On Wednesday January 17/30, 2019, the Patriarchate celebrated the commemoration of our Righteous Father Anthony the Great at the chapel dedicated to him at the north aisle of the Church of St. Nikolaos, on the west side of the Patriarchate.

The Church celebrates St. Anthony as the great ascetic of Egypt who lived from 251 A.D. to 356 A.D. He strove in ascesis in strict self-denial, humility and evangelic precision for years, he was the teacher of thousands of monks and supported many Christians who were being persecuted by Maximinian in 312 A.D. and by the Areans during the time of the First Ecumenical Synod in Nice in 325 A.D.

The Patriarchate honoured at the aforementioned chapel this luminary of the Christian life, the legislator and leader and citizen of the monastic life, with Vespers in the evening and with the Divine Liturgy in the morning of the feast which was led by Priest Nikitas under the chanting of monks, and the prayer of monks, nuns and Christians.

The Care taker of the Monastery Archdeacon Mark offered a reception to this congregation at the hegoumeneion.

From Secretariat-General

On Tuesday, January 29, 2019 16/29, 2019, the Patriarchate celebrated the feast of the veneration of the sacred chain of Apostle Peter, at the chapel dedicated to him, which is located inside the Holy Monastery of St. Nicodemus with the nickname “of the Lentil” due to the fact that during the Byzantine years when there was famine and starvation there used to be a common meal offering there with lentil soup. The place is located in a short distance on the east side of the Monastery of Preatorion/Prison of Christ.

During this feast the Church commemorates the imprisonment of Apostle Peter by Herod Antipas and the miraculous release of the Apostle by a holy angel of God, as we read in the narrative of the book of Acts (Acts 12:1-19), and we venerate the chain by which the Apostle was bound in order to receive his intercession and help.

For this feast Vespers was held in the evening and the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the morning of the feast, led by the Most Reverend Archbishop Theophanes of Gerassa, with co-celebrants the Archimandrites Ignatios and Meletios and the Priests George and Nectarios and Hierodeacon Sophrony. The chanting was delivered by the Choir Leader of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Mr. Constantinos Spyropoulos, monk Raphael and nun Danielia, with the participation of a noble congregation.

During the Divine Liturgy H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos visited the Holy Monastery for veneration.

After the Divine Liturgy the Hegoumen of the Monastery Archimandrite Makarios offered a reception to the Episcopal entourage and the congregation at the hegoumeneion.

From Secretariat-General

On Thursday, January 11/24, 2019, the Patriarchate celebrated the commemoration of our Righteous Father Theodosius the Cenobiarch at his Holy Monastery which lies at the desert of Judea, between Beit Sahour and the Monastery of St. Savvas the Sanctified.

St. Theodosius founded this Cenobitic Monastery in the middle of the 5^th century A.D. Having arrived at the Holy Land from his hometown Cappadocia, St. Theodosius strove in ascesis at the Monasteries of Palestine, leading a cenobitic, anchorite and hesychastic life.

At this Monastery the monks would receive the necessary training in order to join the Monastery of the Lavra, leading a strictly hesychastic-solitary life, and earning their living by working with hard physical toil,  making handicrafts for the sustaining of the poor and keeping charity foundations. Their slogan was “no lazy man should enter here”.

St. Theodosius, along with his co-patriot and fellow ascetic St. Savvas the Sanctified and their monks, played a significant role in the fight against Monophysitism and the prevailing of the decision of the 4^th Ecumenical Synod in 451 A.D. regarding the one Hypostasis of our Lord Jesus Christ in two natures, the divine and the human.

This Holy Monastery underwent serious destructions from the various raids and was renovated around 1905 by the Cretan Monks Galaktion and Leontios, around 1950 by the memorable Archbishop Bartholomew of Madaba and in the last forty years it has been preserved and renovated by the Cretan Hegoumen Archimandrite Ierotheos.

