Patriarch of Alexandria killed in helicopter crash
September 12, 2004
Athens, Greece -- The Patriarch of Alexandria, the spiritual leader of all Orthodox Christians in Africa, died Saturday when a helicopter taking him and fellow churchmen to a monastic enclave in northern Greece crashed into the sea, government and church officials said.
The army helicopter, carrying 12 passengers and a four-member crew, disappeared from radar screens at 11 a.m. as it approached the monastic community of Mount Athos. Hours later, bodies and wreckage were found about five miles off the coast of northern Greece, army and coast guard officials said.
Rescue workers said the body of Patriarch Petros VII of Alexandria was among seven retrieved from the wreckage. The six other recovered bodies have not been identified.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
Petros was spiritual leader of the estimated 300,000 Christian Orthodox throughout Africa, while Roman Catholics, Protestants and Coptics follow other clerical leaders.
Australian bishop dies in air crash off Greece
September 13, 2004
An Australian senior cleric of the Greek Orthodox Church is among 17 victims of a helicopter crash that also claimed the life of the church's spiritual leader in Africa, the Patriarch of Alexandria, Peter VII.
The group was heading for the Mount Athos monastery in northern Greece, one of the holiest sites in Orthodox Christianity, in a Greek Army helicopter when it disappeared from radar screens.
Archdeacon Sophronius Konidaris, personal deacon to Archbishop Stylianos, of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, yesterday paid tribute to the Australian, Bishop Nektarios of Madagascar, whom he described as a humble cleric and pioneer missionary.
"We are all very shocked by his death. He was very placid, a very unassuming, very loving man who dedicated his life to the people of Madagascar. He had an established life here, was an ordained cleric serving in the Gold Coast and mostly Adelaide, but he chose to leave everything to go to Madagascar.
"He even gave of his own money. He was the supreme example of an Orthodox shepherd, and we are very sorrowful about his loss."
Sixteen other people, including the Patriarch of Alexandria, the second most senior figure in the Greek Orthodox Church, were aboard the helicopter.
Greek authorities have recovered seven bodies, and the Adelaide-based parents of Bishop Nektarios have been advised that the body of their son is one of those missing.
A divine liturgy and memorial service for Bishop Nektarios has been planned for Saturday at the Monastery of St Nektarios, Adelaide. Bishop Nektarios, who was born in Rhodes, was 51.
Military ships and aircraft began a rescue operation and found wreckage and bodies in the water 10 kilometres off the Halkidiki peninsula, where Mount Athos stands.
A military source said the crash of the Chinook helicopter was almost certainly an accident, but its cause was still unknown.
The Prime Minister, Costas Karamanlis, expressed his "deep pain" at the death and said the crash was a "great loss for the Orthodox church, Hellenism, and the armed forces".
The United Nations Secretary- General, Kofi Annan, sent his condolences to the families of victims and the Greek Orthodox community, his spokesman said.
The aircraft vanished from radar screens shortly after 11am on Saturday, when the pilot warned he was losing altitude.
