The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expresses its disapproval and refuses any cooperation or relation with Lee Man-Hee, Korean founder of the so-called “Shinchonji Church of Jesus, The Temple of Tabernacle of the Testimony,” who teaches anti-Triadic and eschatological heresies, and claims to be the last genuine prophet.
From Secretariat-General
On Saturday, the 23rd of October/5th of November 2016, the Patriarchate observed the memory of St James the Brother of God, first Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Cathedral dedicated to his name, connecting the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood with the Church of the Resurrection and used, over the last centuries, for the veneration needs of the Arabic-speaking Rum Orthodox Community of Jerusalem.
St James is called Equal to the Apostles for, as son to Joseph the Betrothed, he is considered the Lord’s brother by law. This was established by the Lord so that he would become, after His Resurrection and Ascension, the first Bishop of the Church of Jerusalem. During his diaconate, St James had played a significant role in the affairs of the Church of Jerusalem, leading the First Apostolic Synod of Jerusalem in 49 AD, and writing his Catholic Epistle in the New Testament “on the twelve tribes of Israel in diaspora”. He suffered a martyr’s death for Christ, when pushed down by the Jews from the arch of the Temple of Solomon.
His Beatitude Theophilos led Vespers, Matins and the divine Liturgy for the feast, having as concelebrants Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias, Archbishops Aristarchos of Constantina, Theodosios of Sebaste and Michael of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), Hagiotaphite Hieromonks, i.e. the Elder Kamarasis, Archimandrite Nektarios, the vicar of the church, f. Charalambos-Farah Bantour, Archdeacon Markos and deacon Agapios. The congregation consisted of Arabic-speaking Greek Orthodox faithful, and pilgrims from Greece, Russia and Ukraine.
To the pious, His Beatitude spoke in Greek, quoting words from the Catholic Epistle of St James and the significance of patience in Christ: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1, 12). Similarly, Patriarch Theophilos quoted the Apostle Paul from the Epistle to the Romans (5 2-5): And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
“The value of patience” the Patriarch added, “has been demonstrated by the Lord Himself, who said: “By your patience, possess your souls” (Luke 21, 19). In other words, patience is compared to fire through which gold is tried and cleaned, just like men are welcomed by God once they have been through the furnace of humility, namely of patience through temptation”.
The commemoration of St James’ death for Christ, Patriarch Theophilos added, invites us, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “to be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1, 9-10).
After the divine Liturgy, His Beatitude and Entourage walked to the roof of Sts Constantine and Helen Church, passed through the Gate of the Central Monastery, and received “blessed loaves of bread” from Archimandrite Paisios and Elder Nun Seraphima.
At the Hall of the Throne, after a supplication and the Patriarchal Polychronism, Patriarch Theophilos wished on everyone the mediation of St James, first elected Bishop of Jerusalem.
From the Secretariat-General
httpv://youtu.be/Vl5c7LOPB80
From Sunday, the 17th/30th to Monday the 18th/31st of October 2016, His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, accompanied by the Elder Secretary-General, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, and Hierodeacon Markos, will participate in the 6th International Euro-Mediterranean Conference (EuroMed 2016), in Nicosia, Cyprus. Also, between Tuesday and Wednesday, the 19th/20th of October/1st and 2nd November 2016, the Patriarch, accompanied by Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, will be in Poland in order to participate in an event in support of the German occupation victims during World War II, namely 1940-1944, in Auschwitz, Dachau and other concentration camps.
Details on the aforementioned events will be posted in due time.
From the Secretariat-General
Hagiosavvite monks f. Ioannikios Christodoulou, of Cypriot origin, and f. Gouriu, of Romanian origin, no longer belong to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, neither do they reside within its premises nor at the Monastery of St Savva the Sanctified.
From the Secretariat-General
Between Thursday the 3rd/16th to Sunday the 13th/26th of June 2016, His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, accompanied by Hagiotaphite Primates and Hieromonks, Advisors and Secretarial staff, participates in the workings of the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church, to take place at the Orthodox Academy of Chania, Crete.
Details for the participation of the Patriarchate will be posted on this website in accordance with the Synod’s work programme.
From the Secretariat-General
On Sunday, the 29th of February/13th of March 2016, Cheesefare Sunday, the Monastery of St John the Forerunner and Baptist, on the west bank of the river Jordan, fell victim to a violent and harsh vandalism attack.
Over the past years, having obtained a special permit from the Israeli army, this ancient Monastery is being maintained by the subvention of the Rum Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which has undertaken to restore the damages it had suffered during the six-day war of 1967.
