www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Battle over Holy Fire

Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 7:40 PM
Subject: COMMUNIQUE FROM ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM


ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM
P.O.Box 14235, Jerusalem, Israel 91141
Office of Ecumenical and Foreign Relations
Contact person: Bishop Aris Shirvanian
Tel: 972-2-628-2331
Fax: 972-2-626-4861
E-mail: arminf@netvision.net.il
Website: www.armenian-patriarchate.org [armenian-patriarchate.org]


COMMUNIQU�

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has heard with great concern about
the false allegations published by the media in Greece regarding the Holy
Fire ceremony, which takes place each year on the Saturday before Easter
in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, according to which: "the Armenians are
demanding that they light the Holy Fire, and it must be noted that the
issue has reached all the way to the Israeli Knesset. As it is known, this
request of the Armenians is persistent, and many times, during the
entrance and exit of the Greek patriarch, there have occurred serious incidents."

The position of the Armenian Patriarchate has always been to uphold the
peaceful and centuries-old traditional ceremony of the Holy Fire, in
compliance with the Agreement on the Status Quo in the Holy Places,
according to which: "The Bishop of the Armenian Church, who is to
accompany the [Greek] Patriarch into the Sepulchre, here joins His Beatitude. The
Patriarch now disrobes, and his mitre and vestments are carried by the
attendant clergy to the Altar in the Orthodox Chapel. The door [of the
Edicule] is then opened and the Patriarch enters the Tomb, accompanied by
the Armenian Bishop."

Unfortunately, since his accession to the throne in 2001, the Greek
Orthodox Patriarch Ireneios I has maintained that the Greeks hold the exclusive
right to light the Holy Fire from the Holy Tomb, subsequently passing it to the
Armenians. Contrary to this assertion, firmans, hujjats, and other
historical and legal documents all state that the Armenian Bishop and the
Greek Patriarch should together light the Holy Fire from the Tomb of our
Lord.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has and will continue to reject the
attempts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem to deny the right of
equal participation by the Armenian Patriarch in the lighting of the Holy
Fire.

#####

Jerusalem, 2 March 2005 DIVAN OF THE ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE

Interesting. Looks like war at the Holy Sepulchre continue. Theres got to have a sacred agreement and not unholy division within the apostolic churches in the Holy Land. This is silly but it is not helping in bringing churches together.

If such disputes arose in America we'd just laugh it off as so much childish egotism. That is not possible when one knows that every step taken becomes larger than life and has an effect upon all of Christendom. It would seem that if these two are as pious as they ought to be a significant time of prayer between the two is called for. Perhaps they could call a local council to make that possible. During prayer they could write down the procedure for carrying the holy fire and seal it with signatures and the like. At the end the prayer they could embrace and offer each other a holy kiss.

Or as someone suggested in another post Irenaios could resign and a less egotistical Patriarch could be chosen by the Greek Christians.

One side of this conflict is that if they squabble it has international consequences. The other side of this is that if they make peace it has even more and more positive consequences.

They need a Universal Pastor if you ask me.

Dan L

Someone from the barage of priests on television these past 24 hours said of the Holy Father: in a religious leader we need to see this kind of high moral and ethical leadership.
Some Orthodox and other leaders would do well to dwell on the example of the Holy Father, Pope of Rome, JPII.
I am sick and very tired of the passionate egos and negative emotions that propel these ridiculous shenanigans year after year!

Amen Alice.... I agree with you..... JP II is definetely the role model for all Christians religious leaders. As long as division within the Orthodox Church continue... Orthodox Church will not progress .... it is a dead end.

These petty disputes (shocking to us, I suppose) are common fare in the holy places. It has been a way of life there for centuries.

If the different denominations do not speak up for their traditional rights in the Church of the Resurrection, they lose them by default. There is always some group that wishes to extend its control at the expense of another.

Nick

Speaking of religious leaders....

It is nice to see roman catholic bishops and priests on the television again (as the pope is gravely ill). It is about time they crawled out from under the rock they have been hiding under for the past few years.

Maybe with John Paul's death (a couragious and towering figure), God will grant to all the churches new generations of leadership more like this great pope.

The antics of everyone involved in the Holy Shrines in Jerusalem is childish, foolish and disgraceful.

I have thought, on occasion, that the Israelis should take over the church, throw everyone out, and keep it closed until the Christian leaders get their act together and stop the pettiness. It would serve them right and might shock them into working together.

This is SAD!

You know, when I went to visit our Lord's "final resting place" in Jerusalem, I was shocked AGAIN by the foolishness of ALL the Churches who take hold of the Holy Place.

I could not believe that I was asked by an Orthodox PRIEST to light my candle in "for Catholics only" spot - and that the Catholic priest who was with us was asked not to sing hymns in the place.

Woe to us Christians who act like the soldiers gambling on the Lord's cloth.
I cry for the Lord to have mercy on us in the end of days, because I know that there is hatred growing among us, because we have forgotten the LOVE our Master asked us to have for one another.
Woe to us Christians who cannot see the Love of Christ and are too busy conquering building we call Churches. These buildings are empty without the LOVE that makes them HOLY.

Lord have mercy on us lost sheep.

Eli from the "Holy Land"

Why is it .... some Orthodox can be hard to understand ..... well, many times. It remind me of the protestant denomination.

Brothers and Sisters,

The behavior at the Church of the Anastasis is a scandal. Woe to them from whom scandals come!

That said, prayer is needed.

I saw a TV news peogram recently that showed the Muslim man who opens and locks the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher each day. His family has done this task for generations. I presume this is a part of the Agreement on the Status Quo in the Holy Places.

Peace be with all.

Paul

Oh my I dont know that... indeed it is a scandal and there is nothing truth coming out from it.

I think that Great Pontiff is definetely the role models for all Christian Leaders. We may all disagree but we all have one in common ... many parts in one body.

"I have thought, on occasion, that the Israelis should take over the church, throw everyone out, and keep it closed until the Christian leaders get their act together and stop the pettiness. It would serve them right and might shock them into working together."

--------------------------------------------------Heaven forbid! They are a secular nation and only consider those places as being good for tourism. Actually though, the Muslim leader does it in order to keep peace among the Christians. As long as we war with one another, neither Jew nor Muslim has anything to fear, or so they think. I can't help but feel that the Jews especially want to keep the different Christian denominations from getting along with one another.

But that's only logical. It is their country now, and they want to control every space...and for that reason I don't trust them.

I recall quite a few years ago, that I became worried about the Holy Land. I couldn't help but feel that the Pope was visiting it for that same reason, hoping that he could help unite the Orthodox and RCC. Don't they realize that they are jeapardizing the Holy sites by what they are doing?

The other thing is how can we witness to the Muslims when there is constant friction. They say that when someone asks them to become Christian, they ask 'which one'.

Zenovia

Many orthodox churches, especially some of the smaller ones (break aways, of break aways, of break away churches, forming ever more eccentric denominations) do suffer from a kind of sectarianism, not unlike some of the protestant churches in America. In Jerusalem I think, this is worse than anywhere else, where you have groups of clergy and bishops, without any faithful or parishioners to speak of, only pilgrims to care for (and fewer and fewer of these lately). They can lose touch.

There is a difference, it seems to me, that non-denominational churches in America, tend to be responding to the needs of their parishioners, and then they hire clergy/preachers/ministers as needed.

Jerusalem has a lot of clergy, and few enough people to keep them real.