Jordan government withdraws recognition of Jerusalem patriarch

May 13, 2007, 12:37 GMT

Amman - The Jordanian cabinet has withdrawn recognition of Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III for his failure to retrieve the church properties that it says were secretly and illegally sold to Jews two years ago, officials said Sunday.

'The cabinet decided during its session Saturday night to withdraw recognition from Patriarch Theophilus III for his failure to honour the obligations he made to the Jordanian government' 18 months ago, they added.

The government also accused Theophilus of failing to enforce a 1958 Jordanian law that defines relations between the Greek Orthodox patriarchate and Arab followers of the church in the Holy Land.

Theophilus made the promises after he was appointed in the post in August 2005 to replace his predecessor patriarch Irineos I, who was sacked for his involvement in the illegal sale of property belonging to the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem to Jews in 2005.

Chairman of the Central Orthodox Council in Jordan and Palestine Rauf Abu Jaber welcomed the cabinet's decision saying that the sacked patriarch 'failed to restore the real estate that was sold by his predecessor to Jews.'

He said that the case was still being considered by an Israeli court.

Theophilus also did not appoint two Arab archbishops to the church's council as provided for in the law, Abu Jaber said.

As one of the biggest property owners in Jerusalem, the Orthodox Church possesses large tracts of real estate inside the Old City. It also shares control of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with other Christian denominations.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch represents about 100,000 followers in the Holy Land.

In Jordan, the Orthodox congregation comprises about 55 per cent of the country's Christian society of about 250,000.

Under a 1994 peace treaty, Israel recognized Jordan's right to look after all Islamic and Christian holy shrines in East Jerusalem, which was part of the Hashemite kingdom when Israel occupied the entire West Bank in the 1967 war.