Cultural diplomacy, Church politics, and nationalism in early mandatory Palestine: the case of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church

ABSTRACT

The transition period from the Ottoman withdrawal from Jerusalem to the establishment of British rule was critical for the Orthodox Church. On the one hand, the rule of Patriarch Damianos was contested by a powerful opposition within the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, which was supported by the government in Athens. On the other hand, the Arab laity sided with Damianos, putting at the same time pressure on the new administration to upgrade its status both at a political and religious level. This paper attempts to contextually sketch out the historical course of events, paying special attention on the religious policy agenda of the new authorities, as well as the diplomatic and cultural factors influencing the decision-making process. Overall, the paper suggests that the internal church crisis under examination was determined by the historical reformulation caused by WWI, the development of Arab nationalism, national ambitions in Athens, and British local and diplomatic policy objectives. Moreover, it argues that this period of crisis should probably be viewed as the starting point of the modern history of the institution (This article extends and updates the analysis of my previous paper, Papastathis 2009 (in Greek). In particular, it employs and contextually analyses new archival sources from the Historic and Diplomatic Archive of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The new archival material is related to the intra-religious background and institutional framework, and to the diplomatic and political aspects of the question under examination).

KEYWORDS:

• British mandate
• Palestinian Orthodox community
• Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
• politics and religion
• Greek cultural diplomacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Archives

Diplomatic and Historical Archive of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DIAYE)

Β/35 (8), Special File Jerusalem.

Β/35 (9), Special File Jerusalem.

File 43. 1 Jerusalem, Sub-file 1(1920).

File 43.1 Jerusalem, Sub-file 2 (1920).

File 43.1 Jerusalem, Sub-file 3 (1920).

File 42, Sub-file 4.

Β/36 (1929), File Jerusalem- The Patriarchal Question.

Public Record Office

FO 286/667.

FO 371/3414.

FO 371/314.

FO 371/3386.

Notes

1 The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre was established as the ruling authority of the Church of Jerusalem by Patriarch Germanos (1537–1579), after the Ottoman conquest of Palestine (1517). This reform signified the Patriarchate’s organisational restructuring in accordance with the monastic tradition and its gradual Hellenisation, in the sense that the Patriarchate of Constantinople was a major actor in its administration and its staffing. This development paved the way for Greek dominance in parallel to the Greek nation-building process, and the exclusion of the indigenous parochial clergy and laity from the Church’s governance.

2 According to Damianos’ opponents and Athens, the Latin Patriarchate received in return for its help to Damianos the important Pater Noster pilgrimage site (DIAYE, File 43. 1 Jerusalem, Sub-file 1(1920), Michael Tzertzelis, Report on the Internal Administration of the Holy Convent of the Holy Sepulchre, the Involvement of the Local Political Authorities, and his Beatitude Patriarch Damianos, 15-8-1920; File 43. 1 Jerusalem, Sub-file 1(1920), num. 889, Protest of Prelates to the Governor of Jerusalem over his Intervention in favour of the Latins concerning the question of the ‘Pater Noster’ Sanctuary, 13-11-1920; B/35 (8), Special File Jerusalem, Sachtouris to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, num. 3417, 25/1/1919).

3 I am grateful to Sarah Irving for this insightful comment.

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Konstantinos Papastathis

Konstantinos Papastathis is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He also participates in the project: “European cultural diplomacy and Arab Christians in Palestine” at Leiden University. Previously, he worked as a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Luxembourg. His main scientific interests involve the fields of Politics and Religion, and Middle Eastern studies. He has contributed to peer-reviewed journals (e.g. Religion, State and Society; Politics, Religion and Ideology; British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies; Middle Eastern Studies, and others) as well as to various collective volumes.