By Thameen Kheetan
AMMAN – Jordanian members of the Greek Orthodox Church have renewed calls for Patriarch Theophilus III to step down and for Arabising the leadership of the Greek-led church.
In a protest held outside the Amman archdiocese on Sunday evening, hundreds of Orthodox Christians accused the Greek patriarch of failing to honour previous commitments and marginalising Arabs inside the Church – an umbrella of believers in Jordan, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
They denounced recent accords between Israel and the Jerusalem-based Greek Orthodox Patriarchate to renew contracts leasing Church-owned land on which key Israeli government institutions are situated and called for revoking them.
In 2009, followers of the Church from both sides of the Jordan River took part in a series of protests against Theophilus III, charging he did not meet commitments he made to the Jordanian government and the Palestinian Authority when he came to office six years ago, replacing Irenios I, who was dismissed over sales of church land in Jerusalem to Israeli investors.
Any patriarch has to have the blessings of Jordan, the Palestinians and Israel in order to gain legitimacy.
Theophilus III has pledged to stop land sales to the Israelis and present a comprehensive list of all church assets to the Jordanian government.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which is in charge of following up on the Orthodox issue, revealed that earlier this year the patriarchate renewed the lease for land in West Jerusalem until the year 2150.
Categories: Asia, CHRISTIANITY, Israel, Jordan, Middle East, Palestine, Religion