On Saturday, August 6/19, 2023, the feast of the Transfiguration was celebrated by the Patriarchate on Mount Tabor where the event of the Transfiguration took place.

During this feast, the whole Church, especially that of Jerusalem, to which Mount Tabor belongs as a place of pilgrimage, remembers singing and glorifying the event of the Transfiguration of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ in the Gospel accounts (Matthew 17:2 – 8 and Mark. 9, 2-8), because, a short time before His passion, the Lord took the three distinguished disciples and went up with them to Mount Tabor, and He was transfigured before them.

As the Fathers of the Church explain, He hid His human nature and revealed, as far as they could see, the glory of His divine nature.

His face shone brighter than the sun and His clothes became white as light and Moses as the representative of the sleeping and Elijah as the representative of the living appeared conversing with Him, while a bright cloud descended upon them and a voice was heard from the Father “This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him”.

The Lord revealed this mystery to His disciples, so that, having seen His glory, they would be strengthened at the time of the cross and to show them what glory the righteous will enjoy in the resurrection of the dead.

In honour of this exquisite mystery, there was an all-night Vigil from midnight to 3 a.m., which was presided over by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, with the co-celebration of their Eminences, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Metropolitan Theodosios of Tomis from the Patriarchate of Romania, Metropolitan Nikolaos from the Patriarchate of Georgia, and Archbishop Makarios of Qatar, the Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nectarios, Archdeacon Mark and many Priests from Orthodox Churches and Arabic-speaking Priests from the Galilee district. The chanting was delivered by Mr Angelos Gianopoulos in Greek on the right and Priest George from the Metropolis of Elia in Arabic on the left from the Byzantine choir of the blessed Archimandrite Philotheos. The vigil was attended by tens of thousands of pilgrims from various Orthodox countries who went up the mountain on foot due to the unacceptable restrictive measures by the Israeli police.

Before the Holy Communion His Beatitude blessed the grapes and delivered the following Sermon in Greek and Arabic:

“Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, O Christ our God, showing to Thy disciples Thy glory as each one could endure. Shine forth Thou on us who are sinners all, Thy light ever-unending, through the prayers of the Theotokos. Light-bestower, glory to Thee”.

Beloved brothers in Christ,

Reverend Christians and pilgrims,

The divine Grace of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, brought us all to this Holy Mount Tabor, so that we may thankfully celebrate His Transfiguration, listening to the call of the hymnographer saying: “Behold, we ascend to the mountain of the Lord, and in the house of our God, that we may behold the glory of His Transfiguration, glory as the only begotten of the Father, so that we may receive light, and being born together in the spirit, let us praise the Trinity forever and ever”.

The Transfiguration of our Saviour Christ is an event, during which the greatness of the Mystery of the divine Providence, the mystery of the salvation of man, the “mystery hidden from the ages in God” was revealed in all its depth and breadth (Eph. 3.9).

The second great mystery of godliness, (1 Tim. 3:16) is Christ manifested in the flesh, “who in the form of God is not raptured, he is equal to God, but he emptied himself in the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men and being found in the form of a man, he humbled himself by becoming subject to death, death on the cross”, as Saint Paul preaches.

This confession of the Apostle Paul expresses with precipitation and interprets the words of the hymnographer for the reason of the transfiguration of Christ: “On the mount Thou wast transfigured, and Thy disciples, as much as they could bear, beheld Thy glory, O Christ our God; that when they should see Thee crucified, they would know Thy Passion to be willing, and would preach to the world that Thou art in truth the Effulgence of the Father” (Kontakion).

In other words, during the Transfiguration of the Lord on this high place, the revelation of His theanthropic hypostasis, the mixing of the two natures in the person of Christ, but also the revelation of the glory of God, that is, the dawning of God, was born. The ‘Effulgence of the Father’ means the radiance or the shine as the hymnographer says: “The changeless nature, having been mingled with mortal nature, shone forth past all telling, and in part revealed unto the Apostles the Light of Its own Immaterial Godhead” (Ode 5, Troparion 3). And again, “being perfect God, Thou becamest perfect mortal, mingling manhood with the entire Godhead in Thine own Hypostasis, which Moses and Elias saw in his two natures on Mount Tabor” (Ode 3, Canon2, Troparion 3).