The commemoration of St. Theodosius was celebrated at this Monastery with Vespers in the evening, led by the Most Reverend Archbishop Theodosios of Sebastia and with the Divine Liturgy in the morning, led by His Holy Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, with co-celebrants the Most Reverend Metropolitan Timotheos of Bostra, the Most Reverend Archbishops; Aristarchos of Constantina, Methodios of Tabor, Theophylactos of Jordan, Hagiotaphite Hieromonks, Arab-speaking Priests, Archdeacon Mark and other Deacons. The chanting was delivered by the Choir Leader of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Mr. Constantinos Spyropoulos and monks from the Lavra of St. Savvas, while the services were attended by a large congregation, mainly from the neighbouring town of Beit Sahour and other pilgrims.

His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon to this congregation:

“With the streams of thy tears, thou didst cultivate the barrenness of the desert; and by thy sighings from the depths, thou didst bear fruit a hundredfold labours; and thou becamest a luminary, shining with miracles upon the world, O Theodosius our righteous Father. Intercede with Christ our God that our souls be saved” the hymn writer of the Church proclaims.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Noble Christians and pilgrims

Our Father Theodosius, who has been shining with miracles, who has cultivated the barrenness of the desert both spiritually and physically, has gathered us all today in his Holy Monastery in order to honour his commemoration.

“Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints” St. John the Evangelist says in his holy revelation (Rev. 15:3).

Precisely this righteous and true way did our Father Theodosius follow and walked on, who was established a Cenobiarch, namely the introducer of the coenobitic manner of ascesis of the Monks, but also a teacher of the desert, namely an educator of the spiritual life in Christ to those who strove in ascesis under his lead, as his hymn writer says; “O righteous Father Theodosius, into all the earth hath the sound of thine achievements gone forth; wherefore thou hast found in the Heavens the reward of thy labours. Thou didst destroy the ranks of the demons; thou didst attain to the orders of the Angels, whose life thou didst emulate without blame. Since thou has boldness with Christ God, pray that peace be granted unto our souls.”

Indeed my dear brothers, St. Theodosius “didst attain to the orders of the Angels, whose life he didst emulate without blame”. This is also confirmed by his Synaxarist who records the many miracles the saint worked during his earthly monastic life.

Our Father Theodosius has set St. John the Baptist as an example to imitate, along with the great ascetics of the desert around the river Jordan, and of those in Palestine in general, Euthymius the great, Savvas the Sanctified and the Great monastic in Antioch, Symeon the stylite “from whom he received the initiation to the virtue that was in him”. His biographer, Cyril of Skythopolis calls Theodosius of Cappadocia citizen of heaven, the great glory of Palestine, the boasting of the desert, the foothold of the monastic schema, the general and advocate of the right doctrines and the leader and protector of the coenobitic rule. Before he came to the top of the hill where his Holy Monastery lies, elder Logginos who was a member of the Order of the Studious, namely of the current Hagiotaphite Brotherhood, “received to bury blessed Ikelia, who had built the Church of the Seat of Theotokos”. Once blessed Ikelia had slept in the Lord, he worked out the providence of the place. In other words, all the monks of the Seat of Theotokos voted for him [Theodosius] to be the Hegoumen of the Seat of Theotokos.

Our Father Theodosius was distinguished as the great citizen of the desert of Palestine because he hearkened to the words of the psalmist saying; “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them” (Psalm 103:17-18).

The Lord’s commandments, which we also are encouraged to keep, my dear brothers, are not heavy and unbearable, as our Lord Jesus Christ says: “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). And while a man’s life is temporary, the mercy of the Lord is eternal; “As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth” (Psalm 103:15). The fear of the Lord is a prerequisite in order to attract His infinite mercy. Moreover, a simple thought or remembrance of the divine commandments is not enough; the action should follow. “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27) St. Paul orders.

