On Saturday the 13^th/28^th of June 2014, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Nektarios of Petra and Cherronisos, of the Church of Crete, while on a pilgrimage visit to the Holy Land, and heading a group of 100 pilgrims from his Bishopric and other Bishopric of Crete, was received by H.B. Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem.

Addressing His Beatitude, the Metropolitan of Petra praised Him and the Hagiotaphite Fathers for their centuries-long work of guarding the Holy Lands.

His Beatitude thanked the Metropolitan of Petra for his support towards the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and went on, in recognition of his contribution, to award him the title of the Supreme Taxiarch of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher.

Moved, the Metropolitan of Petra thanked His Beatitude for the honour conferred on him, and pledged to carry on manifesting his interest in favour of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, in favour of the pilgrims and the glory of God.

From the Secretariat-General 

httpv://youtu.be/smfXC1h-iM0

On Saturday, the 15^th/28^th of June 2014, a one-hundred-member group from the flock of the Patriarchate, among whom the priest, f. Elias, teachers and pupils of Zndeinde Community, visited the Patriarchate.

This large group, varying in ages and offices, was received and blessed by H.B. Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, as children performed church and other songs, offering them icons and other eulogias, and pledging to soon make a pastoral visit to their Community.

From the Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/dd0T70_JRu8

On Wednesday the 12^th/25^th of June 2014, the feast of Hosios Onouphrios the Egyptian was celebrated by the Patriarchate.

The feast was observed at the Holy Monastery bearing his name, which lies at the junction of the Gesthemane-Josaphat and Gihon valleys to the south, and opposite the hill of St Sion, in the area known since the days of our Lord, Jesus Christ, as “akeldama” – field of blood, as it was purchased for the thirty silver pieces that the repentant Judas had returned.

At this Convent of the Patriarchate, His Beatitude Theophilos, Our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem, led the feast. Co-officiating were the Most Reverend Isychios, Metropolitan of Kapitolias and their Eminences, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Elder Sacristan; Methodios of Tabor, and Demetrios of Lydda. Also in attendance were Hagiotaphite Hieromonks, Archdeacon f. Evlogios and Deacon Markos; and visiting priests from the Holy Bishopric of Patras. Cantors from Greece sang in the Byzantine style, together with the Head Cantor of the Church of Sts Constantine and Helen, f. Eusebius. A crowd of faithful, monks, nuns, locals and pilgrims from Orthodox countries attended the service.

During Communion, His Beatitude Theophilos preached the Word of God in Greek.

The apolysis was followed by a procession to the Monastery’s departed proprietors. Wishes were read for their repose, and the repose of the soul of Nun Seraphima who lived at the Monastery. Also recited was a blessing wish for the products of the fig tree.

After the divine Liturgy, Abbess Paisia, courteously hosted everyone to a reception at her quarters.

From the Secretariat-Genera

httpv://youtu.be/MLTwSYzZTJk

httpv://youtu.be/LyLfFXGjh2E

On Tuesday the 11^th/24^th of June 2014, the Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova, Mrs Natalia Gherman, while on a visit to the state of Israel, visited the Patriarchate accompanied by a group of her associates and the Moldovan Ambassador to Israel, Mr Anatol Vangheli.

They were received by His Beatitude, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, in the presence of Hagiotaphite Fathers.

His Beatitude welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister by pointing out that the Patriarchate recalls the links it always had with Moldova, as Patriarchates and Primates from the Hole Sepulcher used to visit the country to catechize its people.

The Patriarchate, said H.B., has inherited the Byzantine spiritual and natural heritage and through it, it carries on its religious and cultural work.

In response, Mrs Gherman thanked His Beatitude and expressed her interest in seeing her nation maintaining its close links to the Patriarchate and accepting the blessings of the Holy Sepulcher for its welfare.

The Moldovan nation, added Mrs Gherman, has distinguished itself for its bravery, honour and dignity, mostly during the period of Stefan the Great. Today it has resumed its Orthodox tradition, which had been interrupted under the communist regime, and lives in a new era of religious freedom and freedom of expression.

