On St Thomas Sunday, the 14^th/27^th of April 2014, the Patriarchate commemorated the touching of the resurrected Lord by His disciple Thomas, at the All-holy Church of the Resurrection.

1. Vespers

On Saturday evening, the Ninth Hour was recited at the Monastic Church of Sts Constantine and Helen, followed by progression to the Church of the Resurrection, veneration at the Holy Apokathelosis, the Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha, the ringing of the bells and the Censing.

Vespers was led by the Patriarchal Commissioner, the Most Reverend Isychios, Metropolitan of Kapitolias, with concelebrant Prelates. The Head Cantor of the Church of the Resurrection, Archimandrite Aristovoulos, sang with the choir of students at the Patriarchal School in the presence of several pilgrims from Greece and Russia.

1. The Divine Liturgy

At 7:30 am of the morning of the Sunday of Thomas, the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood proceeded to the All-Holy Church of the Resurrection, venerated at the Holy Apokathelosis and the Holy Sepulcher and entered the Katholikon.

The Divine Liturgy was led by the Patriarchal Commissioner, the Most Reverend Isychios, Metropolitan of Kapitolias, with concelebrant Hagiotaphite Hieromonks and Hierodeacons in the presence of pious pilgrims from Greece, Cyprus, Russia and Romania. The Head Cantor of the Church of the Resurrection, Archimandrite Aristovoulos, sang in Greek, Russian, Romanian and Arabic.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the Hagiotaphite Retinue, headed by the Patriarchal Commissioner, proceeded to the Patriarchates, where the Most Reverend Isychios spoke on the Sunday of Thomas or Antipascha, before the exchange of festive wishes.

From the Secretariat-General

SCHEDULE OF SERVICES AT THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION AND ST PHILOUMENOS THE HAGIOTAPHITE HOLY MARTYR – MAY 2014.

1/05 THURSDAY, 07.00 ST PANARETOS, BISHOP OF PAPHOS, MATINS AND DIVINE LITURGY.

3/05 SATURDAY, 18.00 VESPERS SERVICE.

4/05 THIRD SUDNAY AFTER EASTER, 07.00 MATINS AND DIVINE LITURGY.

9/05 FRIDAY, 18.00 PRE-INAUGURAL VESPERS SERVICE, THE PATRIARCH OFFICIATING.

10/05 SATURDAY, 07.00 MATINS SERVICE, THE ARCHBISHOP OF CYPRUS OFFICIATING.

08.15 INAUGURAL SERVICE.

09.15 DIVINE LITURGY. JOINT PRIMATIAL LITURGY: THEOPHILOS OF JERUASLEM AND CHRYSOSTOMOS OF CYPRUS.

18.00 VESPERS SERVICE, PRELATES OFFICIATING.

11/05 SUNDAY, 07.00 MATINS SERVICE AND PRELATIC DIVINE LITURGY.

18.00 SUPPLICATION BEFORE THE ICON OF THE HOLY CROSS.

13/05 TUESDAY, 18.00 VESPERS SERVICE.

14/05 MIDFEAST (MID-PENTECOST) WEDNESDAY, 07.00 MATINS SERVICE AND DIVINE LITURGY.

15/05 TO 16/05 20.30 VIGIL FOR THE FATHERS SLAIN AT THE LAVRA OF ST SABBAS THE SANCTIFIED.

17/05 SATURDAY, 18.00 VESPERS SERVICE.

18/05 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER (OF THE SAMARITAN WOMAN), 07.00 MATINS SERVICE AND DIVINE LITURGY.

20/05 TUESDAY, 18.00 VESPERSSERVICE.

21/05 WEDNESDAY, FEAST OF STS CONSTANTINE AND HELEN, 07.00 MATINS SERVICE AND DIVINE LITURGY.

24/05 SATURDAY, 18.00 VESPERS SERVICE.

25/05 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER, 07.00 MATINS SERVICE AND DIVINE LITURGY.

28/05 WEDNESDAY, APODOSIS OF THE HOLY EASTER. 07.00 MATINS SERVICE AND DIVINE LITURGY.

18.00 FESTIVE VESPERS ON THE FEAST OF THE ASCENSION.

29/05 THURSDAY, FEAST OF THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, FESTIVE MATINS AND PRELATIC DIVINE LITURGY.