Christ, whom we are called to put on, is no other than the new Adam, who has been illumined by the divine and uncreated light of the Father, namely of the Holy Spirit who descended on Him in the river Jordan when He was baptized by St. John the Forerunner. This very Christ, the new Adam, for whom “there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11) did our Father Theodosius put on with the garment of the uncreated light.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, St. Paul preaches, is “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Tim. 6:16). It is impossible for mortal eyes to bear and attain to the brightness of the light of the divine glory. “No man shall see the face of God and live”. However in the future life those who have come to perfection will see Him. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8), the Lord says.

Today’s honoured Father of ours Theodosius reached to the point of the purification of heart as his hymn writer says: “Though by nature a man, O Father, thou wast seen to be a fellow citizen of the Angels. For while living like a fleshless being upon the earth, O wise Theodosius, thou didst cast away and care for the flesh”. Therefore thou became participant and communicant of the vision of the divine glory and of the kingdom of heaven.

Let us pray to our Holy Father Theodosius, to intercede for us to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who became incarnate through the pure and immaculate blood of the Virgin Mary the Theotokos, was born in Bethlehem and baptized in the Jordan. And let us say along with the hymn writer; “Grace hath appeared to all; enlightenment is come forth; deliverance is present; the world hath been enlightened; ye peoples, be filled with joy”. Amen.”

At noon, the elder renovator and Hegoumen of the Monastery Archimandrite Ierotheos offered a meal to the Patriarchal entourage and the congregation.

From Secretariat-General

On Monday, January 8/21, 2019, the Patriarchate celebrated the commemoration of our Righteous Fathers Ioannis and George the Hozevites at the Holy Monastery bearing their names, which lies at the bank of brook Chorath, at the natural cave of a rock, at the brook’s estuary before Jericho.

The first of these Saints, Ioannis, is honoured by the Church on this day as the former Bishop of Caesarea, which came and lived in this Monastery in the 5^th century, as a complacent Bishop who guided monks.

While Saint George, of Cypriot descent, rebuilt the Monastery after the destruction due to the Persian raid in 614 A.D.

In honour of these Saints as the founders of the Monastery there was an All-night Vigil, at the beginning of which the current Hegoumen and renovator of the Monastery Archimandrite Constantine Peramatzis welcomed H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos with the following words;

 “I praise the two founders of the Monastery of Hozeva, wise George along with Ioannis…”

 Your Beatitude Father and Master,

along with Your Reverend Entourage,

The Lavra of Hozeva celebrates today its founders, Saints Ioannis and George. Their lives had been a continuous sacrifice, having as their basic axis the liturgic life. It was a sacrifice of love and total devotion to the Son and Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. It was also a sacrifice of Godly love towards their fellow men.

We read in the life of St. George: “A certain day our Righteous Father George was sitting on a stone, being heated from the sun (because he was frail due to the excessive abstinence), and being totally afire inside from the desire of the spiritual love, with the aim of accomplishing the divine will. With continuous tears he was entreating the philanthropic God to have mercy on His people”.

We generously experience this very same love towards God and our fellow men in You, Your Holy Beatitude! And we agree with the biographer of our Holy Father George in those things he characteristically mentions about his Holy Geronda: “Believe me Reverend Fathers and Brothers….if I was under temptation or any kind of sorrow and I would meet him, immediately everything vanished from me, as if a sponge had erased them, and from then onward I had much serenity and peace…Then, returning to ourselves, we remember the pious manner of living of the Holy Father, namely the stability in fasting, standing up all night during the night-vigils, the unceasing tears, the patience in the temptations. And to cut a long story short, we remember the stable and patient manner of his virtuous and angelic life, and we are filled with good and useful hopes.”

Likewise, we have the same comfort of souls under Your Patriarchal and Fatherly Prayer and Protection!

Friend of Saints, Father and Master,

Welcome!”

