Church row could scupper Vartholomaios visit
A row between the Church of Greece and the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has reignited after the decision on Monday by the Athens Municipal Council to concede the right to the Archdiocese of Athens to use churches on the Probona estate in Ano Patissia.
The question of who has jurisdiction over these churches has long been a source of tension and legal wrangling between the Church of Greece and the Patriarchate.
Church sources on Tuesday did not rule out the cancellation of Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios’ November 20 visit to Athens on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his ascension to the patriarchal throne.
According to the decision, the Athens Archdiocese was given the right to use the old Church of Agios Georgios and the new Church of Agios Georgios, Agios Anargyros and Agia Fotini and its auxiliary spaces for a period of 50 years.