Saint Gregory of Nyssa, interpreting the words of Paul “Christ as the effulgence of the glory of God” (Cf. Heb. 1,3) says “Just like the ray of light is related to the sun and to the lamp, likewise the effulgence of light is related to the Father”.This example is used by the Holy Father Gregory of Nyssa, to make it clear that the Son and Word of God is the same as the Father and the Holy Spirit, therefore the “Father’s dawned light” is the inaccessible and uncreated light of the Holy Trinity.

Saint John of Damascus, dazzled by the mystery of the Transfiguration, says: because the Word ‘became flesh’ and the flesh the Word, even though it had not come out of His divine nature. A miracle that surpasses all understanding. The body did not acquire the glory from without, but it went from within itself from the inexplicably united with Him during the existence of the transcendental divinity of God the Word.

It is worth noting that during the Transfiguration of Jesus in this holy place, “the face of Jesus shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17,2). On the other hand, “Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said: This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5).

According to Saint John of Damascus, the bright cloud that overshadowed Jesus symbolizes the light of the Holy Spirit. “Clouds and light overshadowed the aurora of the Spirit.” Regarding the voice from the cloud, Saint John of Damascus says: “Voice of the Father from the cloud of the Spirit was heard”; “This is my beloved Son”. “This is the man we see, the man born yesterday, the humble one we associate with, whose face now shines.” As for the divine command “Hear ye him,” he says: “The one receiving Him, receives me, the one who sent me, not in a despotic way but in a paternal way. As a man is sent away, as God abides in me, I am in him. He who does not honour my only begotten and beloved Son does not honour the Father, who sent Him.” “Hear ye him”, has eternal life words. This is the conclusion of the completion, this is the power of the mystery.” [And in more detail: Whoever accepts Him, Jesus Christ, accepts Me who sent Him not as Lord (authority) but as Father. He is sent as a man, in whom as God he dwells in me and I in Him. Whoever does not honour my only begotten and beloved Son, does not honour the Father, I who sent him. “He is the one you should listen to” because he has the words of eternal life. This is the conclusion of what is happening, this is the power of the mystery of the Transfiguration].

 It is precisely this power, that is the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we too, my dear brothers, are called to see, not with physical eyes, but with the mental eyes of a pure mind and a pure heart. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see God” (Matthew 5:8), says the Lord. To this end we are again called to imitate Christ’s disciples, who “were heavy with sleep”, they were overcome by heavy sleepiness, but in a little while they woke up and saw His glory. ” and when they were awake, they saw his glory” (Luke 9:32).

So let us also, my beloved brothers, shake off from ourselves the sleep of ignorance; standing up after the hymnographer, let us say: ” Shine forth Thou on us who are sinners all, Thy light ever-unending, through the prayers of the Theotokos. Light-bestower, glory to Thee”. Many peaceful returns!”

In the morning, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Central Church of the Transfiguration, presided over by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth, with the co-celebration of Holy Sepulchre Hieromonks and Arabic-speaking Presbyters and the participation of local Orthodox pilgrims.

At midday, the renovator of the Monastery and of the icons of the Holy Church, Hegoumen Archimandrite Hilarion, offered a meal to the Patriarchal and Episcopal entourages and many others.

The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Saviour was celebrated in the Holy Shrine of Gethsemane with a Divine Liturgy presided over by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Isychios of Capitolias, along with the Priests of the Holy Shrine and the Hierodeacon Eulogios at the attendance of faithful pilgrims, and of the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Evangelos Vlioras.

After the Divine Liturgy, a reception was hosted by His Eminence Metropolitan Joachim of Hellenoupolis at the rectory.

It was also celebrated with Vespers in the evening and Divine Liturgy in the morning in the Holy Church of the Transfiguration in Ramalah, presided over by the Most Reverend Archbishop Christophoros of Kyriakoupolis, along with the priests of the Church under the chanting by the Community Choir and the participation in prayer of the local believers.

From Secretariat–General

The Funeral Service of the Holy Sepulchre Monk Panteleimon Andronikos was held on the morning of Wednesday, August 3/16, 2023. He slept in the Lord on Thursday, July 28/August 10, 2023, due to a heart attack in his hometown Kythera. The Funeral Service was held in the holy Church of Saint Theodore in Kythera under the fraternal care of the Holy Metropolis of Kythera and Antikythera in consultation with H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos.

The night before that, the complete Monastic Funeral Service was sung to the deceased.

The funeral service was presided over by His Eminence the Metropolitan of Kythera and Antikythera, Seraphim, in the concelebration on behalf of the Patriarchate of the Elder Sacristan of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, His Eminence  Archbishop Isidoros of Hierapolis, the Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in Athens Archimandrite Raphael and priests of the Metropolis of Kythera, as the service was attended by many faithful, fellow citizens of the deceased, honouring his memory.

