... and that liberal losers would be the first to cast stones at the faithful.

I was right, unfortunatly. The MSM went ballistic on just about all Christians. Not a pretty sight, was it.

[moog]

The MSM went ballistic on just about all Christians.

They do the same to the military too.

[Continental Soldier]

Oh, dear! Yet another religious call to war! Is anyone else getting really sick of religious positions on any matters! How long before people world-wide realize that religions are just coping strategies to deal with the almost unbearable pain of who, what and where we are?

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

Irenaios, yesterday asked Israeli police to bring him 14 bodyguards after an ecclesiastical tribunal officially defrocked him

Without comment, other than I'm certain Patriarch Irenaios will be protected.

[Mrs. Don-o]

ping

[Agrarian]

Thanks for the ping. I'm afraid I don't know enough about JP affairs to comment intelligently. One thing that is certain is that the ordinary faithful, parish clergy, and common monks will go on praying and worshipping God in an orthodox manner, regardless of what happens "above" them.

That's the Orthodox way. And fortunately the hierarchs know that the one way to get really run out of town on a rail is to interfere with that -- so they generally don't. So, as a result, we chanted the same services today that have been chanted for many, many hundreds of years. All very beautiful and soul-changing.

And when you have good hierarchs in addition to all that -- then it is particularly beautiful.