Arab Orthodox Movement
The Arab Orthodox Movement is a political and social movement aiming for the Arabization of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Antiochian Orthodox Church, which has jurisdiction over the Orthodox communities of Palestine, Egypt, Jordan and Syria, to which most Christians in the region belong.
Within the context of rising Arab nationalism in the 19th century, the movement was inspired by the successful precedent of the Arabization of Syria and Lebanon's Antioch Patriarchate in 1899. The movement seeks the appointment of an Arab patriarch, Arab laity control over Jerusalem patriarchate's properties for social and educational purposes, and the use of Arabic as a liturgical language. Initially a church movement among Palestine and Transjordan's Orthodox Arab Christians in the late 19th century, it was later supported as a Palestinian and Arab nationalist cause and championed by some Arab Muslims, owing to the Greek-dominated patriarchate's early support to Zionism.
The Orthodox laity, which is mostly Arab, maintains that the patriarchate was forcibly Hellenized in 1543, while the Greek clergy says that the patriarchate was historically Greek. Opposition to the Greek clergy turned violent in the late 19th century, when they came under physical attack by the Arab laity in the streets. The movement held Arab Orthodox conferences, the first of which was in Jaffa in 1923, and most recently in Amman in 2014. One outcome of the 1923 conference was the laity's establishment of tens of Orthodox churches, clubs and schools in Palestine and Jordan. There were historically also several interventions to solve the conflict by the Ottoman, British, and Jordanian authorities, owing to the patriarchate's headquarters being located in East Jerusalem. Despite the city coming under Israeli occupation since 1967, the patriarchate has continued to function according to a 1958 Jordanian law, which mandates the clergy hold Jordanian citizenship and speak Arabic.
To this day, the patriarchate continues to be dominated by Greek clergy and owns vast properties that make it the second largest landowner in Israel. In recent decades, lawsuits have ensued in Israeli courts between the Arab laity and the patriarchate over ownership of properties. Land sales by the patriarchate to Israeli investors has led to several controversies, the most recent of which led to the dismissal of patriarch Irenaios in 2005. The patriarch's total control over the patriarchate and its vast properties has led to it being described as resembling a "small absolute kingdom".
Background
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem is regarded as Jerusalem's most prominent patriarchate, and Palestine's largest and oldest church. It was established by a decree issued from the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, which elevated the Bishop of Jerusalem to the rank of Patriarch, ranking fifth after the sees of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch. The patriarchate's jurisdiction extends to the regions of Palestine, Transjordan and the Sinai Peninsula.Succession to the position of patriarch has been dominated by Greeks since the resignation in 1543 of the last Arab Palestinian Patriarch, Dorotheus II, who was known as Atallah in Arabic. He was replaced by Germanus, a Greek from Morea who pretended to be an Arab through his thorough knowledge of Arabic. Germanus initiated a process of Hellenization, for example by removing the names of Arab patriarchs who had served prior, appointing Greeks to the higher ranks of church, and using Greek as a liturgical language. He also took steps to ensure that his successors would be Greeks by establishing the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, whose membership was exclusively Greek. Germanus and the Greek patriarchs who succeeded him handled the patriarchate from their residence in Constantinople until 1834. Election of successive Jerusalem patriarchs was approved by the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople, who benefitted from his proximity to and influence on the Ottoman government.
Arab Christians in the Palestine region amounted to around 10% of the population prior to World War I in 1914, the majority, around half, belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. The patriarchate, dominated by Greek clergy, saw itself as the guardian of the holy places, and not the spiritual guide of its mostly Arab laity, who were barred from becoming monks and had no role in administrative or financial workings of the church.
Movement
Within the context of rising Arab nationalism, Arab revolts against the Greek clergy in the Orthodox patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem — covering modern-day regions of Syria and Lebanon, and Palestine and Transjordan respectively — intensified in the late 19th century. These movements in Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire gained inspiration from nationalists in fellow Balkan provinces, who merged demands for religious reforms and national emancipation within the Ottoman Empire earlier that century. Movements demanding the Arabization of the Orthodox patriarchates started in Syria and Lebanon in 1872, and was successful when Meletius II, Michael Doumani in Arabic, was appointed patriarch of Antioch in 1899, becoming its first Arab patriarch since 1720. Sati' al-Husri termed this as "the first real victory of Arab nationalism". However, Arabization of the Jerusalem Orthodox patriarchate failed in Palestine and Transjordan. Other patriarchates in the Holy Land underwent successful Arabization, including Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches.File:Патриарх Антиохийский Мелетий.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The appointment of Meletius II as patriarch of Antioch in 1899 was considered a successful Arabization that inspired the movement among laity of the Jerusalem Patriarchate
In the late 19th century, the Arab laity protested against the Jerusalem Patriarchate. The Ottomans responded to these protests by promulgating a Fundamental Law in 1875, that gave minor rights to the Arab laity but ensured Greek hegemony, partly influenced by Russian support to laity's demands. Following the restoration of the Ottoman Constitution by the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, a committee of 40 Orthodox Arabs met in Jerusalem and made a set of 18 demands; it was the first time that the right to participate in management of patriarchate's properties was raised. The demands were rejected by the patriarch Damianos, which was followed by violent riots by the Arab laity. Damianos was then deposed by the Greek-dominated brotherhood for appearing too accommodative towards Arab laity demands, but was later reinstated. In 1910, in an attempt to settle the problem, the Ottoman government set up a mixed council, consisting of six Arab and six Greek representatives; the patriarchate would also have to provide a third of its revenues towards financing schools, hospitals and charities. However, the Ottomans stopped short of allowing the Arab laity greater say in the election of their patriarch. These minor concessions were never implemented, and the Mixed Council, which the patriarch deemed having an advisory role, was soon after dissolved in 1913.
