ATHENS, Greece – The Christian Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria was killed Saturday after an army helicopter that was transporting him and his entourage to a monastic enclave in northern Greece crashed in the sea, according to government and church officials.

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.

Patriarch Petros VII of Alexandria, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians in Africa, was confirmed as one of seven bodies retrieved so far.

“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.”

Petros was the spiritual leader of the estimated 300,000 Christian Orthodox throughout Africa, while Roman Catholics, Protestants and Coptic follow other clerical leaders.

The news of his death caused great grief in the ranks of the Orthodox church.

“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, the leader of the Orthodox Church of Greece.

Others passengers on board the helicopter included Metropolitan Bishop of Carthage Chrysostomos, Metropolitan Bishop of Pelusim Ireneus, and Bishop of Magadascar Nectarios, Douvas said.

The twin-engine Chinook took off from Elefsina airport near Athens at 9:30 a.m., and vanished from radar screens at 11 a.m. as it approached the monastic community.

Three Navy ships, a C-130 transport airplane and two Super Puma helicopters were searching for survivors, but strong winds were hampering rescue efforts, authorities said.

Petros’s church – one of the more than dozen autocephalous, or self-governing, Orthodox churches – traces its roots to St. Mark and includes one of the oldest Christian congregations in the world. Other Christian groups in Africa include Roman Catholics, Protestants and Copts.

Petros, 55, was born in Cyprus and ordained in 1969. The following year, he served as deacon in the patriarchate of Alexandria. He later was appointed to church positions around Africa.

Worldwide, there are an estimated 200 million Orthodox Christians 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 centerpieces of Orthodox Christianity. Twenty monasteries dot the rugged peninsula – called the “Holy Mountain” in Greek – and many are only accessible by foot or boat.

AP-ES-09-11-04 1214EDT