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The bishop has now become one of the most powerful Christian leaders in Israel—head of the church that is guardian of most of the holy sites.

The Greek Orthodox Church is also the biggest landowner in the Holy Land, with holdings stretching from Jerusalem to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Irineos, 62, born on the Greek island of Samos, was elected on August 13 in two rounds of voting, eight months after the death of the previous patriarch, Diodoros I. In the first round, 50 priests chose three candidates from a list of 15. Then 17 bishops voted in the second round to elect the patriarch.

For four months, Israel tried to block Irineos and four other candidates from the ballot.

Members of the 100,000-strong Greek Orthodox community of Arabs in the Holy Land believe Israel's efforts were an intervention to prevent a pro-Palestinian patriarch from being elected.

The election result was a great disappointment for the Israeli government, said Jerusalem based Rabbi David Rosen, a leading Israeli inter-faith activist.

"Irineos is seen as less amenable and less willing [than other nominees] to kow-tow to Israeli interests. This result proves the real futility of the effort [to block his election] and [the] assumption you can draw the map to suit your own political interests."

Rosen said that by trying to intervene in the process, Israel had probably ensured that Irineos would be less sympathetic towards the Jewish State.

"If someone had tried to keep me out of the position, I'm not sure I would have a great love for Israel either," Rosen said.

Under a law dating back to the sixth century emperor Justinian, the government of the Holy Land has the right to approve or disqualify candidates for the office of the patriarch.

The list of candidates was submitted to the governments of Israel and Jordan, as well as to the Palestinian Authority. While Jordan and the Palestinian Authority approved all nominees, Israel rejected five. Their objection was overturned by the Supreme Court of Israel.

In an official statement, the Greek Orthodox Church said it would ask Jordan and the Palestinian Authority for the approval of their new patriarch but did not mention Israel.

Under the previous patriarch, Israel bought and leased significant areas of land from the Greek Orthodox Church, including affluent neighborhoods of the city and the land which the official residences of the Israeli President and Prime Minister stand on.

Israel was apparently wary of the Church coming under the rule of a pro-Palestinian patriarch; for fear that this could result in land disputes when long-term leases begin to expire. But the chairman of the Greek Orthodox Church's lay committee in Jerusalem, Mr Yosef Dik, attempted to allay such fears.

He said that the election of the new patriarch raised the hope of opening a "new chapter in [the church's] relations with the community in Israel."

Irineos has a long association with the Holy Land, having arrived in Jerusalem in 1953 and graduating from the church's theological seminary in 1963. He was also the Jerusalem Patriarchate's representative in Greece for many years.

Copyright © 2001 ENI.

In July, Kathimerinireported on the attempts to find a patriarch and the alleged corruption of Diodoros I.

Previous Christianity Todayarticles on Diodoros I include:

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August (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45