Regularly named Greece's most popular public figure in opinion polls, Christodoulos, 69, headed the church for a decade and reached out to opponents during his illness.

He was first hospitalised in Athens in June before being diagnosed with cancer of the liver and large intestine. He spent 10 weeks in a hospital in Miami, but an October liver transplant operation was aborted when doctors discovered the cancer had spread.

He refused hospital treatment in the final weeks of his life.His condition began deteriorating rapidly in the past few days, and church officials said he died at around 6 am (12pm Singapore time) in his home in the Athens suburb of Psyhico.

Archbishop Christodoulos was elected church leader in 1998 and was credited with reinvorgating the vast institution that represents 97 per cent of Greece's native-born population. He helped create church Web sites and radio stations, and frequently issued detailed checklists on how black-clad Orthodox priests should conduct themselves in public.

He made frequent televised appearances to weigh in on a variety of issues - in equal measure delighting the religious right and infuriating liberal and left-wing opponents.

In 2001, Archbishop Christodoulos received the late John Paul II - the first Roman Catholic pope to visit Greece in nearly 1,300 years. They held the landmark meeting in Athens despite vigorous protests from Orthodox zealots.

The archbishop followed up in 2006 with an historic visit to the Vatican, where he and Pope Benedict XVI signed a joint declaration calling for inter-religious dialogue and stating opposition to abortion and euthanasia.

In one of his most vociferous campaigns, Archbishop Christodoulos led a petition drive against the introduction of new state identity cards which stopped recording Greeks' religion. The church maintained its petition had gathered some 3 million signatures, or more than a quarter of the population.

'There are trying to take away our society's Christian and Orthodox identity, using various groundless arguments, because they hate God and want to marginalise the church,' Archbishop Christodoulos had said during the dispute, claiming he was fighting the 'forces of evil.'

His campaign ultimately failed, and Greeks' identity cards dropped the religion entry.

Politicians accused him of meddling in their affairs, angered by his vocal criticism on everything from homosexuality and globalisation to Turkey's efforts to join the European Union.

'Clergymen are above kings, prime ministers and presidents,' Archbishop Christodoulos once said. He insisted the church had an obligation to comment on public policy and popular social issues, and claimed critics ignored important church work in charity and promoting racial equality.

Liberals were lashed for trying to water down Greece's strong Orthodox heritage. He even proposed a Greek alternative to Valentine's Day and urged his supporters to buy Christmas cards with religious icons instead of Santa Claus and Christmas trees. -- AP