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St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Ann Arbor, MI stnickaa.org |
This article is about the Patriarch of Jerusalem in the Greek Orthodox tradition. For other uses, see Patriarch of Jerusalem (disambiguation).
The Patriarchate traces its line of succession to the Jewish Christians—from James the Just of the 1st century AD. On the importance of Jerusalem, the Catholic Encyclopedia reads:
[edit] HistoryIn the Apostolic Age the Christian Church was organized as an indefinite number of local Churches that in the initial years looked to that at Jerusalem as its main centre and point of reference, see also Jerusalem in Christianity. James the Just, who was martyred ca 62, is described as the first Bishop of Jerusalem. The First Council of Nicaea (325), attributed special honor, but not Metropolitan status, (the then highest rank in the Church) to the bishop of Jerusalem.[3] Jerusalem continued to be a bishopric until 451, when it was raised to the status of patriarchate by the Council of Chalcedon. (See also Pentarchy) After the Arab conquest in the 7th century, Muslims recognized Jerusalem as the seat of Christianity and the Patriarch as its leader. When the Great Schism took place in 1054 the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the other three Eastern Patriarchs formed the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Patriarch of Rome (ie the Pope) formed the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek Patriarch lived in Constantinople until 1187. In 1099 the Crusaders appointed a Latin Patriarch. [edit] Current position Today, the headquarters of the patriarchate is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The number of Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land is estimated to be about 100,000 people. A majority of Church members are Palestinian Arabs, and there are also many Russians, Romanians, and Georgians. The patriarchate was recently involved in a significant controversy. Patriarch Irenaios, elected in 2001, was deposed, on decisions of the Holy Synod of Jerusalem, in the aftermath of a scandal involving the sale of church land in East Jerusalem to Israeli investors. The move enraged many Orthodox Palestinian members, since the land was in an area that most Palestinians hoped would someday become part of a Palestinian state. On May 24, 2005 a special Pan-Orthodox Synod was convened in Constantinople (İstanbul) to review the decisions of the Holy Synod of Jerusalem. The Pan-Orthodox Synod under the presidency of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, voted overwhelmingly to confirm the decision of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre and to strike Irenaios' name from the diptychs, and on May 30, Jerusalem's Holy Synod chose Metropolitan Cornelius of Petra to serve as locum tenens pending the election of a replacement for Irenaios. On August 22, 2005, the Holy Synod of the Church of Jerusalem unanimously elected Theophilos, the former Archbishop of Tabor, as the 141st Patriarch of Jerusalem. [edit] Jewish Bishops of JerusalemSee also: Jewish Christianity and Cenacle  Eusebius of Caesarea provides the names of an unbroken succession of thirty-six Bishops of Jerusalem up to the year 324.[4] The first sixteen of these bishops were Jewish Christians—from James the Just through Judas († 135)—the remainder were Gentiles:
[edit] Bishops of Aelia CapitolinaSee also: Aelia Capitolina As a result of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135, Hadrian was determined to erase Judaism from the province of Judea. The province was renamed Syria Palaestina. Jerusalem was left in total ruin, and a new city built nearby called Aelia Capitolina. These gentile bishops (Jews were excluded from the city except for the day of Tisha B'Av), were appointed under the authority of the Metropolitans of Caesarea. Until the setting up of the Patriarchates in 325, Metropolitan was the highest episcopal rank in the Christian church.
[edit] Bishops of JerusalemJerusalem received special recognition in Canon VII of First Council of Nicaea in 325, without yet becoming a metropolitan see.[6]. Also, the Council for the first time established the Patriarchates. The Bishops of Jerusalem were appointed by the Patriarchs of Antioch.
[edit] Patriarchs of JerusalemThe Council of Chalcedon in 451 raised the bishop of Jerusalem to the rank of patriarch. (See Pentarchy) However, Byzantine politics meant that Jerusalem passed from the jurisdiction of Patriarch of Antioch to the Greek authorities in Constantinople. For centuries, Greek clergy dominated the Jerusalem church. At the same time, the Roman church claimed primacy. (See Papal supremacy)
[edit] Patriarchs of Jerusalem in exileAs a result of the First Crusade in 1099, a Latin Patriarchate was created, with residence in Jerusalem from 1099 to 1187. Greek Patriarchs continued to be appointed, but resided in Constantinople.
[edit] Return of Patriarchs of JerusalemIn 1187, the Latin Patriarch was forced to flee the region, and the Greek Patriarch returned to Jerusalem. The office of Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem remained and appointments continued to be made by the Catholic Church, with the Latin Patriarch residing in Rome.
[edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] External links
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