‘HOLY FIRE’ EASTER RITUAL CASTS LIGHT ON GREEK ORTHODOX BATTLES IN JERUSALEM
Brian Murphy
AP Worldstream
Apr 13, 2006
ATHENS, Greece _ For Orthodox Christians, one of the most stirring
images of the Easter season is a burning candle being carried from the
site in Jerusalem where tradition says Jesus was crucified and buried.
The “holy fire” is passed among worshippers outside the Church of
the Holy Sepulcher and is taken aboard special flights to Athens and
other cities _ connecting many of the 200 million Orthodox worldwide
to their spiritual roots.
But in recent years, it also has illuminated the messier passions
of the Holy Land: religious rivalries among the Orthodox and the
building-by-building competition between Israelis and Palestinians
in some parts of Jerusalem.
Greek and Armenian clergymen have exchanged blows over who would
be the first to bring out the flame. Last year, Israeli police held
back Palestinians outraged by alleged deals to lease Greek Orthodox
properties to Jewish investors in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The upcoming ceremony on April 22 _ the eve of Orthodox Easter _
has elements for even higher drama. The land scandal has splintered
the Greek Orthodox, one of the caretakers of the Holy Sepulcher shrine.
Orthodox leaders last May ousted the church’s Jerusalem-based
patriarch, Irineos I, after reports of deals for several prime
buildings near Jaffa Gate. The church’s mostly Palestinian Christian
congregation denounced it as another attempt to weaken the Arab
presence in east Jerusalem _ which Palestinians insist must be the
capital of any future state.
Irineos, however, has not gone quietly. He has refused to recognize
his dismissal and still commands a band of loyalists. Israel, too,
has not given its formal backing to the new patriarch, Theofilos III,
who says he opposes the reported leases. Traditionally, the Greek
patriarch needs three-way approval that includes Jordan and the
Palestinians, which have given the nod to Theofilos.
The patriarchate dispute is now before Israel’s Supreme Court.
In Greece, meanwhile, investigators are digging deeper into a possible
espionage affair involving Irineos’ selection as patriarch in 2001.
The probe centers on whether a convicted drug trafficker, Apostolos
Vavilis, was sent on secret missions to lobby for Irineos, who was the
choice of Greek officials and clerics at the time. Vavilis _ whose
aliases included Apostolos Pavlos, or Apostle Paul _ was extradited
from Italy on April 6 to face charges including “revealing state
secrets” to foreign agents. He was returned to Greece wearing the
black robes of an Orthodox priest, although he is not ordained.
The official who allegedly negotiated the leases, church financial
officer Nikos Papadimas, remains a fugitive.
It’s possible Irineos could attempt to directly challenge Theofilos’
authority at the flame ceremony, but that would constitute an almost
irreparable rupture in the church. More likely is a noisy showdown
of taunts and name-calling between the rival groups. Israeli security
was heightened last year because of showdowns.
“Father Irineos is the legal patriarch,” said a supporter, a clergyman
also called Irineos. The former patriarch could not be reached for
comment.
Archbishop Aristarchos, who handles security for the patriarchate,
said there are “rumors” Irineos could make an appearance but “there
is no way that the previous patriarch will come to the ceremony as
the patriarch.”
“Only Theofilos III will come to the ceremony as the patriarch,”
Aristarchos said. “I hope and I wish that there will not be any
unpleasant episodes.”
The Orthodox ritual of the “holy fire,” performed alone by a
patriarch in the tomb of Jesus, dates back at least 1,200 years, and a
“miraculous” fire is mentioned in earlier texts. The precise details of
the lighting are a closely guarded secret, but some faithful consider
it an annual miracle.
It also illustrates another of the intricate protocols that govern
the site, which is administered by Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic
and Roman Catholic clerics. The Coptic, Ethiopian Orthodox and Syriac
Orthodox churches also have duties to maintain specific areas. Under
a pact going back to 16th century Ottoman rule, two Muslim families
share duties as the sole gatekeepers.
For some, the tensions this Easter also help drive home demands to
end Greek control of the Jerusalem patriarchate and its 40,000-member
flock.
The Greek clerics leading the church “are foreigners who don’t work
for the best interests of the Palestinian Christians,” said Dimitri
Diliani, who leads of a coalition of Palestinians Christians that plans
to bring more than 1,500 faithful to the flame ceremony. “They have
been irresponsible in handling the property of Palestinian Christians
and have been involved in ‘Judaizing’ Jerusalem.”
But Daniel Rossing, who heads a Jerusalem-based group that promotes
inter-religious dialogue, said it’s difficult to make such sweeping
changes to religious traditions in Jerusalem, which has deep
significance for Jews, Christians and Muslims.
“Any event in Jerusalem, like the Greek church troubles, cannot
just be looked at as a local squabble,” he said. “It affects all of
Christianity because of the universal nature of Jerusalem.”
___
Associated Press reporter Laura Resnick in Jerusalem contributed to
this report.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress