The head of Greece's powerful Orthodox Church faced calls to resign on Thursday after being further caught up in escalating scandals that have stunned the country.
Pressure on the 66-year-old Archbishop Christodoulos grew following revelations that -- despite earlier denials -- he was acquainted with lower-ranking clergy directly implicated in trial-fixing and other major corruption allegations.
"There is no other solution ... the only thing left for the archbishop to do is resign," Metropolitan Bishop Chrysostomos of Zakynthos, a longtime rival of the church leader, told private Flash radio.
The Orthodox Church, which represents the official state religion and holds vast property assets, has been overwhelmed by daily allegations of embezzlement, corruption and sexual escapades.
The embarrassing saga has been fueled by revelations in both liberal and conservative media, including the nightly broadcast of alleged wiretaps of telephone conversations containing lurid sexual details.
One metropolitan bishop has been suspended for six months and two lower-ranking priests have been arrested and taken into custody, while police have launched a manhunt for a fugitive drug-trafficking suspect who is a central figure in the church scandals.
The allegations have also implicated senior clergy at the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is closely tied to Athens.
Last week, Greek church elders approved sweeping measures to increase financial transparency in the rarely scrutinized institution.
The church's wealth is more than ยค10 billion (US$13 billion), according to some estimates, while the state pays priests' salaries.
Christodoulos apologized to the elders at the governing Holy Synod, and easily defeated a no-confidence motion by 67-1 votes.
"The archbishop will no longer tolerate this orchestrated effort ... to slander his name and blacken the image of the church," Christodoulos' office said in a statement late Wednesday.
Critics argue the reforms fall far short of church promises to clean up corruption.
"This is a situation of total decay," Alekos Alavanos, leader of the small Left Coalition party, said. "We are dealing with a monster ... this effort to self-police (the church) is nonsense."
Leading newspapers Thursday began to question whether the archbishop would survive the crisis.
"Christodoulos is fighting to save his throne, which is crumbling before the eyes of the faithful and under the weight of the scandals," the Athens daily Ethnos wrote.
"He is repeatedly accused of lying ... there are increasing signals showing him the door."
Greece's conservative government - backed by the church before winning general elections a year ago - has avoided making any public statement of support for Christodoulos but also refused to start a debate on the official separation of church and state.
Separation would require constitutional change.
"We must decide: are we a modern democracy or a theocracy?" Serapheim Fidanidis, editor of the liberal daily Eleftherotypia, said earlier this week. "Do we want to be a modern country or Iran?"