Jerusalem, Israel - The Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem named a new patriarch on Monday to replace Irineos I, who was sacked over an alleged land deal with Jews in Arab East Jerusalem that angered Palestinians and sparked a church crisis.
A 14-member church synod unanimously elected Metropolitan Theophilos to succeed Irineos, who has denied the accusations. Palestinian authorities have said they could find no evidence against him.
Theophilos is a Greek national who has served in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre and represented the Greek church in Moscow and Qatar.
He replaces Irineos, who was ousted in May by the church's Holy Land hierarchy as patriarch and demoted to monk over the alleged leasing of church property to Jewish investors in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as capital of a future state.
"Our aim was to elect a patriarch who will be worthy and capable to help the patriarchate restore its prestige," said Archbishop Aristarchos, chief secretary of the patriarchate.
"We feel that we are stronger now to face and overcome more effectively the crisis which we passed," he said.
Palestinians object to the lease or sale of any property in Jerusalem to Jews because they fear such moves would cement Israel's grip on the eastern sector of the city holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians.
The Greek Orthodox Church is a major landowner with title to thousands of acres of property in Jerusalem. Israel captured East Jerusalem along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognised internationally.
A Palestinian ministerial commission said last month it had found no evidence that Irineos was involved in leasing church property to Jews.
Irineos had refused to step down, blaming the affair on rivals who wanted to oust him. His refusal prompted the leaders of the world's Orthodox churches, which have 300 million followers worldwide, to vote in a synod held in Istanbul in May to stop recognising him as patriarch.
The appointment of Theophilos must still be approved, under church law, by Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
An Israeli official said Israel had made no decision but a ministerial committee was looking into the controversy. A Palestinian official said the governing authority would likely respect the synod's decision. Jordan's position was not immediately clear.
The Greek Orthodox Church in the Holy Land is led by Greek clerics rather than Palestinians, unlike other churches in the region that have opted in recent years to appoint Arab patriarchs.
Palestinian Christians have complained of a Greek monopoly in the church and have demanded a say in decision-making. But Aristarchos said the nationality of the new patriarch was not a major issue.