Former patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem Irineos imprisoned for allegedly selling land to Jews.
It is no secret that Palestinian Christians are suffering under the Palestinian Authority and at the hand of Hamas, which has precipitated a dramatic decline in the Christian presence, notably in Bethlehem.
This pattern is of course repeated across the entire Middle East.
Many folk take it upon themselves to deny this reality and blame Palestinian Christian problems on Israel.
One consequence for Palestinian Christians living under the heavy hand of Islamic authority, is their need to placate their overlords with obsequious acts of self-preservation.
One such act was the wretched Kairos Document. This document was nothing more than a scurrilous anti-Jewish diatribe, with the stated objective of mobilising churches worldwide in a program of boycotts, divestment and delegitimisation of the State of Israel.
On an aside, the Board of Deputies of British Jews has just published a truly pathetic response to this document, which has rightly not gone down well over at CIFWatch.
One of the high profile endorsers / signatories of this document is non other than Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. It is within this context that I read the disturbing report of the unofficial imprisonment of the former – ousted – Patriarch Irineos I, by Theophilos.
And what was Irineos’s crime? Allegedly selling land to Jews:
Six years ago, Irineos I was the patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem with about 100,000 followers. Today, he sits behind locked doors in his Old City apartment, claiming he has been imprisoned by the successor who ousted him in a dispute over sale of church land to Israelis.
The only way Irineos could speak to The Associated Press Thursday was through a wireless microphone hoisted at the end of a rope to his roof — in the same black shopping bag supporters use nightly to deliver him groceries.
Reporters who tried to gain access to Irineos through the compound’s massive metal door were denied entry by church guards peering out through a crack.
“They allow nobody out and nobody in to visit me,” said Irineos. “They are afraid of the people because I’m loved by the people, and I love the people,” he said into the AP microphone, peering over the edge of his roof.
It is a harsh comedown for a man who ruled his flock for four years as a revered spiritual figure.
Irineos said his successor, Theofilos III, will not allow attorneys, doctors or visitors to enter the home he has lived in for almost 40 years, which sits inside a large church-owned complex. He said he’s been detained for three years over his refusal to concede the patriarchate.
Theofilos replaced Irineos in 2005 after allegations he sold church property to Israelis seeking to expand the Jewish presence in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim for the capital of a future state.
Palestinians consider sale of land to Jews a serious crime. Most Orthodox Christians in Jerusalem are Palestinians.
Irineos maintains he was unaware of the transactions and did nothing wrong. A report commissioned by the Palestinian Authority in 2005 concluded he didn’t participate in any of the sales.
“I ask God every day to reveal the truth,” he said. “There is no patriarch. I’m the patriarch.”
This to me, is simply another example of Palestinian Christians maneuvering to acquiesce and appease Islam, which let’s face it, never works.
Tags: Christianity, Church Life, Israel, Politics
January 9th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
Theofilos III – suspicious behavior has the pressure of dhimmitude resulted in his clandestine conversion and submission to islam?
As sure as eggs is eggs the wheat is being sorted from the chaff.