Thursday, May 24, 2007

. . . and messier, and messier . . .

Ugh! More info on the situation with the Jerusalem Patriarchate and the kingdom of Jordan. Much of it is a recap of what was already known, but two things that stood out to me:
  • "But the problem has taken on other dimensions. According to information obtained by the National Herald, Jordan has also informed the former Patriarch Eirineos that it once again recognizes him as the canonical and legitimate Patriarch of Jerusalem."
  • "In March 2005, however, the Palestinian Authority charged its legal advisors, Elias Khouri and Jaward Bulus, to investigate the issues concerning the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the property dealings under Patriarch Eirineos. The Palestinian Authority produced a 26-page document, which clearly exonerates Eirineos and lays the blame squarely on Papadimas who it clearly characterizes as duping the former patriarch."
I just hope that, whatever comes of all this, the Church can get on with her business of saving souls. We may not be able to do much about governments playing their games, but if the Church is also divided, it's that much worse.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Orthodox church has much apology to make in Western World:
protocommunist massacres by Palamite Zealotes under Hesychast
hyperventilatory halucinations, Cantacuzene taxation driving farmers
to embrace Turks, Komyakoviac Obshchina giving birth to soviet
communism as reactionary casuistry opposing Napoleon's
defeudalization, Cosmus Aitalius being patron originator of of modern
genocide as seen by the massacre of Turks in Crete by Venizelos. Is
all masochistic because reject Original Sin.

abuian said...

I'm not sure exactly why this is even supposed to be a relevant comment on this particular post. Of course, the historically Orthodox part of the world has had its share of problems. But mostly you seem to be talking about cases where the Orthodox world has inflicted suffering on itself. Certainly it has done this, as has pretty much every culture. There is plenty of room for repentance in Orthodox history. Most recently, we're seeing the beginnings of repentance in Russia for the sins that produced Communism and its effects. But none of this negates the suffering the East has experienced at the hands of the West. What any of it has to do with rejecting Original Sin is beyond me.

As for the situation with the Jerusalem Patriarchate, there are a lot of factors in play, not least of which is the political complexity of the region.