FROM THE EXARCHY OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER IN CYPRUS

As per the arrangement made between the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Israeli Police, pilgrims visiting from Greece arrived at 4:00 am in the morning of the Holy Saturday, the 6^th/19^th of April 2014. Those wishing to receive Communion proceeded to the Church of Sts Theodores, St Panteleimon and Our Lady Seyda Naya; those residing outside the walls arrived at 6:00 am at the New Gate.

Subsequently, all pilgrims, guided by the Police, proceeded to the Central Monastery of Sts Constantine and Helen in order to reach the Church of the Resurrection by means of the stairs of the Church of St James the Brother of God, in order to participate in the Holy Light ceremony.

From the rooftop of St Constantine, the Police allowed a number of pilgrims to descend to the Church. Nevertheless, as many as 400 pilgrims were left waiting in the sun for a long time, and were not allowed to proceed to the Church, in spite of the fact that there was still room in the Holy Golgotha and outside the Holy Bema of the Katholikon, and despite the appeal of the Elder Secretary-General, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, to the Director of the Police.

As per information received by pilgrims, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem recognizes an improvement in the treatment of pilgrims by the Police and for this it extends its thanks. However, it would also like to protest to the Israeli Police for not completely delivering their promise, namely to allow all Greek pilgrims to descend from the rooftop of St Constantine to the Church of the Resurrection.

From the Secretariat-General

On Bright Wednesday, the 10^th/23^rd of April 2014, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem returned the visits it received on Bright Tuesday by Christian Churches in Jerusalem. Hagiotaphite Fathers first returned the visit of the Monastic Fraternity of the Franciscans.

There, the head of the Hagiotaphites, His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, greeted the Franciscan Custodian, f. Pierrebatista Pizzaballa and the Franciscan Fathers on the occasion of Easter, a feast of remembrance and understanding of the Resurrection of Christ which sealed His work of salvation of humans: “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith”.

In his reply speech, the Custodian thanked His Beatitude for the visit, collaboration and festive wishes, wishing on his part for days of joy and peace amongst the Communities, for the benefit of their flocks, as well as sound cooperation for the visit of Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Subsequently, the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood visited the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem. There, His Beatitude congratulated the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, Mr Fouad Twal on the great feast of Easter, the feast of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. The feast, celebrated jointly this year, has established the strong presence of Christianity in Jerusalem.

In his reply speech, the Latin Patriarch expressed his joy over the visit of Christian Communities to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, on the day before, and over the present day’s return visit of the Orthodox. On the occasion of this day “that the Lord made for us to rejoice”, there is hope that all of us shall celebrate together in order to strengthen the Christian entity in the Holy Land.

His Beatitude then visited the Apostolic Nuncio, namely Pope’s representative to the Holy Land.

Around noon, His Beatitude visited the Patriarchate of the Armenians, where he addressed the Armenian Patriarch, Nourhan Manukian, in English, see: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2014/04/23/6280

From the Secretariat-General

Jerusalem, 23 April 2014

Your Beatitude, Patriarch Nourhan,

Your Eminences,

Beloved Members of our Respective Brotherhoods,

Dear Fathers,

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

This blessed Paschal celebration gives us the opportunity to visit you, Your Beatitude, and to be among the Armenian Brotherhood in this spirit of fellowship and Easter joy. We are glad that we are reaping the good fruits of the cooperation and mutual understanding that exist between our communities. This proves so well that dialogue in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is the most powerful and effective way in which to solve family challenges.

We wish to commend you, Your Beatitude, for the leadership that you have exercised since your election. We to whom the leaders of the Christian communities of the Holy Land have been entrusted to bear a special burden that can only be shouldered with the help of the grace and mercy of God.

As we bring our Easter greetings to you, we are fully aware of the terrible plight of the suffering of our fellow Christians in many countries, and especially in our neighboring region. We know of your own personal connection to the Armenian community in Syria, and we assure you of our prayers for the Armenian people in Syria, in Armenia itself, and around the world.

May the Light that shines from the Tomb of Christ on this Feast of Feasts be a beacon of hope and a source of strength to us all as we seek to be faithful in the spiritual mission that has been entrusted to us in our beloved Holy Land.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Thank you.

His Beatitude

THEOPHILOS III,

Patriarch of Jerusalem

On Bright Tuesday, the 9^th/22^nd of April 2014, the long since established Paschal visits of Christian Churches to the Patriarchate took place.

In the context of this institution, Franciscan monks visited our Patriarchate under their Abbot and Custodian of the Holy Land, f. Pierrebatista Pizzaballa.

