Religious Politics in Mandate Palestine: The Christian Orthodox Community Controversy in the Thirties

The paper elaborates on the power struggle over the patriarchal election that took place in the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem in the 1930s and the key role of the Mandatory Authorities in its resolution. The lengthy electoral process reignited the old controversy between the Greek hierarchy and the Arab congregation over the institution's alleged national character and centralized administrative structure. Consequently, the conflict became entangled in the Arab quest for emancipation from Greek cultural imperialism'. The British position in the conflict evolved according to two stages: a) an early pro-Arab stance, determined by British colonial objectives in Palestine; and b) a late pro-Greek stance, as a result of the new British diplomatic priorities at the eve of the Second World War. The British government followed a divide and rule' policy: it abstained from resolving the conflict, while exploiting the existing inter-communal divisions to its own political ends.