The Orthodox Church of Greece held a memorial service Wednesday for Patriarch Petros VII of Alexandria _ the spiritual leader of the estimated 300,000 Greek Orthodox in Africa--who was killed in a helicopter crash over the weekend.
As an artillery battery fired volleys from a hill overlooking central Athens, Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos and Premier Costas Caramanlis attended the service, normally accorded to a head of state.
The service was held at Athens' main cathedral, where Petros' body has been lying in state since Monday. After it ended, Petros' remains were to leave for Egypt aboard a Greek military flight for a funeral service Wednesday at the Greek Orthodox church of St. George in old Cairo.
``We must for the time being put aside the questions we have about the tragedy of his death to honor him,'' said the head of the Greek Church, Archbishop Christodoulos. ``He was a humble man who dedicated his life to his church. His passing has left a giant vacuum.''
Petros, 55, was killed Saturday when a Greek army CH-47D Chinook helicopter taking his entourage to the monastic community of Mount Athos in northern Greece crashed into the sea.
The government and a military prosecutor have ordered separate investigations to determine if there was any negligence involved in the crash, which killed 17 people.
Military investigators have yet to find the bodies of eight of those who died and have also failed to locate the wreckage, believed to be lying 3,449 feet below the surface of the water off the coast of Mount Athos.
Other passengers on board the helicopter included Metropolitan Bishop Chrysostomos of Carthage, Metropolitan Bishop Ireneus of Pelusim and Bishop Nectarios of Magadascar.
No decision has yet been made on who will replace Petros.
Petros, was born in Cyprus and served the church throughout Africa. Although his church has a tiny following on the continent, it is one of the world's oldest Christian congregations, considered second in the ancient ranking of the Orthodox churches and able to trace its roots to the apostle St. Mark.
Elected patriarch in 1997, Petros was ordained in 1969. The following year, he served as deacon in the patriarchate of Alexandria and as a priest in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was the metropolitan of West Africa covering 22 countries before becoming the 115th Patriarch of Alexandria.