On Thursday, March 8/21, 2024, His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos with the Holy Sepulchre Fathers went to the Holy Monastery of Saints Theodores, next to the Casa Nova guesthouse, where he read the blessing prescribed by the Great Euchologion for the Holy Altar and anointed it with Holy Myrrh. This was done because the Hegoumen of the Monastery and Typikon Keeper Archimandrite Alexios opened it up, to renovate it most solidly and decently for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.

In the rectory, when a fasting treat was offered, His Beatitude praised Archimandrite Alexios for his zeal for the dignity of the House of God.

From Secretariat-General

Around noon on Monday, January 23 / February 5, 2024, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos visited the Holy Monastery of the Holy Cross, the Hegoumen of which is the Elder Dragoman Archimandrite Mattheos and inspected the ongoing work under the expert conservator from Cyprus, Mr Stavros Andreou, and gave him the required instructions for housing the Centre for Theological Research, the establishment of which has been decided by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

From Secretariat-General

On the morning of Friday, September 30 / October 13, 2023, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos and the Fathers of the Holy Sepulchre, went to the Catholicon of the Church of the Resurrection.

There, His Beatitude was informed by the art conservators from Russia about the project of conserving the chandeliers of the Church of the Resurrection.

These chandeliers are a work of the 18th century and were taken down from their position after the earthquake of 1927 and have been kept in a special room of the Patriarchate until today.

At the initiative of H.H.B., under the supervision of Mr Stavros Andreou, a conservator from Cyprus, with the cooperation of conservators from Russia and the donor’s association from Russia, these chandeliers were assembled and tastefully maintained and hung again in their place, adding beauty to the house of God, namely the Church of the Resurrection, the beauty of which, according to the hymn “competes with the dignity of the highest firmament”.

From Secretariat-General

The President of the Finances and Patriarchal Commissioner His Eminence Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias with a group of Holy Sepulchre Fathers visited the Cemetery of Holy Zion, in order to explain to the relatives of those buried there, that the excavations carried out there by the German Archaeological company have received the approval of the Patriarchate for the support the rights of the Christians on Holy Zion.

From Secretariat-General

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem has assigned to the German Archaeological Society under Professor Dr Dieter Vieweger the carrying out of excavations in the area of the plot and the Cemetery on the hill of Agia Sion in front of the Patriarchal School.

These excavations are for the benefit of the Patriarchate and the flock and are carried out with absolute respect for the graves of the Holy Sepulchre Fathers and the Orthodox believers buried there.

From Secretariat-General

On Tuesday, June 7/20, 2023, His Beatitude Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos received a group of female conservators from Russia under the icon and book conservator Mr Stavros Andreou and Mr Igor, who will maintain the icons of the Patriarchate working in the Holy Cross Monastery.

From Secretariat-General

By Dr Theo Mitropoulos

On January 11th at 6:30 p.m. the three Religious Communities (Greek, Latin, Armenian) visited the archaeological site of the Rotunda, in order to be informed about the progress of the restoration works of the floor around the Sacred Edicule. The recent archaeological excavations brought to light and revealed new archaeological findings, which are summarized below (at the link):

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 At noon on Sunday, October 31/ November 13, 2022, His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos made a pastoral visit to our Arabic-speaking Greek Orthodox Community in the city of Beit Jala.

First of all, His Beatitude visited the building belonging to the Hegoumen of the Monastery, which in the past was used as an Elementary School and now has been renovated with the sponsorship of the Palestinian Authority, to function as a kindergarten and as a space for the catechetical school.

Subsequently, His Beatitude visited the very important housing project of the Patriarchate, which was started and continues on land owned by the Patriarchate in Beit Jala, which will house 450 families in cooperation with the Jamaiye / Community Council of Beit Jala and which offers the possibility of housing relief to the flock of Beit Jala and laid the foundation stone in the presence of the President of the Supreme Palestinian Ecclesiastical Committee Mr Ramzi Khouri and other representatives of the Palestinian Authority, the Hegoumen of Beit Jala Archimandrite Ignatios and the Priests Yusef, Pavlos and Elias.