The monks were received by Hagiotaphite Fathers, under Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem.

Through the address of the Franciscan custodian and the reply speech of His Beatitude, this year’s common celebration of Easter was underlined, together with the current collaboration between Christian Churches in the Holy Sepulcher. A wish was made that this collaboration shall continue for the benefit of Christians in the Holy Land.

The Franciscans were followed by other Churches, the Latin Patriarchate, the Lutherans, the Copts, the Syrians, the Anglicans and persons linked to them.

The Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem made an address on behalf of all, whereas His Beatitude replied in English, see: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2014/04/22/5969

Subsequently, the Patriarchate was visited by Mr Azam Hadib, President of the Waqf of Solomon’s Temple. Mr Hadib is in charge of the area of the Temple of Solomon – Haram-al-Sharif as well as shrines connected to it, in the name of Jordan and the Palestinian Autonomy.

In his address, Mr Hadib talked of respect for the rights of every Community in Jerusalem, and the significance of a peaceful religious coexistence.

Around noon, the Patriarchate was visited by the Armenians, under His Eminence Archbishop Ari Savrenian. During the meeting, wishes were exchanged for a harmonious Christian coexistence in the Holy Land, devoid of altercations.

His Beatitude Theophilos replied in English, see link: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2014/04/22/5972

From the Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/CW770BKamEY

Jerusalem, 22 April 2014

Your Beatitude, Patriarch Nourhan,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Dear Members of our Respective Brotherhoods,

Reverend Fathers,

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!

With these words of joy, we welcome you to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem as we celebrate the Feast of Feasts. For “this is the day that the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Ps 117:24).

As we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call to mind that we are those whom Divine Providence has summoned to be the guardians and the servants of the Holy Places. The Holy Places are the undeniable and ageless witness of our sacred history, for here the Light has shined from the Most Holy and Life-Giving Tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ into our darkened world. For this Light dawned here first of all, and so made the earthly Jerusalem fully the image of the heavenly Jerusalem. Here the first day of the new Creation dawned upon the world.

The eyes of all are directed to Jerusalem in this holy season – that is, they are directed on us. We should never forget that millions of people in every country take courage and inspiration from the celebration of the events of our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection in the Holy City, especially at a time of untold suffering, when our sister and brother Christians face so much fear and danger.

Jerusalem is the living oasis of the resurrection, and the Holy Places are the vibrant testimony of this reality. Our mission in the diakonia – in the self-emptying service -of the Holy Places, is a responsibility beyond ourselves and our region to all those, who look to Jerusalem in hope. Even the holy and glorious Apostles, who were sent by our Lord Jesus Christ to bring the light of the resurrection to all lands, were never cut off from Jerusalem.

So it is with us. Jerusalem is not of the past. Jerusalem remains a tangible, God-given and God-sustained source of the hope of the resurrection, and it is our responsibility to maintain this reality in ways that evident and life-giving.

May God grant to us all the strength and the resolve to be true and humble guardians and servants, that the Light that dawns from the Tomb may shine brightly in our life and spiritual mission.  We wish you all the blessings of this glorious Paschal Feast.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Thank you.

His Beatitude

Theophilos III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

Jerusalem, 22 April 2014

Your Beatitudes, Your Eminences, Your Graces,

Dear Members of our Respective Brotherhoods,

Reverend Fathers,

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Shine, shine, new Jerusalem! For the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you. Rejoice and be glad, Ο Sion! And you, All-pure Mother of God, delight in the resurrection of the One to whom you gave birth!

 (from The Resurrection Service, the 9^Th Ode)

With these words of joy from the Resurrection Service, we welcome you to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem as we celebrate the Feast of Feasts. For “this is the day that the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Ps 117:24).

In this year, when Christians of the East and the West celebrate Holy Week and Easter at the same time, we who are the chief shepherds and leaders of the Churches and Christian communities of the Holy Land are given an important opportunity to be witnesses together of the Light that shines in our darkened world from the Most Holy and Life-Giving Tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. For this Light dawned here first of all, and so made the earthly Jerusalem fully the image of the heavenly Jerusalem. Here the first day of the new Creation dawned upon the world.

The hope that is revealed in Jerusalem on this Paschal Feast is the hope of the world, and the delight of the Mother of God is the delight of humankind. For the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is nothing less than the full restoration of our human nature to the glory which God has intended for us from the beginning. As our Lord Jesus Christ descended into Hades and broke the bonds of death for ever, so he has opened to all the promise of eternity and union with the Father. In the resurrection, the Father makes manifest the promise of the vision of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1).

