Between the devil and the deep sea

Even Easter did not reconcile the patriarchs in Jerusalem

One of the main pre-Easter ceremonies of the Orthodox world - the descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - may be overshadowed by the ongoing confrontation between two hierarchs fighting for the right to be called the head of the Jerusalem Church. Deposed last May at the Pan-Orthodox Council in Istanbul for financial fraud with church property, former Patriarch Irenaeus I, according to rumors, is going to appear at this service with his supporters, which is fraught with serious unrest. Moreover, Irenaeus’ flock already has experience of fist fights in churches with opponents from the entourage of the current Patriarch Theophilus III. The strength and determination of the former primate of the Jerusalem Church, from whom the entire Orthodox world has turned its back, can be given by the obvious support of the Israeli government, which continues to consider him a legitimate patriarch. Theophilos may be let down by parishioners among the Orthodox Palestinians, who are still distrustful of the newcomer Greek, who took the throne of the Patriarch of Jerusalem in December 2005.

In the synod of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church <http://www.religio.ru/dosje/09/62.html> they still hope that troubles can be avoided, and the Holy Fire will descend as usual, and the candles and lamps lit from it will be carried to churches all over the world. Moreover, this Easter miracle in the minds of believers is invested with the deepest meaning - it is believed that the year when the fire does not appear under the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher will be the last. In an interview with Interfax, the secretary of the synod, Archbishop Aristarchus, assured that “only Theophilus III will come to the ceremony as patriarch.” However, even in this case there remains cause for concern - after all, as the news agency warns, the head of the Coalition of Palestinian Christians, Dimitri Diliani, who calls the Greeks from Theophilus’ circle “strangers who do not want to work to protect the interests of local Christians,” intends to bring them to the service in the Church of the Sepulcher The Lord has about 1.5 thousand of its supporters.

How this could turn out is already known. In February of this year, at St. Anne's Church in East Jerusalem, a meeting of two patriarchal support groups ended in a fight, in which one of the clergy was even injured. The police had to separate the violent Orthodox Christians, and two particularly zealous Christians, who for some reason did not want to put their cheek under the enemy’s arm, but intended, on the contrary, to hit their opponent in the face, had to be taken to the police station. But if from the point of view of the police this is just an offense, then in the view of the Israeli authorities the conflict has a more serious legal background. The fact is that the Israeli government has still not officially recognized Theophilus III as the head of the Jerusalem Church, considering Irenaeus the only legitimate primate.

This, of course, gives extra arguments to the opponents of the former patriarch, who prove that he was deposed for a reason - precisely for transferring relations between the church, which he had headed since 2001, and the state of Israel onto a commercial footing. Irenaeus I, we recall, was accused of leasing to the Israelis plots belonging to the Orthodox Church in the Old City of Jerusalem. Experts estimated the transaction amount at $7 million, and the patriarch, allegedly, was supposed to personally receive a commission - according to various sources, from 400 thousand to 1.5 million dollars.

However, so far this opportunity to point out Irenaeus’ close connection with the cabinet of ministers has brought Theophilus only the moral support of all local Orthodox churches, but not the status of patriarch officially recognized by Israel. If it is possible to achieve a review of relations between the current synod of the Church of Jerusalem, it will only be through the courts, and even then not earlier than July. A month ago, the Israeli Supreme Court already refused to render a verdict on the synod's appeal against the refusal to recognize Patriarch Theophilos III as the head of the church and decided to hold hearings no earlier than three months after the end of parliamentary elections.

The painful conflict in the Orthodox community of Jerusalem cannot but worry the Moscow Patriarchate, whose hierarchs hoped that after the enthronement of Theophilus III, “the ship of the Jerusalem Church will safely pass the dangerous period of trials and reach a quiet haven.” For ordinary Russian believers, it is much more important that this confrontation does not interfere with the delivery of a lamp lit from the Holy Fire to Moscow for Easter, as was the case last year.

Fedor SEREBRYANSKY