Living in a country which favours peaceful religious coexistence, said she, we are sorry to witness disputes and conflicts in our neighbouring countries. Mrs Gherman is the daughter of the first President of Moldavia, which led Moldavia to religious freedom after the fall of the communist regime. She herself was baptized as a grownup.

In response, His Beatitude remarked that the Patriarchate strives for the religious character of Orthodox states and for the religious character of Jerusalem too.

He went on to offer the Deputy Prime Minister a gold pectoral cross and an icon of Theotokos Jerusalemite.

Mrs Gherman offered the Patriarch an album of Moldovan landmarks and Moldovan wine, before proceeding to venerate at the Church of the Resurrection.

From the Secretariat-General 

httpv://youtu.be/c9vJt9GgLVM

The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem convened under the Presidency of H.B. Theophilos, our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem, on the 10^th/23^rd of June 2014. The Synod addressed issues of the Patriarchate and took the following decisions:

1. To appoint the Most Reverend Isychios, Metropolitan of Kapitolias, as President of the Committee of Finances, whilst he maintains his position as Patriarchal Commissioner.
2. To appoint His Eminence Methodios, Archbishop of Tabor, as President of the Elections Committee.
3. To appoint Archimandrite f. Ieronymos as President of the Committee of the Patriarchate’s Arab-speaking Schools in the West Bank.
4. To appoint Archimandrite Christophoros as spiritual guide and pedagogue of St Demetrios Patriarchal School and the rest of the Arabic Schools; and to promote Hieromonk Athanasios Kakis to the rank of Protosyncellus, henceforth appointed as vicar in Gerash and at the Holy Monastery of the Life-Giving Spring in Dibin, under the pastoral jurisdiction of the Patriarchal Commissioner in Northern Jordan, His Eminence Philoumenos, Archbishop of Pella.
5. To appoint Archimandrite f. Stephanos Candlesh as vicar in the Patriarchal Community of Qatar.
6. To ordain as priest Hierodeacon f. Thaddaeus, now serving in the All-holy Church of the Resurrection.

From the Secretariat-General

On Sunday the 9^th/22^nd of June 2014, the Patriarchal Commissioner in Bethlehem, His Eminence Theophylaktos, Archbishop of Jordan, hosted lunch at the renovated Hegoumen’s Quarters of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem for H.B. Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, accompanied by the Most Reverend Isychios, Metropolitan of Kapitolias, and His Eminence Aristarchos, Archbishop of Constantina. Also invited were religious personalities of the Palestinian Autonomy, such as imams, as well as political figures, i.e. the newly elected Chief Judge Mahmoud Habbash; Waqf Minister Yusef Dwesh; the newly appointed Prefect of Bethlehem Mr Al-Bari; Mr Ziyad Baddak, member of the P.A. Committee on Christian Affairs, as well as numerous members of the Rum Orthodox Community in Bethlehem.

During lunch, Patriarch Theophilos addressed guests in Arabic, see link: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/ar/2014/06/22/6084

He went on to present Chief Judge Mr Mahmoud Habbash with a plaque representing Jerusalem and a second plaque with a relief representation of Palestine.

The Chief Judge thanked His Beatitude for the invitation and the presents, and congratulated all on the meeting which, as he said, took place in the heart of Palestine, namely Bethlehem, where Christians and Muslims live as one people, and where thousands of pilgrims flock to venerate either the Holy Sepulcher or the Omar-Haram al Sharif Mosque, as has been the case since the days of Omar Al Hatab’s treaty with the ever-memorable Patriarch Sophronios of Jerusalem.

Mr Habbash added that Christians are not a minority within the Palestinian State; they are, he said, a majority alongside the Muslims and that Muslims owe to respect the Gospel as they respect the Koran: respect they Church as they respect the Mosque.

From the Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/m4Xi6FxmBT4

On Thursday the 6^th/19^th of June 2014, a meeting was held between the Presidents of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) at the Marriott Hotel in Amman.
At the meeting, the Orthodox Family was represented by His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, accompanied by the Elder Secretary-General, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina; His Eminence Archbishop Philoumenos of Pella, and the Hegoumen in Fhes, the Very Reverend Archimandrite Ieronymos.

