GREECE
Chicago Tribune
Tribune news services
Published March 4, 2005
ATHENS -- The head of the powerful Orthodox Church in Greece has rejected growing calls for him to step down but said two of his close aides had been suspended amid mounting scandals.
"An archbishop does not resign," Archbishop Christodoulos, 66, told reporters after two senior bishops and the head of a parish priests' association said he should quit.
The calls resulted from revelations that the archbishop was acquainted with lower-ranking clergy directly implicated in trial-fixing and other major corruption allegations.
The Orthodox Church, the official state religion, has been stunned by daily allegations of embezzlement, corruption and sexual escapades.