THE LAST DAY OF PATRIARCH THEOPHILOS’ VISIT TO RHODES
On Thursday, the 15th/28th of July 2016, His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, visited the Acropolis of Lindos in Rhodes. Toured on the site, the Patriarch admired the ancient Temple dated to the Classical Period, and the Byzantine Church, both restored from the ruins, as well as the entire citadel, surrounded by a wall dated to the Venetian period. From the top of the site, His Beatitude enjoyed the serene, wonderful view to the South and the small port where Paul, the Apostle of the Nations, had anchored.
The site abounded with numerous visitors, either on foot or riding donkeys. At the foothills of the Acropolis, His Beatitude was keen to observe handiwork made by the residents of the local settlement. At the settlement, accompanied by Metropolitan Kyrillos of Rhodes, Patriarch Theophilos visited the small underground chapel of St George “Chostos” and the beautiful Church of the Dormition of Theotokos, dated to the 17th c. The entire church is covered by wall-paintings. Adjacent to it is a museum of ecclesiastical items.
At noon of the same day, His Beatitude, accompanied by Metropolitan Kyrillos, left Rhodes for Athens by airplane. From Athens he boarded a flight of Aegean Airlines and arrived safely in Tel Aviv and from there to Jerusalem, praising God for His visit to Rhodes, which is expected to contribute to the promotion and success of the restoration of the Aedicula of the Holy Sepulchre, already underway.
From the Secretariat-General