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Metropolitan Irineos, 62, has not been recognized by the State of Israel as Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.
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| By Ellis Shuman December 29, 2002 |
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon indefinitely postponed the government vote on the appointment of Irineos I to the Jerusalem Greek Orthodox patriarchate. According to media reports, the decision to postpone the issue was due to firm opposition of government ministers. Last week, Maariv exposed details of Irineos's pro-Palestinian stand; the church leader said the letter the newspaper published was forged.
The appointment of Metropolitan Irineos, 62, as the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem has been held up for months due to his alleged ties with the Palestinian Authority. According to church protocol, a patriarch's appointment requires approval of the host country in order to become official.
Maariv reported on Thursday that Sharon was pushing to have the government approve Irineos's appointment because the prime minister is under heavy pressure from Likud activists and building contractors with party connections who want access to the vast real estate holdings controlled by the church in west Jerusalem. The Greek Orthodox Church leases to the government all the land on which the Knesset, the prime minister's residence and the Great Jerusalem Synagogue are built, the paper pointed out.
In the past, Irineos has offered to give lands held by the church in Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority, Arutz 7 reported.
Maariv published a letter written by Irineos to PA Chairman Yasser Arafat on June 17, 2001, in which he wrote, "You [Arafat] are aware of the sentiments of disgust and disrespect that all the Holy Sepulchre fathers are feeling for the descendants of the crucifiers of our Lord Jesus... actual crucifiers of your people, Sionists [sic] Jewish conquerors of the Holy Land of Palestine."
According to Arutz 7, Irineos wrote the letter in response to Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit's rejection of Irineos's candidacy for the patriarchal position. Irineos asked Arafat for his support, promising that if he is elected, "rest assured, Mr. President, that the rights of our most beloved Palestinian people on the Holy City of Jerusalem will find the most 'hot' supporter."
A second letter from Irineos to Arafat, dated April 5, 2002, emphasized Arafat's "heroic resistance" to Israel's "illegal and inhuman aggression" against Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah and Christian holy sites in Bethlehem. Irineos signed the letter in large type as "IRINEOS I - PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM AND WHOLE PALESTINE."
A spokesman for the patriarch said that the letter published in Maariv was fake, Israel Radio reported. The spokesman blamed internal church politics for producing the false document.
Irineos's attorney Gilad Sher said, "Patriarch Irineos categorically denies that the published letter was written by him and carried his signature. Three months ago he discovered that letters and documents bearing his forged signature were being circulated and he filed a complaint with Israel Police," Sher said.
But sources familiar with the issue told Maariv, "In many previous occasions as well, documents have been circulated with the patriarch's signature that were uncomfortable for him. The patriarch claimed they were forged and this is apparently his mode of operation."
Irineos: "I am not pro-Palestinian"
Minister of Construction and Housing Natan Sharansky (Yisrael Ba'aliya) led the opposition to Irineos's appointment, Maariv reported. "I have documents which show his promise to give Arafat assets in sensitive Jerusalem locations," Sharansky said.
Minister of National Infrastructure Effi Eitam (National Religious Party) expressed amazement at Sharon's inability to stand up to pressures to appoint the anti-Semitic patriarch. Eitam, who met with Irineos, said he wasn't convinced by his claims that the letters were forgeries, Maariv reported.
Irineos was elected by the bishops of the Jerusalem patriarchate in August, 2001, and enthroned on September 15, 2001, as the leader of the oldest and largest church in the Holy Land. The lack of government recognition of this appointment prevents Irineos from carrying out many normal functions, including holding a bank account or obtaining a visa for travel, the New York Times reported. Before his election, Irineos was for 20 years the Jerusalem patriarchate's representative to Greece.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post in November, 2001, Irineos declared, "I am not pro-Palestinian, nor pro-Israeli, nor pro-anything. I am only pro-God."
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