Jerusalem woes
Kathimerini, Greece
May 7 2005
Over its long history, the Orthodox Church has frequently been plagued
by internal strife, for which it has sometimes paid a high price.
That is why the current crisis within the Jerusalem Patriarchate should
be resolved as quickly as possible. It is self-evident that any cleric
with a modicum of respect both for himself and his vocation should
put the sacred institution he serves above all personal interest.
It is true that the problems in this particularly sensitive sector
have not arisen since Irinaios became patriarch, but have their roots
in the reign of the late Diodoros.
Yet even if the current patriarch believes that he is at least
partly in the right, his duty at this time is to facilitate matters
by providing a way out of the crisis.
The important thing is to avoid provoking irreparable damage to the
Greek Orthodox Church’s presence in the Holy City.
Although Irinaios received a warning from the Greek government at
an early date, he chose to ignore it and instead to cling to the
patriarchal throne.
Besides being unlikely to help his own position, this tactic has also
managed to deepen the rift within the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood,
to the extent of opening up an even more dangerous front. At this
stage, quite a number of officials feel strongly tempted to exploit
the crisis as a means of putting forward their own claims or at least
making their own mark.
What is largely at stake here is the prominent position held by the
Greek Orthodox at the heart of the Christian pilgrimage site.
Not only the Catholics and Armenians but the Russian Orthodox Church
too have all made known their ambitions, which could be fueled by the
latest unpleasant events within the Jerusalem Patriarchate and could
also create problems elsewhere. For years the Ecumenical Patriarchate
in Istanbul has been under great pressure from the Turkish state;
then there is the Alexandria Patriarchate and the Autocephalous Church
of Albania.
It is precisely for these reasons that all those concerned should
assume their responsibilities and facilitate matters.
It is of crucial importance that the solution should come from
within the Orthodox Church itself, and not be the result of political
intervention by foreign governments.
That would create an extremely negative precedent which could prove
to be a destabilizing factor in future.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress