THE SUNDAY AFTER THE EXALTATION OF THE H. CROSS AT THE PATRIARCHATE

On Sunday, September 16/29, 2019, the Patriarchate celebrated the feast of the Sunday after the Exaltation of the H. Cross at the Holy Monastery of the Sacred Cross, which is in West Jerusalem, near the Hebrew Knesset. The Church holds the belief that the three-composed wood of cedar, cypress and pine which was used to make the Cross of our Lord’s crucifixion was planted in the place of this Monastery.

Between the years 1845 to 1909, the Patriarchate used to keep in this H. Monastery an Undergraduate School of Theology with prominent Theologian graduates, both laity and Hagiotaphite clergymen, such as the former Patriarch of Jerusalem Timotheos Themelis  and Chrysostomos Papadopoulos, former Archbishop of Athens.

 On this day the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Catholicon of the Monastery, officiated by the Most Reverend Metropolitan and Exarch of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Cyprus Timotheos of Bostra, with the co-celebration of Hagiotaphite Hieromonks, with first in rank Archimandrite Ignatios, Archimandrite Mattheos, and Archimandrite Kallistos, Arab-speaking Priests and the Deacons Eulogios and Demetrios. The chanting was delivered by the Novice Monk Constantine Spyropoulos, Monk Raphael and the Patriarchal School of Zion students in Greek, and Mr. Lawrence Samour in Arabic. The service was attended by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr. Christos Sophianopoulos and members of the Greek Consulate and Arab-speaking Orthodox faithful from the occupied territories and from Jerusalem.

The Divine Liturgy was followed by a reception at the Hegoumeneion and a meal in honour of His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, the Episcopal Entourage, the Consul General Mr. Sophianopoulos and others, by the Hegoumen Most Reverend Archbishop Philoumenos of Pella.  

From Secretariat-General