The Roman Catholic Family was represented by the Patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church in Antioch, Mr Ignatius Youssef III Younan; the Protestant Family by His Grace Munib Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem. His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, was unable to attend the meeting due to other obligations and authorized his co-Presidents to decide in his name.

The main topic of the Meeting, which was convened and hosted by Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem through the Council’s Locum Secretary-General, Mr Michel Jalakh, was to discuss and evaluate the current situation of the Middle East Council of Churches along general lines.

During their opening addresses, the Presidents of the Families underlined the significance of MECC’s work in terms of bringing out topics of concern to Christians in the Middle East and requirements for their coexistence with Muslims in these areas. Locum Secretary-General, Mr Michel Jalakh, thanked the Presidents for their support and presence at the Meeting, before informing them about the Council’s agenda on its fortieth anniversary.

The topics awaiting resolution are:

1. To overcome the financial and administrative problems the Council was recently faced with.
2. Transparency over the Council’s finances will strengthen the sponsors’ trust towards repeating their grants for the regulated operation of the Council, and their financial contribution to the needs of Christians in the Middle East.
3. Also underlined was the Council’s significance as the legal framework of the meeting between Christians in the Middle East and the urgent need to restore lost trust in it.

These topics were analyzed in Mr Jalakh’s report, which was praised and approved by the Presidents of the Council.

At noon, the Director of the Marriott Hotel hosted the Presidents and their retinues to lunch. Also invited were the Ambassadors of the European Union, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Libya, Morocco etc.

During lunch, His Beatitude Theophilos addressed those present in English, see link:  https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2014/06/19/7626

The Presidents reconvened after lunch until the evening hours of the same day.

The Statement released by the Presidents on the Meeting can be reached here: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2014/06/19/7624

From the Secretariat-General

Amman – Jordan, 19 June 2014.

The General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Fr. Michel Jalakh, called the Presidents of the Council to an extraordinary meeting in Amman, Jordan, on June 19^th, 2014, which was hosted by His Beatitude Theophilos III.

The Presidents were mindful of the commitment of His Majesty King Abdullah II to advocating for the Christian presence in the Kingdom, and were grateful for his continued support. In attendance were His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, President of the Eastern Orthodox family, His Beatitude Ignatius Youssef III Younan, Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholic Church, President of the Catholic family, His Grace Munib Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, President of the Evangelical family, and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, President of the Oriental Orthodox family, represented by the co-Presidents. Pastor Dr. Habib Badr, President of the National Evangelical Church of Beirut and Honorary Treasurer of MECC attended also the meeting. The Presidents released the results of their meeting in the following statement:

The current unexpected events taking place in Iraq join a further deterioration within countries in the region, and the Presidents share in the suffering of these tragic events along with the innocent victims of hatred and violence.

The people of Iraq are at risk of being dominated by political and religious extremism, a fact that calls upon us and the whole world to raise awareness and take immediate measures. The Presidents of the Middle East Council of Churches condemn all forms of violence against churches, mosques and other religious institutions. They encourage all Christians and people of goodwill to stand strong and not be afraid and to remember that they, together with their Muslim brothers and sisters, are the children of the same land and all share a common human nature and destiny. Therefore, we must respect and support one another as brothers and sisters.

The Presidents stand in compassion and prayer for all those in exile, displaced in Syria and in neighboring countries. We call upon all concerned parties to seek reconciliation without racial or religious discrimination. We call to release the two kidnapped archbishops Boulos Yaziji and Yuhanna Ibrahim, in addition to all kidnapped priests and innocent people.

Furthermore, the Presidents of MECC, comprised of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Evangelical, and Catholic families, call upon peacemakers in the entire international community, to defend the dignity and rights of all humans as well as freedom of religious expression, to quickly and effectively interfere in order to help our people to be liberated from the dreadful spiral of hatred and violence. We strongly condemn all forms of violence, regardless of who is the perpetrator, while simultaneously praying for peace, justice and reconciliation. We extend these prayers all over the world, but especially for all people of the Holy Land, to pursue peace, so that Jerusalem may be a beacon of peace throughout the world.

