Leading Greek Orthodox cleric killed in helicopter crash
The Christian Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria was killed today when an army helicopter that was transporting him and his entourage to a monastic enclave in northern Greece crashed in the sea, government and church officials said.
The helicopter, carrying 12 passengers and a four-member crew, disappeared from radar screens at 11am as it approached the monastic community of Mount Athos in northern Greece.
Hours later, bodies and wreckage were found about 5.5 miles off the coast of northern Greece, army and coast guard officials said.
Patriarch Petros VII of Alexandria, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians in Africa, was confirmed as one of seven bodies retrieved so far.
Others passengers on board the helicopter included Metropolitan Bishop of Carthage Chrysostomos, Metropolitan Bishop of Pelusim Ireneus, and Bishop of Magadascar Nectarios, said Lt. Gen. Nikos Douvas, who was co-ordinating rescue efforts.
Rescue crews continued to search for survivors. The other six bodies were not immediately identified.
“The government expresses its grief for today’s accident and its tragic consequences,” said government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos. “It is a great loss for the Patriarchate of Alexandria and for the Orthodox Church.”
Patriarch Petros was the spiritual leader of the estimated 300,000 Greek Orthodox throughout Africa.
“We are devastated upon receiving the information, which unfortunately is being confirmed by the latest developments, for the tragic helicopter accident in which the Patriarch of Alexandria was killed,” said Archbishop Christodoulos, leader of the Orthodox Church of Greece.
There are an estimated 200 million Orthodox Christians worldwide led by the so-called “first among equals” among the patriarchs, Bartholomew I, who is based in Istanbul, Turkey – the former Byzantine capital of Constantinople.
The all-male enclave of Mount Athos, about 60 miles southeast of Thessaloniki, is one of the centrepieces of Orthodox Christianity. Twenty monasteries dot the rugged peninsula – called the “Holy Mountain” in Greek – and many are only accessible by foot or boat.
