Istanbul, Turkey - World Orthodox leaders gathered Tuesday in Istanbul, the ancient seat of Orthodoxy, to decide whether to stop recognizing the beleaguered patriarch of Jerusalem, Irineos I, and assert a rare unified position on the crisis facing the church in the Holy Land.
Representatives of the world's 14 main Orthodox churches gathered in the rare "pan-Orthodox" synod presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Istanbul-based spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians.
Irineos has persistently refused to resign despite efforts by his own church members to depose him over explosive allegations that his church leased property to Jewish investors in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians consider their capital.
He did not speak as he entered the Patriarchate.
Bartholomew prayed for the Holy Spirit to guide the clerics in making their decision as they met in the gold-adorned Cathedral of St. George. It was not clear when a decision would be made.
The Istanbul proceedings are the first major pan-Orthodox summit in more than a decade. The gathering has no authority to formally dismiss Irineos or pick his successor. That duty rests solely with the synod, or governing council, of the Jerusalem church. Irineos refuses to convene the synod.
But leading clerics from churches in Greece, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania and other Orthodox countries may use the Istanbul meeting to further isolate Irineos and voice opinions about how to regain the church's credibility after months of upheaval in Jerusalem.
Orthodox clerics supporting Irineos' removal — represented by six bishops at the synod — claim they have already voted to remove him as patriarch and seek endorsement from the pan-Orthodox synod representing the highest authority in the Orthodox church.
"The Church of Jerusalem has a problem. We solved it," said Cornelius, the Metropolitan of Petra. "We want our decision justified by the whole Orthodox church."
But Irineos' attorney, Franciscos Ragoussis, signaled his client would continue to fight his ouster.
A former financial adviser to Irineos is accused of giving Jewish investors 198-year leases for two church-owned hostels and several shops in the Old City. Palestinians were outraged, claiming the deals were part of Jewish encroachment to Arab quarters.
The scandal represented an embarrassment for the Orthodox church and Monday's meeting was widely seen as an effort by Bartholomew and other church leaders to improve its image in the Holy Land.
For Bartholomew, a member of Turkey's tiny Greek minority, the meeting also represents an assertion of his authority, which has sometimes come under challenge from Turkey and within the Orthodox church.
On Tuesday, about a dozen Turkish nationalists shouted slogans and waved Turkish flags outside the meeting, accusing Bartholomew of trying to form an independent state like the
Vatican inside Turkey.
"A state within a state: This is called treachery," one poster said.