THE CEREMONY OF THE SCHOOL LEAVING CERTIFICATES FOR ST. DEMETRIOS’ SCHOOL GRADUATES

The ceremony of the school leaving certificates for the graduates of the Patriarchate School of St. Demetrios, took place on Friday afternoon of the Bright Week, April 20/ May 3, 2019.

The Patriarchate kept the Priest’s School under that name too, until the year 1970, when it was moved to the building of the Holy Zion at the Monastery of the Holy Trinity.

In the year 1988, the memorable Patriarch of Jerusalem Diodoros founded in the same building of the School for Priests a Nursery School, a Primary School, a High School  and Lyceum, with the name St. Demetrios, for the children of the Arab-speaking flock. Since then, the School has been operating successfully, offering a high standard education. This year, with the aforementioned ceremony the Patriarchate honoured the 15 Lyceum graduates.

The ceremony was honoured by the presence of H.H. Beatitude, our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, Who was escorted by the Greek Consul Mrs. Katherine Tzima, the Most Reverend Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, the Dragouman and Chairman of the School Board Archimandrite Mattheos, the Dean Priest Issa Musleh, and Mr. Ode Kawas, the Financial Director of the Arab speaking School of the West Bank.

The ceremony began with the on stage presentation of the 15 graduates, with the prayer “Christ is risen” “Our Father” and the Palestinian and Greek anthems.

Then the School Manager Mr. Samir Zananiri spoke about the School activities during the school year 2018-2019 and about the building renovations at the classrooms. A Greek dance performance by three young pupils followed, and of three nursery school pupils, Palestinian traditional dances, then the addresses of the students’ representatives in the Arabic, English and Greek languages, which referred to their education at this School of the Patriarchate in the City of Jerusalem, with thanksgiving to the Patriarch, their teachers and parents.

The ceremony was sealed by His Beatitude’s address, which stressed the importance the Patriarchate attributes to the education of the youth in these schools and at the end of the address, the School offered His Beatitude a thank you board.

Finally, His Beatitude and the School Manager gave the School Leaving Certificates to the 15 graduates, wishing them every success and a prosperous career.

 From Secretariat-General