The Greek Orthodox Church in the Holy Land has rejected Israeli efforts to influence its choice of a new Patriarch and has ended months of internal paralysis by electing a new leader of the world's oldest church.
The new Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Irineos I, who becomes the leader of the largest church in the Holy Land, was elected in Jerusalem this week during a synod in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.
Patriarch Irineos is regarded by Israel as hostile to the interests of the Israeli government, which for months tried to block him and four other candidates from the election to succeed the late Patriarch Diodoros I, who died last December at the age of 77. However, the new Patriarch has yet to show where his political sympathies lie.
The Israel government had cited "security considerations" and "interests in Jerusalem" for its decision to omit the five from a list of 15 leading church figures submitted by the patriarchate for state approval. Under Ottoman laws still in force, the 17-member synod must submit the names of candidates to the temporal powers.
Both Jordan and the Palestinian Authority accepted the 15 names, but Israel only withdrew its objections earlier this month after coming under international pressure and pressure from the Greek Orthodox Church.
The church has appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court over government interference in the election, and accused the Justice Minister, Mr Meir Sheetrit, of a "flagrant violation" of religious freedom by rejecting five of 15 candidates. It said the bishops whose names had been crossed out had all been involved in Church affairs for more than 35 years.
Patriarch Irineos's two main rival bishops in this week's election were Metropolitan Cornelius, who had been acting patriarch after the death of Diodoros, and Metropolitan Timotheos, the secretary general of the Jerusalem patriarchate and the favourite to succeed Diodoros I.
Church members have reported ugly rivalry between the candidates in recent months - including allegations of sexual and financial corruption - and tensions between the Greek-educated and trained clergy and the mainly Arab laity.
"This election result is a great disappointment for the Israeli government," said Dr David Rosen, a leading Israeli inter-faith activist and a former Chief Rabbi of Ireland. "Irineos is seen as less amenable and less willing to kow-tow to Israeli interests." The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has less than 100,000 members, who are mainly Arabs. But its large land ownership has placed it at the centre of the battle for the control of Jerusalem.
The Church owns or leases large areas in Jerusalem, including affluent neighbourhoods in Jewish West Jerusalem and the land on which the Israeli president and prime minister have their residences. The late Patriarch Diodoros sold and leased Israel significant tracts of land, much to the displeasure of Palestinian church members. The leases on several properties held by the Israeli government in Jerusalem are due to expire by the mid-21st century, and it is wary of the Church falling into the hands of a pro-Arab patriarch.
Many of the laity accuse the clergy of being out of touch. They allege Palestinians have been betrayed by the lucrative land sales, and claim the church leaders have lined their pockets with the profits. Police are investigating claims - which Patriarch Diodoros denies - by an Israeli lawyer that he gave $16 million to him to lease church land in Jerusalem.