The All-night Vigil with the Compline, Salutations, Matins and the Divine Liturgy were officiated by His Beatitude, with co-celebrants the Most Reverend Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Hagiotaphite Hieromonks, Archdeacon Mark and other Deacons. The choir was formed by the choir leader of the Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation of the Holy Metropolis Iliou Mr. Leonidas Doukas, the choir leader of the Holy Church of St. Paul in Athens Mr. Eustathios Kasteliotis, the choir leader of St. Paraskevi in Athens Mr. Christos Stavrou and the choir leader of the Holy Church of St. Kyriaki in Pyrgos of the Holy Metropolis of Ilias Mr. Nikolaos Papademetriou, with the help of monks and the participation of a congregation of monks, nuns, Priests and pilgrims.

His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon to this congregation;

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mat. 11:29-30) the Lord says.

Beloved Brothers in Sisters in Christ,

Noble Pilgrims

We glorify the only-begotten Son of God, Who has no Father from the Mother’s side, and no Mother from the Father’s side; in the recent Christmas feast we saw Him as an infant, while in yesterday’s celebration of Epiphany we saw Him made perfect the One who is manifested perfect, our God. Today we see Him in the dwellings of the Monastery of Hozeva, and the surrounding area of the river Jordan. Today we see Him being glorified in His saints, namely Ioannis, Ioannis the New and George, who were redeemed from the darkness and now dwell in the light of God’s knowledge along with the Heavenly hosts, praising and glorifying Him.

We glorify the Holy Trinitarian God who has called all of us in this sacred Eucharistic gathering in order to festively honour the great ascetics of the desert of the Jordan and brook Chorath, the righteous George who came from Lefkara of Cyprus to these holy places that the preaching of repentance of St. John the Baptist was heard saying: “There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose… He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” (Mark 1:7-8).

Having been enlightened by the Holy Spirit, our Father George came in this deserted place following the footsteps of Holy men, such as Prophet Elias, and hearkening to the Lord’s words: “ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Mat. 11:29). “Taken captive by divine love for the holy places of Sion, O all-blessed, thither didst thou depart, and there didst thou abide till thy death, O wisest of men, afflicting thy flesh with labours, towards the heavenly Sion” the hymn writer of the Church proclaims.

The Church honours and venerates the commemoration of its saints because the prophets and the saints of the Law foretold us the kingdom of heaven: “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat. 3:2) as St. John the Baptist used to preach in the desert of Judea. “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27) St. Paul preaches.

And Christ, who we are called to “put on”, is no other than the new Adam, who has been illumined by the divine and unapproachable light of the Father, namely of the Holy Spirit, who descended upon Him in the form of the dove when He was baptized in the river Jordan by St. John.

This very Christ, the new Adam for whom “there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11) is the One St. George put on from the garment of the unweaning and uncreated light. And we say this because Christ is the true light. “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). While St. Paul advices us by saying: “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephes. 4:24). Put on the new man, who is the new creation, which has been created according to the Will of God, so that you live in righteousness towards men and in devotion and holiness towards God, namely with the virtues which are the fruit of the truth of the gospel.

Indeed, my dear brothers and sisters, the yoke of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is good and the burden is light. In other words, the yoke of the obedience in Christ and His teaching is soft and salutary for the one who carries it; but also the burden of the commitments and duties the Lord asks from us is light.

This very thing did our Father George acknowledge, who has become a precise measurement and example for his imitators who also became saints, the Fathers of this modest place of Hozeva, the luminaries, Ioannis and Ioannis the New from Romania.

Let us entreat our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as “at thy divine giving of birth [Theotokos], the Word stripped Adam of the coats of mortality and clothed him with the robe which He alone had woven when He received a body in thy womb”, so that by the intercessions of our Holy Father among the Saints George the Hozevite and the saints of Hozeva with him, we who honour them, may be granted the enlightenment of the divine Epiphany of the river Jordan and the divine communion. Amen.”

The contrite feast was followed by a monastic meal which was offered to the Patriarchal Entourage and all congregation.

