Christodoulos is defiant
The head of the Church of Greece yesterday gave his boldest indication yet that he has no intention of stepping down over the spate of scandals in which the institution has been caught up, while calling on worshippers to show their support in the face of outside threats. «If those that are attacking me think I will resign or that I will stop talking, they are deeply misguided,» said Archbishop Christodoulos during a service at a church in the Athens suburb of Kallithea. Christodoulos was the subject of isolated opposition within the Church over the last 10 days, especially in the wake of allegations linking him to fugitive drug-smuggler Apostolos Vavilis and jailed Archimandrite Iakovos Yiossakis. He also claimed that some people were annoyed by the fact that Greeks were the most religious people in Europe and that those interested in seeing globalization advance were responsible for the scandal-mongering the Greek Orthodox Church has been suffering for over a month. Christodoulos called on the faithful not to abandon the Church. His comments were echoed by Irenaios, patriarch of Jerusalem. «These days the gates of hell have opened and the darkness of lies, defamation and war against the mother of churches has emerged,» he said yesterday. «Demons are circling the walls of the holy city and trying to crush those who support the Jerusalem patriarchate and the brotherhood of the Holy Land,» added Irenaios. The patriarchate of Jerusalem said last Wednesday that Christodoulos had sent Vavilis there in 2001 to help with the election of Irenaios. The archbishop denied the charge and a tense atmosphere developed between him and Irenaios. However, on Saturday, the patriarchate said it would not be making any more public statements on the subject in the interests of «peace and unity.» Anthimos, bishop of Thessaloniki, also called for the fascination with the Vavilis story to end. «It is shameful for Greeks that we are dragged behind Vavilis, making a mockery of ourselves,» he said while warning that the Church of Greece risked losing the Jerusalem patriarchate due to the ongoing dispute. Anthimos also declared his support for Christodoulos and called for a four-hour vigil to be held at the city’s churches tonight, from 8.30 p.m., to help the Church overcome the current crisis.