We, the Presidents of the MECC, ask the Holy Spirit to guide our churches in the bond of love in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

His Beatitude Theophilos III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

His Beatitude Ignatius Youssef III Younan

Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholic Church

His Holiness Aram I

Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church

His Grace Bishop Munib Younan

Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Amman, Jordan, 19 June 2014

“ Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Respected Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Just over a week ago, the Church celebrated the Feast of Pentecost and in the Orthodox tradition we sang these words:

When the Most High came down and confused the tongues, he parted the nations. When he divided out the tongues of fire, he called all to unity; and with one voice we glorify the All-Holy Spirit.

(Kontakion for Pentecost)

We greet you in this same Spirit, and the Feast of Pentecost is a timely reminder to us all of the importance of the work of the Middle East Council of Churches and of the responsibility that is laid on our shoulders as leaders of our Churches and Christian communities. The current developments in the Middle East and the predicament of the Christian population in this region and in our neighbouring countries are a sober and urgent reminder to us of our mission.

As we gather here in Amman, we remember especially the displaced and the refugees from Iraq and Syria who have fled to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in fear of their lives. We also wish to express our gratitude to His Majesty King Abdullah for the example that he sets not only to our region, but also to the world in his commitment to inter-faith dialogue, peaceful co-existence, mutual respect, and the well-being of all our peoples, regardless of religious, ethnic, or cultural identity.

We are glad that this meeting is taking place after so long a hiatus. And we are also glad to have with us distinguished members of the European diplomatic corps, who have expressed their desire to be partners with us. The Middle East Council of Churches has the potential to be a genuine source for good and an agent of real help at this time of crisis, and we cannot let anything get in the way of this work. The lives of whole communities depend on the concerted effort of people of good will to work together to end war, injustice, and suffering, and to restore order to our societies. There is no time to waste.

There is a potential partnership between the Council and the international community that could make a crucial difference and we cannot let this moment pass. Together we can make a significant contribution both to the support of communities under persecution and to the establishment of a lasting peace, and we have the moral obligation to leave no avenue unexplored in this mission.

The office of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, established here in Amman with the support of His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi, stands ready to encourage this partnership and this work. Our Director, Mrs Waffa Khasous, is available and able to give all necessary guidance. Here we can show the fruits of the Feast of Pentecost in unity of action and commitment to our region. Jerusalem has always been a beacon of hope for our region and our world, and it is our responsibility to make that hope a reality.

The current situation in the Middle East puts a new and high premium on our work, and we have an obligation before God and our people to allow nothing to get in the way of this. By remaining focused on our mission, we can know that we are living into that unity of the Spirit to which the Feast of Pentecost has summoned us.

May God give us the grace to accomplish the work we have been given to do, and may God bless His Majesty King Abdullah II and our beloved Kingdom, all our peoples, and the work of this Council.Last but not least, we have to thank Mr. Nadim Mouasher for hosting us now” .

Thank you.

His Beatitude

THEOPHILOS III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

On Tuesday the 4^th/17^th of June 2014, a delegation of excellent students from Bulgaria, the winners of an essay contest amongst Bulgarian schools, visited the Patriarchate led by their teacher, Mr Yaakov Djerassi.

The students, who competed for the theme “The rescue of Bulgarian Jews during World War II” were received by his Beatitude, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, in the presence of Hagiotaphite Fathers. After welcoming the group, the Patriarch gladly listened to their teacher commenting their efforts and excellent performance.

In His response, His Beatitude praised their endeavours and talked about the sacred tradition and history of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, as well as about the peace-making role carried out by the Patriarchate in the Holy Land. He went on to offer them Jerusalemite eulogias and wish them success in their courses.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the students and their teacher went on to venerate at the Holy Sepulcher.

From the Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/FYsiueNeosE