After the aforementioned two Saints of the Monastery, the Monastery always honours the first five ascetics who lived there in the 4^th century, Promos, Elias, Aias, Gannaios and Zinon, and the new Saint Ioannis from Romania who has been recently canonized a Saint of the Orthodox Church by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

From Secretariat-General

On Sunday, January 7/20, 2019, the commemoration of the Synaxis of St. John the Forerunner and Baptist was celebrated at his Holy Monastery near the West Bank of the River Jordan at the place of the Lord’s baptism.

When we say that we celebrate the Synaxis of St. John the Forerunner, we mean the Synaxis (gathering) of us Christians in the Church, in order to honour, as we should, St. John the Forerunner, as the one who performed the Lord’s baptism and prepared the way for the Lord’s coming, and also as the one who baptized Him with his own hands.

This Synaxis by the Patriarchate took place at the aforementioned old Monastery of St. John the Baptist, which had been almost totally destroyed during the six-day war of 1967, and which has been preserved and recently renovated by the Patriarchate with the funding of the Hegoumen of Sarantarion Mount Archimandrite Gerasimos.

For this feast the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the morning by the Spiritual Father of the Holy Monastery of St. Savvas the Sanctified, Archimandrite Eudokimos, with co-celebrants Fr. Onuphrios and other Hieromonks and Deacon Synesios. The Fathers from St. Savvas Monastery chanted and the service was attended by a pious congregation of nuns and pilgrims from Greece and Cyprus.

After the Divine Liturgy the Hegoumen and good carer of the preservation of the Church and the monastery Archimandrite Bartholomew offered a reception at the renovated Hegoumeneion.

From Secretariat-General

On Saturday morning, January 6/19, 2019, the celebration of the Feast of Epiphany started with the cathode of the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood from the Patriarchate to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, under the lead of our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos.

After the welcoming at the Holy Deposition, the Service of Matins was held and then the Service of the Great Sanctification of the Water, while the troparia of Epiphany were being chanted.

Once the faithful had been blessed with the sanctified water, and had taken the sanctified water for their houses, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom was celebrated at the All-holy Tomb, officiated by His Beatitude, with co-celebrants the Archbishops of the Patriarchate; Most Reverend Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias, the Most Reverend Archbishops, Aristarchos of Constantina, Methodios of Tabor, Theodosios of Sebastia, Demetrios of Lydda, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Joachim of Helenoupolis and the visiting from the Church of Greece Most Reverend Metropolitan Nectatrios of Corfu, Paxoi and transiting islands, Hagiotaphite Hieromonks, first of whom in rank the Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nectarios, Priests from Orthodox Churches, Archdeacon Mark and five more Deacons. The chanting was delivered by the choir leader of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Mr. Constantinos Spyropoulos and the services were attended by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr. Christos Sophianopoulos and a large crowd of pilgrims from various countries.

After the Dismissal of the Divine Liturgy and the receiving of the Sanctified Water by all present who had kept the fast for one day, the Patriarchal Entourage returned to the Patriarchate Headquarters under the sound of the bells.

They were followed by the pilgrims, clergy and laity, who paid their respect to His Beatitude and received His blessing.

From Secretariat-General

On Friday, January 5/18, 2019, the Forefeast of Epiphany was celebrated by the Patriarchate, according to the Typikon order of the Church.

In the morning, at the monastic Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, the Royal Hours were read at the end of Matins, officiated by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos.  

These were followed by Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great and at the end of the services there was the service of the blessing of water.

Then, bells tolling, and while the choir was singing “When Thou were baptized in the Jordan” there was the return at the Patriarchate Headquarters.

In a short while the Entourage of the Most Reverend Archbishop Theodosios of Sebastian arrived, having finished the Blessing of the Water at St. James Cathedral, there was a prayer and a prayer for His Beatitude and His Eminence blessed with the Holy Water His Beatitude, those present and the reception hall.