The 1914 World War I wreaked havoc on the patriarchate's finances. By the end of 1918, it was estimated that the patriarchate was 600,000 pounds in debt. The Ottomans were driven out of Palestine by British forces commanded by General Edmund Allenby, who drew a temporary reconciliation between the Arab laity and the patriarchate. Tensions arose again when the brotherhood attempted to solve the church's financial problems by taking a loan from Greece, subjecting the church to Greek government influence, and affirming the Hellenic identity of the church. These demands were opposed by Damianos and the British authorities. The Haycraft Commission established by the British in 1921, included recommendations to put control of the church's finances under a British-appointed committee, and greater British involvement in the patriarch's appointment; two policies that were consistent with "maintenance of religious institutions in colonial contexts". The commission also stressed that the laity's problem was bound to reappear and expressed sympathy for Arab demands of greater participation in the church.
In the early 1920s, tensions between the Arab laity and the Greek church worsened significantly after it had issued statements supporting Zionism, and after the British-Greek commission handling the church's finances sold large tracts of land in Jerusalem and its surroundings in 1923, to the Palestine Land Development Company owned by Zionists, aiming to increase Jewish colonization. The Arab Orthodox laity began afterwards of portraying their Greek church a foreign oppressor, akin to the imperial British authorities, and the Zionist immigrants. The Arab Orthodox movement then started using nationalist and anti-imperialist language in its struggle against the patriarchate.
First Arab Orthodox Conference
During the sixth conference of the Palestine Arab Congress that was held in Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine, in June 1923, Arab Orthodox leaders, including activists Yacoub Bordqosh and Ibrahim Shammas, and editors Issa El-Issa of the Falastin newspaper, and Issa Bandak of the Sawt Sha'ab magazine, petitioned the Congress to support the Arab Orthodox movement and recognize it as part of a broader nationalist struggle. Encouraged by the Congress' support, they went on to establish an Arab Orthodox Conference in Haifa on 15 July 1923.The first Arab Orthodox Conference was led by Iskandar Kassab as president, Yaqoub Farraj as deputy president, Michael Khoury as secretary. It was attended by 54 delegates representing all the dioceses in Palestine and Transjordan, demanded Arabization and denounced the Greek hegemony, who were "foreign of language and country... and have four centuries ago usurped the spiritual authority from the Arab Orthodox." The conference demanded renaming the church to the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate; allowing Arab members into brotherhood and hierarchy; enabling Arab administrative participation in financial affairs; Arab control of church institutions; formation of a Mixed Council of an Arab majority with widespread authorities; and insistence on Arabic as liturgical language. The conference also castigated the patriarchate for its land sales to Zionists individuals and companies.
Patriarch Damianos responded to the first Arab Orthodox Conference by organizing his own opposing party, which met several time in October 1923, and proposed less radical reforms to the British. Despite recognizing that the first Arab Orthodox Congress was representative of the community, the British did not respond to its demands. In 1929, a series of letters from Orthodox clubs and association across Mandatory Palestine wrote to the British authorities, denouncing the Greek clergy and accusing them of continued Hellenization, greed and theft.
In 1926, a British commission to "report on certain controversies", also known as the Bertram-Young commission, expressed sympathy with Arab Orthodox demands. It noted that a large part of the Arab Orthodox hostility was due to scandals by the Greek monks involving money and women. However, despite supporting greater Arab participation in the patriarchate's affairs, it stopped short of demanding its Arabization. Significantly, the report's proposed reforms were delayed until a new patriarch was to be elected, which hindered the movement. The British were keen on avoiding the empowerment of Palestinian Orthodox Christians, as they were, along with their Palestinian Muslim counterparts, hostile to Zionism and the British mandate. The report stated: "It is impossible not to view with feelings of sympathy the position in which these members of the Church find themselves." The British report continued: