Patriarch Irenaios
ABOUT PATRIARCH IRENAIOS
140th patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem from 2001 to 2005 who was the foremost religious figure of the Greek Orthodox Church.
He was elected to the post of patriarch in August 2001.
Early in his tenure he was accused of selling land in the Old City of Jerusalem to Israeli real estate developers; he was cleared in the subsequent investigation, but the scandal cost him his post.
He was born Emmanouil Skopelitis on the Greek island of Samos.
The religion he helped lead counts the actress Nia Vardalos among its more famous members.