We rejoice today, because our common witness to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ was made this year in a spirit of fraternal co-operation between our communities, and such a common witness is of supreme importance. The eyes of all are directed to Jerusalem in this holy season, and millions of people in every country take courage and inspiration from the celebration of the events of our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection in the Holy City. Our first responsibility as the Churches and Christian communities of the Holy Land is so to live our life here that we may be a beacon of hope, justice, love, and reconciliation to a world in which there is so much despair, evil, hatred, and division.

Even as we celebrate the triumph of life over death in this Easter season, our region remains in a state of tremendous challenge and difficulty. Our Christian communities in the Holy Land depend on us for pastoral care, spiritual nourishment, and attentive encouragement, so that they may know the power of the resurrection in their own lives. We cannot allow any pre-occupation or trivial concern to distract us from this primary religious mission to our people. For the words that Saint Paul addressed to the elders of the Church in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles are addressed also to us: “Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son” (Acts 20:28).

Needless to say, our pastoral concern extends beyond our own region especially to all those parts of the world where Christians are persecuted for their faith and where religious freedom is denied. The Christian faith respects the dignity of every human person, and so respects the faith of others; Christians should be respected in turn, and we are rightly concerned with those parts of the world, where this does not happen.

We also take this opportunity to pray that the Light that shines from the Tomb of Christ that has spread throughout the streets of Jerusalem and the cities and towns of all our communities in our believed Holy Land may be a light that continues to lead us on the road to peace, so that Christians, Jews, and Muslims may enjoy the fruits of peace, live joyfully together, and be an example of respectful co-existence to the world.

Let us rejoice, therefore, with the Most Holy Mother of God and all the saints today, and with the Church throughout the world, for the glory of the Lord has dawned upon us. Let us take strength from the Light that shines from the Tomb, for this is the Light that has come into the world – the Light that the darkness can never defeat (cf. John 1:4-5).

We thank you for your Paschal Greetings, and we wish you all, and the members of your communities, the abiding peace of this Feast.

Ο divine, Ο beloved, Ο most sweet voice! You, Ο Christ, have truly promised

 that you would be with us to the end of all the ages:

Therefore, Ο you faithful, rejoice! For we have Christ’s words as our anchor of hope.

Thank you.

His Beatitude

Theophilos ΙΙΙ

Patriarch of Jerusalem

On Bright Monday, namely the 8^th/21^st of April 2014, the feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ was celebrated for the Hagiotaphite Fathers and pilgrims at the Holy Monastic Church of Sts Constantine and Helen.

Officiating at the Divine Liturgy was His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, with co-praying Hagiotaphite Prelates, Hieromonks, deacons and monks, in the presence of a crowd of joyful pilgrims.

The service was followed by progression to the Patriarchates, His Beatitude dressed in a mantle, and the priests dressed in sacerdotal garments, while the Head Cantor of the St Constantine Church, Archimandrite Evsevios, chanted “Christ Has Risen” and “Let us shine in the light of the Resurrection”.

At the Patriarchate, a supplication was made, and the Patriarchal Polychronism chanted.

The ceremony was followed by the fraternal embrace of forgiveness.

From the Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/g3bL1KSACZE

On Easter Sunday, the 7^th/20^th of April 2014, at 1:00 pm, the Hagiotaphite Fathers gathered in the Hall of the Throne.
There, after the Paschal Embrace and while Archimandrite Aristovoulos, Head Cantor of the Church of the Resurrection, chanted the Byzantine “Christ Has Risen”, His Beatitude, the Prelates and Priests put on their white Paschal garments and read out the Ninth Hour of Easter: “Christ Has Risen”, “Having Viewed the Resurrection of Christ…”

After the Ninth Hour, amidst bells ringing and as Prelates carried Evangelistaria, the official, magnificent procession began of the icon of the Resurrection to the Holy Sepulcher through Christian Street.

Before the Holy Court, a supplication was made, followed by entry into the Katholikon, where the Easter Vespers was held.

After the Great Entrance, the Gospel of John was read out, on the first appearance of the Lord to His disciples, and Thomas’ doubting, expressed through these words:

“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” in Greek, Arabic, Russian, Hebrew, Romanian, English and German.

At the conclusion of Vespers, the Hagiotaphite Fathers proceeded to the Patriarchate, praising the Lord for having offered them this feast.

From the Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/79rZUiUeiG4