JERUSALEM — Two-and-a-half years after he was elected by a synod of bishops to become the Greek Orthodox patriarch of the Holy Land, Erinaeos I has finally received official recognition from the Israeli government that had shunned him.
Israel announced Jan. 25 it would acknowledge the patriarch’s authority, reversing its long-standing rejection of his May 2001 appointment.
According to reports in the Israeli press, the government reversed its decision after pressure mounted from religious and political leaders from around the world.
The government had refused to recognize the patriarch because it believes he is anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian. Holy Land custom holds that an incoming Greek Orthodox patriarch must be approved by all the sovereigns of the Holy Land: the Israelis, the Palestinians and the Jordanians.
The patriarch’s sympathies are of tremendous importance, Israeli officials have said, because the Greek Orthodox Church owns huge quantities of land and property, especially in Jewish West Jerusalem, which it has leased to the government of Israel for a period of 99 years. The land in question includes numerous private homes, businesses and even the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
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