GREECE REQUESTS U.S. INTERVENTION IN JERUSALEM

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001022

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2017
TAGS: GR KIRF PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: GREECE REQUESTS U.S. INTERVENTION IN JERUSALEM
PATRIARCH AFFAIR


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Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHARLES RIES. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (U) This is an action request for Department. See
paragraph 8.


2. (C) SUMMARY: On May 18, MFA Secretary General Charalambos
Rocanas requested U.S. assistance in defusing the leadership
crisis in the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox
Church following the May 12 decision of the Jordanian Council
of Ministers to withdrawal recognition of Patriarch
Theophilos III. Rocanas said that while the immediate reason
for the Jordanian decision was Theophilos' unwillingness to
appoint a favored Arab as bishop and his failure to recover
land in east Jerusalem sold to the Israelis by his
predecessor, behind the decisio were varios nefarious
interests, including Jordanian ral-estate power Prince Gazi,
the Russian Orthdox Church, and Hamas. Rocnas rquestd
the U.S. quietly ask Jordanian King Adullah nt to ratify
the Council of Mnisters' ecisin and ask the Israelis to
end their two-year non-recognition of Theophilos. Rocanas
cited the U.S. interest in maintaining the autonomy and
religious freedom of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, stemming the
growing hegemony of the Russian Orthodox Church, and keeping
Hamas radicals out. END SUMMARY.

A COMPLICATED ISSUE
--------------


3. (C) On May 18, Ambassador was invited to the MFA by SecGen
Rocanas at the instruction of FM Bakoyannis to request U.S.
help in resolving the leadership crisis in the Jerusalem
Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church following the May
12 decision of the Jordanian Council of Ministers to
withdrawal recognition of Patriarch Theophilos III. Rocanas
painted a complicated picture of competing religious,
national, and financial interests that contributed to the
crisis. The ostensible reason for the Jordanian
de-recognition decision was Theophilos' purported
unwillingness to follow-through on a previous commitment to
appoint more Arab bishops. Rocanas said Theophilos had been
"blackmailed" into making this commitment, but that he
nevertheless was willing to meet it. He had, in fact,
already appointed an Arab priest, although another had
recently died. Theophilos, however, was drawing the line at
elevating Arab Orthodox Archimandrite priest Christophoros to
the position of bishop, as some powerful Jordanians wished.
Another immediate reason for the Jordanian decision,
according to Rocanas, was anger amongst Jordanians at
Theophilos' failure to recover land in east Jerusalem sold to
the Israelis by previous Patriarch Irenaios. Irenaios
continues to enjoy official recognition by Israel, which
Rocanas said was further complicating the situation and
weakening Theophilos' position. NOTE: The Israeli position
could be reversed, however, following an expected May 21
ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court on Theophilos' petition
to gain recognition by the Israeli government. END NOTE.

NEFARIOUS INTERESTS
--------------


4. (C) Behind these immediate reasons for the Jordanian
decision, however, Rocanas cited a number of other more
sinister causes. One was Jordanian Prince Gazi bin Muhammad,
who had been appointed by King Abdullah to manage religious
affairs, though Theophilos believed he lacked qualifications.
Rocanas said Gazi wished to exploit religious shrines for
personal gain, noting his plans to develop as a paid tourist
attraction the site on the River Jordan where some believe
Jesus was baptized. Theophilos refused to be part of such
exploitation and had "no interest in commercialization."


5. (C) Rocanas suggested that Gazi, in turn, was cozying up
to the Russian Orthodox Church for support. Rocanas pointed
out that Putin recently visited Jordan, and there are
indications that Jordanian attitudes toward Theophilos
hardened following Putin's visit. Rocanas said the GoG was
afraid Gazi was aligning himself with Russian interests in
weakening the Greek Orthodox Church. On top of all this,
Palestinian Hamas was piling-on by publicly calling on the
Palestinian Authority to remove its recognition of
Theophilos, who they believed was remiss in not acting more
aggressively to reverse Israeli land purchases approved by
Irenaios.

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
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6. (C) Rocanas said the GoG believed the key to defusing the
crisis was to persuade Kind Abdullah not to ratify the

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decision of the Council of Ministers. The Greeks had
approached the Jordanians, telling them that the decision was
ill-timed and contrary to Jordanian law, which held that the
Council of Ministers was only empowered to ratify decisions
of the Orthodox Synod, not take decisions regarding the
Church on its own. The GoG believed that the King would
support Theophilos if he understood the situation, but access
to him was blocked by Prince Gazi and Director of the
Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) Muhammad
Dhahabi, who "is more powerful than the Jordanian Prime
Minister." FM Dora Bakoyannis would travel to Jordan during
her Middle East trip in June, but thus far she had not been
granted an audience with the King. The King's brother was
visiting Olympia in Greece this Sunday, and Rocanas would try
to discuss the situation with him.


7. (S) Rocanas was asking for U.S. assistance because of the
access they believed we had to the King. Moreover, the
Greeks understood that our Embassy in Amman had special
access to Jordanian Intelligence chief Dhahabi. The Greeks
were not requesting us to get them or Theophilos an audience
with the King. Rather, they wanted us to discuss the
situation with the King quietly. They also asked that we
discuss with the Israelis their failure to recognize
Theophilos, which was increasingly not in their interest,
given growing Arab opposition to the Patriarch. For the U.S.
the question should be one of religious freedom and respect
for the autonomy of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in
Jerusalem. The centuries-old Patriarchate was one of the few
institutions that straddles the Arab-Israeli divide in
Jerusalem and the West bank, he added. Rocanas said the U.S.
also had an interest in stemming the rising tide of the
Russian Orthodox Church's hegemony and keeping Hamas radicals
kUt of the situation.


8. (U) Act)on re1ues4ed: Waqhington guidance for respondifeQ
4o the EReek request.
RIES