HEBRON, West Bank -- The forceful eviction of expatriate monks and nuns from Hebron's only Christian church in order to give it to representatives of the Russian patriarch in Moscow has touched deep-rooted passions and disputes that still smolder eight decades after the Russian Revolution.
Palestinian police cleared the church last Saturday, three weeks after Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, made an official visit to Israel and formally asked Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestinian Authority, to recognize Moscow's claim to pre-revolutionary Russian church properties under the authority's control.
Clerics of the expatriate church bitterly charged that the Palestinians beat their monks and nuns in expelling them, while the Moscow-based church charged that the expatriates have refused to share access to Russian shrines with the Russian church in whose name they were maintaining them.
The focus of the dispute is a site acquired by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1868, which includes an ancient oak declared to be the spot where Abraham entertained three angels. The site was an attraction for Russian pilgrims before the revolution and is the only functioning Christian shrine in Hebron.
After the Russian revolution, the property came under the control of an ?migr? denomination called the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, now based in New York. Despite the collapse of the Soviet state in 1991 and the rapid revival of the Russian church since then, the small exile denomination has continued to view the Russian patriarch and his church as indelibly tainted by communism, and itself as the true successor to the pre-revolutionary church.
According to witnesses, officers of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service arrived at the church on Saturday morning and ordered the monks and nuns to leave. When they refused, they were evicted by force.
What apparently persuaded Arafat to accede to the request of the Moscow patriarch was an incident during Alexy's visit last month, when he and a group of Palestinian, Russian and Greek Orthodox dignitaries were barred by ?migr? nuns from visiting the Hebron church.
The ?migr?s had earlier refused to receive the patriarch at a Russian Orthodox convent on the Mount of Olives. Then, expecting that the Moscow delegation would try to visit Hebron, they hid the key to the church there.
The patriarch arrived in Hebron from a formal lunch with Arafat, and his Palestinian hosts, chagrined to find the door locked, pried it open. According to Palestinian officials, Arafat was furious.
Arafat's autocratic and forceful intervention in an internal church dispute was bound to raise objections and apprehensions. But in his decision to recognize Moscow's claim, he was following a precedent set by Israel.
Before the Russian revolution, hundreds of thousands of Russian pilgrims flocked annually to the Holy Land, and the Russian state and church built numerous hospices, monasteries and churches to handle the flood.
After the revolution, the properties were put in the trust of the Russian Church Outside Russia. But in 1948, after the Soviet Union became the first government to recognize the state of Israel, Israel returned all Russian church properties on its territory to the Moscow patriarchate, including the Russian Compound. In scenes not unlike Saturday's, ?migr? clerics were expelled.
The Russian properties in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem, then under Jordanian rule, remained under the exile church. When Israel conquered these territories in 1967, it retained the status quo, leaving two rival organizations on Israeli-controlled territory claiming to be the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, each controlling part of the Russian property.
With the revival of the Orthodox Church in Russia over the past six years, Russian pilgrims have come to Israel in huge numbers, and Alexy resumed efforts to reclaim properties that in his view have always been the property of the Russian Orthodox Church, whether controlled by Moscow or by the ?migr?s.
That effort, said the Reverend Mark Golovkov, an official in the Moscow-based Russian mission in Jerusalem, has been spurred by the uncompromising stance of the small exile church.
"We're ready to receive them all, but for a long time, the Mount of Olives Monastery did not allow Russian priests to enter,'' he said. "Moslems, Jews, atheists, Buddhists can enter, but God forbid that a Russian priest enter.
"They must understand that they're not recognized by anyone, and that all the properties they call theirs were built and bought by Russia for Russian money to serve Russian pilgrims," he said. "Yet the Russian patriarch cannot enter the monastery to pray.''
Palestinian police cleared the church last Saturday, three weeks after Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, made an official visit to Israel and formally asked Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestinian Authority, to recognize Moscow's claim to pre-revolutionary Russian church properties under the authority's control.
Clerics of the expatriate church bitterly charged that the Palestinians beat their monks and nuns in expelling them, while the Moscow-based church charged that the expatriates have refused to share access to Russian shrines with the Russian church in whose name they were maintaining them.
The focus of the dispute is a site acquired by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1868, which includes an ancient oak declared to be the spot where Abraham entertained three angels. The site was an attraction for Russian pilgrims before the revolution and is the only functioning Christian shrine in Hebron.
After the Russian revolution, the property came under the control of an ?migr? denomination called the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, now based in New York. Despite the collapse of the Soviet state in 1991 and the rapid revival of the Russian church since then, the small exile denomination has continued to view the Russian patriarch and his church as indelibly tainted by communism, and itself as the true successor to the pre-revolutionary church.
According to witnesses, officers of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service arrived at the church on Saturday morning and ordered the monks and nuns to leave. When they refused, they were evicted by force.
What apparently persuaded Arafat to accede to the request of the Moscow patriarch was an incident during Alexy's visit last month, when he and a group of Palestinian, Russian and Greek Orthodox dignitaries were barred by ?migr? nuns from visiting the Hebron church.
The ?migr?s had earlier refused to receive the patriarch at a Russian Orthodox convent on the Mount of Olives. Then, expecting that the Moscow delegation would try to visit Hebron, they hid the key to the church there.
The patriarch arrived in Hebron from a formal lunch with Arafat, and his Palestinian hosts, chagrined to find the door locked, pried it open. According to Palestinian officials, Arafat was furious.
Arafat's autocratic and forceful intervention in an internal church dispute was bound to raise objections and apprehensions. But in his decision to recognize Moscow's claim, he was following a precedent set by Israel.
Before the Russian revolution, hundreds of thousands of Russian pilgrims flocked annually to the Holy Land, and the Russian state and church built numerous hospices, monasteries and churches to handle the flood.
After the revolution, the properties were put in the trust of the Russian Church Outside Russia. But in 1948, after the Soviet Union became the first government to recognize the state of Israel, Israel returned all Russian church properties on its territory to the Moscow patriarchate, including the Russian Compound. In scenes not unlike Saturday's, ?migr? clerics were expelled.
The Russian properties in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem, then under Jordanian rule, remained under the exile church. When Israel conquered these territories in 1967, it retained the status quo, leaving two rival organizations on Israeli-controlled territory claiming to be the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, each controlling part of the Russian property.
With the revival of the Orthodox Church in Russia over the past six years, Russian pilgrims have come to Israel in huge numbers, and Alexy resumed efforts to reclaim properties that in his view have always been the property of the Russian Orthodox Church, whether controlled by Moscow or by the ?migr?s.
That effort, said the Reverend Mark Golovkov, an official in the Moscow-based Russian mission in Jerusalem, has been spurred by the uncompromising stance of the small exile church.
"We're ready to receive them all, but for a long time, the Mount of Olives Monastery did not allow Russian priests to enter,'' he said. "Moslems, Jews, atheists, Buddhists can enter, but God forbid that a Russian priest enter.
"They must understand that they're not recognized by anyone, and that all the properties they call theirs were built and bought by Russia for Russian money to serve Russian pilgrims," he said. "Yet the Russian patriarch cannot enter the monastery to pray.''
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.
Remind me later.
×
Remind me next month
Thank you! Your reminder is set.
We will send you one reminder email a month from now. For details on the personal data we collect and how it is used, please see our Privacy Policy.