His Beatitude underlined the offering of the Patriarchate to the flock through this work in His following address: (to be posted soon).

The importance of this project was also underlined by Mr Ramzi Khouri, greeting on behalf of the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Abu Mazen, for the creation of the housing project in the Shepherds’ Village / Beit-Sahour, for the present project and for a similar housing project to be developed in Bethlehem.

Honourable distinctions – plaques were awarded to His Beatitude, Mr Ramzi Khouri and all those who contributed to the success of this project.

From Secretariat-General

On the evening of Wednesday, October 6/19, 2022, the emeritus professor of the National Technical University of Athens Mrs Antonia Moropoulou gave a lecture in the context of the Conference “New Studies in the Archeology of Jerusalem and its region” in the Auditorium / ceremonial hall of the Friends of Israel Museum, in the centre of the New City of Jerusalem. The lecture was about the restoration of the Sacred Edicule, a historical and symbolic work, according to the study of the Interdisciplinary Team of the National Technical University of Athens, of which Mrs Moropoulou is the architect. and in accordance with the agreement of the three Major Pilgrim Communities, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Custody of the Holy Land and the Patriarchate of the Armenians, the guardians of the Status Quo.

Mrs Moropoulou presented this work through her clarifications and relevant images on a screen to a group of experts in Archeology and other experts, in the presence of the representatives of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Geronda Secretary-General, His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina and Hierodeacon Dositheos.

This in-depth lecture is published for those interested on the website of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, see link:

On the eve of the lecture on Tuesday, October 5/18, 2022, Mrs Moropoulou was accepted into the Secretariat office by the Geronda Secretary-General His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina and the Patriarchal Commissioner, His Eminence Metropolitan Isychios of Capitolias, and the day following the lecture, by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos.

In both visits, the decisive role of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem for the preservation of the Status Quo and the Status of the city of Jerusalem and peace in the Holy Land was underlined, as well as that of Mrs Moropoulou for the accomplishment of this historic work.

From Secretariat-General

On the morning of Thursday, October 6, 2022, a meeting was held in the monastery of the Franciscan Brotherhood-Custody of the Holy Land, of the representatives of the three Major Communities, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Franciscans and Armenians for the new information on the ongoing construction works in of the Rotunda and the Seven Arches of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Present from the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood were, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, the Patriarchal Commissioner, His Eminence Metropolitan Isyhchios of Kapitolias, the Geronda Chief Secretary, His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, the Geronda Sacristan, His Eminence Archbishop Isidoros of Hierapolis, the Elder Dragoman Archimandrite Mattheos and the Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod Hierodeacon Simeon.

On behalf of the Franciscan Brotherhood, the Custos of the Holy Land Fr Frangiskos Paton and Fr Dobromiro and from the Armenian Brotherhood, His Eminence Sevan and the Abbot of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Archimandrite Samuel.

During this meeting, there was an update on the screen by the experts of the Sapientia University of Rome who are doing the work. The update focused on the following points:

In the situations found below the excavated ground, such as water leaks from the drainage system, in found cisterns, damage to the electrical system and the ways of repairing these damages by inserting new modern material components. The scientific and technical editing of the project was focused on the common and dedicated spaces, the places of worship and the residences within the Church. The drainage and electrical system have been completely repaired. The prospects being drawn for the future are the modernization of the electrical security system, the installation of WIFI and a modern fire-fighting security system, more accurate identification of people entering the Church for their safety, and more precise information about the pilgrims about the guided tours and worship times.

There was also talk about the moisture coming from the Coptic chapel. The technicians maintained that all these works are carried out with respect to the sanctity of the Church and the Status Quo, a fact for which the informed representatives of the Communities thanked and requested a new on-site inspection in the areas around the Rotunda and in the areas outside the Church and in consultation with the Municipality due to the possible leakage of water from the Christian Quarter into the Church.

From Secretariat-General