Today, Lent Monday the 1st/14th of March 2016, the supervisors of the conservation works underway have discovered that the central gate to the Monastery had been secured from the inside by unknowns using a bolt, which allowed them to commit acts of vandalism, as shown on the uploaded images, namely: writing slogans on the walls of the first-floor rooms above the church, and breaking into a room and destroying the P.C. that contained all archives of works carried out. Also, they have apparently caused damages to the interior walls of the rooms, removing tools, two generators, and other items which they must have loaded on a truck waiting by the Monastery’s outside wall, as indicated by the traces of wheels on the desert road.
Once notified, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem informed the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Israeli Army and Police of the Jericho region, who went on to visit the site and record the damages in the presence of Archimandrite Chrysostomos, Hegumen of the Monastery of Abba Gerasimus and supervisor of the Monastery of John the Baptist. The architect of the Church of the Resurrection, Theodosios Mitropoulos, was also present.
In anticipation of the visit of His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, tomorrow, Tuesday, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem would like to state that it promotes dialogue, reconciliation and peaceful interreligious coexistence in the Holy Land, whilst irrevocably condemning this unacceptable act of vandalism. Lastly, the Patriarchate intends to take all necessary legal action towards finding the culprits and protecting its Monastery.
From the Secretariat-General
On Friday, the 26th of September/10th of October 2015, the reverend Bishop Aleksandr of Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky and Vishnevsky, aide to the Most Reverend Onuphrius, Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine, arrived in Jerusalem. During a night liturgy on the aforementioned day, Bishop Aleksandr co-officiated at the Holy Sepulcher with His Eminence Joachim, Archbishop of former Zambia.
On the morning of Saturday, the 27th of September/10th of October 2015, the reverend Bishop Aleksandr and his retinue, accompanied by members of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem (Missia), visited the Patriarchate. There, he received by the hands of His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, the icon of the Dormition of Theotokos, kept at the Dependency of Gethsemane, opposite the Church of the Resurrection. The icon will be used for a wake at the Missia, then transferred to Ukraine, to be venerated by millions of Orthodox faithful and contribute to the strengthening of their spiritual life during this trouble period for the country.
Patriarch Theophilos expressed the wish that Metropolitan Onuphrius and Bishop Aleksandr, as well as the distressed Ukrainian people, be helped and protected upon the mediation of the Most Holy Theotokos by means of its icon, a sacred relic of the Church of Jerusalem.
From the Secretariat-General
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the 15th and 16th/28th and 29th of July 2015, their Beatitudes, having come from Cyprus, met at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. His Beatitude Patriarch of Alexandria Mr. Theodoros, His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Mr. Theophilos, and His Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus Mr. Chrysostomos also concelebrated a night Liturgy in the Holy Sepulcher Church of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, praying for divine intercession for peace in the Middle East.
The three heads of Churches discussed among themselves issues related to their Churches, the issue of the Archbishopric in Qatar in order to facilitate the process of the Convention of the Great Synod of Orthodoxy, and the issue of the status of Christians in the Holy Land and Middle East. They expressed their deep concern for the continuation and even closer cooperation between them, aiming for the solution to these problems, as well as the unity of the Orthodox Church and the bonds of peace.
From the Secretariat-General
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem expresses its sorrow on the recent decision of the Patriarchate of Antioch to break off communion with it, and would like to sincerely and truthfully inform the sister Orthodox Churches and its flock about the following:
Firstly, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, responding to an invitation by the Christians of Qatar, a geographical territory within its ecclesiastical jurisdiction, appointed Theophilos, now Patriarch of Jerusalem, as officiating priest there in 1997, when there was neither a church in the region nor was the Christian worship performed. Ever since and to this day, Orthodox Christians in Qatar attend the liturgy, initially in Houses of Prayer, and since 2009 in the Church of St George, the Glorious Great Martyr, and St Isaac the Syrian, founded by the Patriarchate on a plot of land offered by His Highness Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Secondly, the late Patriarch Diodoros of Jerusalem paid a pastoral visit to Qatar in 1999, His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, in 2010. In the course of this pastoral activity of eighteen years but also prior to that, the Patriarchate of Antioch had never had a presence there, neither had it ever protested for any reason. Its protests were first put forward when the Patriarchate consecrated Archimandrite Makarios, serving there since 2004, as Archbishop of Qatar. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem, by the help of God, developed its project in Qatar into an Inter-Orthodox Multilingual Liturgical Center for a flock of approximately 12.000 souls, far from any racial discrimination. By contrast, the Antioch Patriarchate places the question on an ethnic-racial basis, as may be seen in its letter addressed to the Qatar Foreign Ministry, suggesting that “Patriarch John X of Antioch and All East is the only recognized Patriarch from the Orthodox Community (Taife) across the entire Middle East and represents the Orthodox Community in all Arab countries, including for example Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Jerusalem, Egypt, Bahrain, the Emirates, Iran”.