Consequently His Beatitude left for Jericho with His Entourage, passed by the Monastery of the Holy Prophet Elisha, the Prefecture of Jericho and reached the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in the Jordan.

There, after His Beatitude’s welcome and the Dismissal from the Divine Liturgy, the procession marched down to the river Jordan under the hymns of the feast.

The Blessing of the Water was held at the set for that reason platform, and His Beatitude baptized the cross in the river Jordan, at the presence of a large crowd of faithful who were all chanting the Apolytikion “When Thou was baptized in the Jordan”.

Finally there was a fasting meal at the Holy Monastery of St. John the Baptist, offered by the Hegoumen Archimandrite Barhtolomew.

From Secretariat-General

The Feast of Epiphany was celebrated at the Holy Church of St. Isaac the Syriac and St. George in Doha on Friday 5/18 January, 2019. For pastoral reasons the feast was transferred to Friday for the convenience of the participation of the faithful, as Friday is a day off work in Qatar.

The Royal Hours of Epiphany and the Service of Vespers were held on Thursday January 4/17, 209.

The following day the Service of Matins and the Episcopal Divine Liturgy were celebrated, led by the Most Reverend Archbishop Makarios of Qatar, with co-celebrants the ministering Priests of the Church Fr. Demetrios and Fr. Stylianos, and the visiting Deacon Demetrios, with the participation of a large crowd of faithful.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy there was the Service of the Sanctification of Water at the presence of the Ambassador of Greece in Doha Mr. Constantinos Orfanides, the Consul Mr. Ioannis Zelomosidis and the Military attaché Mr. Panayiotis Krikis.

From the Holy Archdiocese of Qatar

On Monday, January 1/14, 2019, the Patriarchate celebrated the commemoration of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh, and the commemoration of St. Basil the Great at the all-night Vigil at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and at the All-holy and Life-giving Tomb.

For this Feast, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Thephilos came down to the Temple along with the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood at midnight.

The Festivity began there with the Service of Matins at the Catholicon and with the Divine Liturgy afterward at the All-holy Tomb, officiated in Parresia by H.H. Beatitude with co-celebrants the Most Reverend Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias, and the Most Reverend Archbishops; Aristarchos of Constantina, Demetrios of Lydda and the Most Reverend Metropolitan Joachim of Helenoupolis, Hieromonks and Priests, among whom the first in rank was Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nectarios. The chanting was delivered by the choir leader of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Mr. Constantinos Spyropoulos and the service was attended by the Consul General of Greece Mr. Christos Sophianopoulos and a large congregation of local faithful and pilgrims from various countries.

The Divine Liturgy was followed by the litany three times around the All-holy and Life-giving Tomb and the Shrines with the sacred relic of the right hand of St. Basil.

After the litany His Beatitude cut the New Year Cake at the Office of Geronda Sacristan Most Reverend Archbishop Isidoros of Hierapolis.

In the morning, He cut the New Year Cake at the Epitropikon for the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood, and at noon at the common meal of the Hagiotaphite Fathers where the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr. Christos Sophianopoulos was an invited guest.

From Secretariat-General

On Monday morning, January 1/14, 2019, the commemoration of our Father among the Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia was celebrated at the chapel dedicated to him on the west side of the Patriarchate on the way to the New Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Archimandrite Demetrios under the chanting of visiting Monks from Mount Athos and nuns, with the participation in prayer of a congregation of monks, nuns and members of the Greek Community of Jerusalem.

During the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos visited the celebrating Holy Monastery  with an entourage of Hagiotaphite Fathers, after the cutting of the New Year Cake at the Epitropikon earlier that morning, and were offered a reception by the reverend Nun Thecla who takes a good care of the Monastery.

After the Divine Liturgy, the blessed bread and the veneration of the Holy Relic of St. Basil, there was a reception for the first day of the New Year for all present.

From Secretariat-General