"We Greeks have a saying about the final drop that falls into a cup and causes it to begin overflowing." So said one of the 27 to Arutz-7's Shimon Cohen today, referring to the "final straw" that caused many in the Church to publicly demand Irineos' resignation. Given the atmosphere in the Church, it now appears that the end of Irineos' reign is near.
Just a few days ago, the Secretary-General of the Greek Orthodox Church, Bishop Aristarcos, held a press conference in which he demanded that Irineos be removed from his position. In addition, ten metropolitan bishops of the patriarchate sent Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis a letter earlier this week, asking him to act to have Irineos step down.
The main issue at present is the recent sale or long-term leasing by the Church of two Jaffa Gate hotels and neighboring shops to Jewish interests. Irineos has said that he did not authorize the deals: "If any property transfer deals have been made, they are invalid... I did not sign anything."
However, Nicholas Papedemes, Irineos' trusted financial advisor until just recently, has presented a power of attorney signed by Irineos. In the document, Irineos grants Nicholas the power to carry out financial deals, including the permanent leasing of properties. "The Patriarch was aware of all the details of the deal," Papedemes told a Greek newspaper.
This deal, which aroused much opposition within the Church, was merely the "final drop" for many in the Church in terms of Irineos. "From the day he was elected," one of the 27 signatories told Cohen, "we were very tolerant of him. His personality is very strange. He likes to take vengeance. He trusts no one, not even his supporters. We all have many stories of bad relations with him. The Patriarch is incapable of retaining good relations with anyone for a long period."
"Irineos works only with thieves," the Church figure continued. "We are afraid to think to where we can deteriorate if he continues in his position. Every honest person who worked with him was fired or resigned." As examples, he mentioned financial advisor Bishop Dr. Cyprianus Milidonis, who was forced to leave to Cyprus, and Bishop Martinius, "another honest person who worked closely with Irineos, but the great differences of opinion between them led to his being unable to tolerate Irineos' behavior, and he left for Greece."
The senior Church figure, whose name is being withheld at his request, also alluded to financial corruption by Irineos: "Now he tells us that there's no money, but we don't believe him. As Greeks, we know how to make money in all circumstances, and to subsist. Here, it's already been six months that we haven't received salaries from him, and still we continue to work, get money somehow, and we live... The Patriarchate has very much money. Irineos has no faith or fear of God, and so he decided to use the Church's money as his own."
The Greek Orthodox Church numbers about 100,000 faithful, most of them Arabs, and is considered the richest church in Israel. As head of the church, Irineos has responsibility for its extensive land holdings. These include the land on which the Knesset was built, the Prime Minister’s and the President’s official residences, parts of Jerusalem’s wealthiest neighborhoods, and locations in the Old City and in the new Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa.
Three months ago, Irineos withdrew a four-million shekel lawsuit he had filed against the Maariv newspaper. The suit was filed over a series of articles between December 2002 and January 2004 claiming that Irineos had taken anti-Semitic stances. The evidence against Irineos included two personal letters he wrote to the late arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat. On July 17, 2001, Irineos 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... actual crucifiers of your people, Sionists [sic] Jewish conquerors of the Holy Land of Palestine." He then asks Arafat for his support, promising that if he is elected head of the church, "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."