Thirdly, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem irrevocably refutes the unsubstantiated claim of the Patriarchate of Antioch for an alleged agreement to alter the title of Archbishop Makarios of Qatar reached during a meeting at the Directorate for Churches of the Hellenic Foreign Ministry in July 2013, invoking the testimony of the delegates of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and of the Directorate for Churches.
Fourthly, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem remains firmly committed to conciliation and dialogue, a stance it had held since the very beginning, and proposes the setting up of a Committee of Canon Law Experts to rule on the issue, without interrupting the memorial of the sister Orthodox Church of Antioch, for the sake of the unity of the Orthodox Church.
From the Secretariat-General
On Monday, the 23rd of June/6th of July 2015, H.B. Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, assigned His Eminence Theophanes, Archbishop of Gerassa, to lead the funeral service for the late presbytera and mother of presbyter f. Saleh Houri, Head of the Greek Orthodox Arabic-speaking Community of the Patriarchate in the city of Sakhnin, North Israel.
Present at the service was pseudo-bishop “Romanos” Randwan, former presbyter of the Patriarchate, wearing primatial insignia. Following his defrocking and demotion to layman, he was paradoxically and irregularly ordained Bishop, though married, at a schismatic Russian-speaking Church in America.
The truth on the aforementioned facts is exposed in a report by Archbishop Theophanes of Gerassa, cited herein below in English:
“NOTE
By Archbishop Theophanes of Gerassa
On events having transpired in Sakhnin
on the 6th of July (N.S.) 2015
On the aforementioned date I was sent, accompanied by Archimandrite Stephanos and Hierodeacon Dionysios, to the city of Sakhnin so as to perform the Funeral Service for the mother of f. Saleh Houri.
Upon my entrance to the underground part of the Church, where the service was to take place, I embraced Priests from the adjacent villages as well as various officials and faithful.
Instantly we observed that the defrocked, married priest “Romanos” was in attendance, wearing a primatial engolpion and a veil over his kalimavka, and that behind his seat there was a primatial staff.
Father Saleh and a few laymen asked me not to take issue, especially in the presence of other religions’ followers.
In return, they were told that, based on the Holy Canons of the Church, it is impermissible for the so-called “Romanos” to appear in this manner and that he should definitely remove the primatial insignia.
I then approached “Romanos” and, after embracing him, I very amicably asked him to hide the engolpion, remove the black veil from his headdress and attend the service in a cleric’s simple attire, albeit improperly.
He hid the engolpion for a while. However, soon after, he appeared wearing it. I approached him again and informed him his behavior was neither canonical nor ecclesiastical. He hid the engolpion, but soon appeared wearing it again.
I then instructed the Priests to convince him to remove the insignia of a Primate, otherwise we would leave. Nothing changed. Then I declared we were leaving, but officials and priests requested we stayed, stopping us from exiting the church.
“Romanos” then appeared standing again, wearing a Primate’s insignia. I approached him, removed his black veil and tried to remove the engolpion too, but a small group, supporters of his, stopped me by yelling and swearing. An altercation ensued, between exponents of our position and the other man’s supporters. After that, we strongly protested that the presence of “Romanos” as a primate was irrevocably unacceptable and in view of his presence in this specific manner, we would leave.
We finally entered the Bema, where everyone put on their sacerdotal vestments. We remained inside the Bema, whereas the Priests walked in procession outside, to bring the relic.
Then we once more saw “Romanos”, following the procession with Primatial insignia.
By then considering we were being mocked, we left without being perceived whilst the Thrice-Holy Hymn was performed behind the Bema curtain in order to avoid further turmoil, seeing that the defrocked Priest would attend the service with Primatial insignia.
We then informed Patriarch Theophilos on the phone of what had transpired, and He approved of our stance.
The priests showed their support of us, whilst f. Saleh attempted to reconcile the irreconcilable.
“Romanos” had demonstrated cunning apathy and satanic persistence.
Few of the laymen were evidently in favour of “Romanos”; most of them were either against him, or confused, or apathetic.
In the Holy City of Jerusalem, 7/7/2015
Archbishop of Gerassa
Theophanes”
The Patriarchate irrevocably condemns the utterly anti-canonical and anti-ecclesiastical behavior of “Romanos” Randwan, a member of the laity, and praises Archbishop Theophanes of Gerassa for his stance in the course of the aforementioned event.
From the Secretariat-General