Showdown over holy objects in Jerusalem

Greek Orthodox patriarch turns to court to instruct his predecessor to return collection of holy items valued at millions of dollars. Judge allows church representatives to enter home of former patriarch to photograph items, but they are refused entry

Neta Sela|Published: 11.01.07 , 20:35

A scuffle over religious items broke out between current Greek Orthodox Patriarch Archbishop Theopilus III and his predecessor Irineos I at the former patriarch's residence in the Greek Orthodox Church compound in Jerusalem on Thursday.

Armed with a court order, Patriarch Theophilus and a few others arrived to Irineos' residence in order to photograph the items which are currently in the former patriarch's possession. However, when they attempted to enter Irineos' home, the former patriarch's security guards refused them entry.

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Theophilus requested the Shalom District Court in Jerusalem to instruct Irineos to hand over church memorabilia whose value is estimated to be in the millions of dollars. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch claims that Irineos is holding a collection of church items including centuries-old religious icons, church crosses and other objects that are traditionally transferred from generation to generation within the church.

Sources from with the Patriarchy told Ynet that Irineos' collection contains items "that it is impossible to put a value on at all. Items that have been transferred from patriarch to patriarch for hundreds of years."

Theophilus' appointment as Greek Orthodox Patriarch was only recently officially acknowledged by the Israeli government. He was appointed to the post following the dismissal of his predecessor, Irineos, two years ago following a scandal in which church land holdings in Jerusalem were sold to Jewish groups.

Since leaving the office of patriarch, Irineos has been living in the Greek Orthodox compound in Jerusalem under the constant guard of two policemen.

Judge Karni Musak decided to place a temporary seizure on the items in question in order to prevent Irineos from transferring them to anyone else. Musak also instructed the judge responsible for holy items in the Greek Orthodox church, Hershimandit Kelidion, to enter Irineos' residence in order to photograph the items that the church claims it owns.

When Kelidion arrived to the former Patriarch's residence accompanied by police officers to carry out the court order, a scuffle broke out when the policemen guarding Irineos' residence refused to allow the delegation to enter.

Kelidion sought the help of police in the Old City to resolve the matter. The police decided to send a few more police officers with the delegation in order to prevent any outbreak of violence. Quarrels within the Greek Orthodox Church have led to outbreaks of violence in the past.