Reuters AlertNet – Jerusalem Greek Church fires patriarch over scandal

It appears the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Patriarch Irenaeos, has been voted to be dismissed because of his handling, or mishandling, of church property. This conflict will most likely raise tensions in this already volatile region of the world. It is no small deal for a patriarch to get ‘fired,’ and the added tension posed by the political and geographical facets of this story make this a messy situation. In any case, this story brings Jerusalem back to the forefront of world news, only this time the headlines concern the Orthodox Church and not your typical Jewish-Palestinian conflict.

For those of you interested in a basic overview of the Eastern Orthodox Church and its structure see the PDF I published here with some basic information.