Jerusalem, Middle East - Leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Holy Land said Thursday they were severing contact with Patriarch Irineos I because of corruption suspicions and that they considered him dismissed.
Thirteen bishops and 25 archmandrites of the church made the announcement in a statement faxed to The Associated Press. Their dismissal is not binding, but it ratchets up internal pressures on Irineos to step down over the reported leasing of prime church property to Jewish settlement groups in Jerusalem's Old City for 198 years.
The patriarch, who has denied wrongdoing, responded with a tough statement charging critics with "betrayal, impropriety and illegality."
Such land transactions, while legal, are politically explosive because Palestinians see them as abetting Jews in their efforts to expand their presence in east Jerusalem. Palestinians consider that sector of the city as capital of their future state, while Jews claim the entire city as their eternal capital.
In their letter Thursday, the rebel clergy accused Irineos of being "incorrigibly caught up in a syndrome of lying, religious distortion, degradation of the patriarchate's role, and irresponsible mishandling of patriarchate property."
They declared him persona non grata, and served notice that they would bring legal proceedings against him and his associates "to revoke all suspect deals and restore all that was sold."
In a statement Thursday, Irineos said his critics did not raise their objections at a synod last month "but preferred the road of betrayal, impropriety and illegality." He pledged that the church "will deal with the issues facing the Patriarchate with prudence and sobriety." He did not indicate he would convene a new synod.
In Athens, Panayiotis Skandalakis, the Greek deputy Foreign Minister for religious affairs, said the latest development is grave and repeated his government's call on Irineos "to take an initiative in order to find a way out of the crisis," a clear indication that he should resign.
Dimitri Diliani, head of a coalition of Palestinian Christians, called the clergymen's revolt on Thursday a "historic move of disobedience" that would further isolate Irineos and create more pressure on him to either resign or convene the patriarchate's Holy Synod, which would have the authority to dismiss him.
Palestinians, who consider the alleged land deals a betrayal, have held several protests against Irineos outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, demanding he step down.
Archbishop Aristarchos, the acting chief secretary of the Holy Land patriarchate, urged Irineos last month to step down, and on Thursday said the letter was "an act of necessity to take the patriarchate out of the impasse."