The obituary was delivered by the Elder Sacristan as follows:

“Your Eminence Metropolitan of Kythera and Antikythera Seraphim,

Reverend Pastor of this Holy Metropolis,

Respected fathers and beloved brothers

  The venerable Primate of the Church of Jerusalem, His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III commissioned us to represent Him together with the Archbishop of Hierapolis during the funeral service of the blessed monk Panteleimon and to place before Your venerable face, Metropolitan of Kythera, His thanks and gratitude, but also the sympathy of the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood for all you did for the blessed one, and to all those who honour his memory with their presence in this funeral service. We also convey to the relatives and friends His sincere participation in their mourning and His wholehearted Patriarchal wishes for the repose of the soul of the blessed one, in the land of the living and in the tents of the righteous.

  A sacred duty, but at the same time a sad one, led our steps to this holy Monastery of Saint Theodore in Kythera, in order to send to eternity the now-blessed Holy Sepulchre Monk Panteleimon, who “through death passed into life” and was transplanted from the earthly army to the triumphant Church in the heavens, from the earthly to the heavenly, from the perishable to the imperishable, from the temporal to the eternal to the bosoms of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, where “there is no pain, no sorrow, not sighing, but eternal life”.

And where the soul of the departed dances in heavenly chambers, we, some sensibly and others intellectually, stand at this sacred moment in the circle of his honourable tent, to honour him for the last time, to give him our thanks for his many years of ministry in the Holy Land and to send him forward with faith and expectation of the Resurrection of those who sleep in the Lord and the “life of the age to come”.

Humanly, we are saddened by the separation and the deprivation of his physical presence. We are comforted, however, by the exhortation of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians, “Brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant of those who are asleep so that you do not grieve like the rest who have no hope. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so may God raise up with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus” (Thessal. 4, 13-14). And the late Panteleimon lived in Christ Jesus and in Christ Jesus he fell asleep.

The late Panagiotis Andronikos of Nikolaos and Maria was born in Kythera on March 24, 1944. The first encyclical lessons were taught in Kythera. He went to the Holy City of Jerusalem on September 21, 1979, and lived in the Holy Lavra of Saint Savva the Sanctified. He was ordained a monk on August 15, 1981, by his Elder and Spiritual Father of the Lavra Archimandrite Seraphim, taking the name Panteleimon. From July 23, 1984, until his last day, he served with dedication and patience as a minister of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and a watchful guardian of the Holy and Life-giving Tomb of the Lord. Throughout his ministry, he showed hard work, consistency and commendable responsibility. In him, the pilgrims saw a man of God. Because he was friendly, welcoming, cheerful, eloquent, rough and at the same time sweet, steadfast and honest. He embraced them all with love and simplicity, communicating Christ to them and writing His divine messages in their souls.

In particular, he relayed to them his experiences from his ministry at the Holy Sepulchre, the infinite miracles he experienced and his struggles for the preservation of the Holy Places. He distributed to everyone blessed oil and candle wax from the Holy Sepulchre, to have them as a blessing in their homes. That is why he was loved and appreciated by all. And here now the blessed one has left for endless eternity in the middle of summer, and is being buried today, one day after the Theotokos feast of the Dormition, and “he hastens to the grave, without taking care of the things of futility and hard-working flesh”.

Therefore, all of us, let us address a fervent request to the All-Good and Omniscient God, with the supplication of the hymn:

“May Christ, grant you rest in the land of the living, and the gates of Paradise will be opened for you, and the kingdom will be shown to you, and you will be spared the sins of your earthly life friend of Christ.”

  May his memory be eternal.”

The local Metropolitan also spoke, praising the monastic and Holy Sepulchre zeal of the deceased and his offering to the Holy Places and his hometown.

As soon as the Funeral Service was dismissed, the ascetic and fighting monk Panteleimon, who turned to the Lord, was buried in the Cemetery of the Monastery of Saint Theodore in Kythera.

May his memory be eternal!

From Secretariat-General

On Thursday, July 28/ August 10, 2023, the Patriarchate celebrated the commemoration of our Holy Father John the new Hozevite from Romania, at the Holy Monastery of Hozeva, located at the bank of Brook Chorath, near Jericho.

On this feast, the Church, and especially the Church of Jerusalem commemorates that Saint John came to the Holy Land from Romania in the middle of the 20^th century, and lived in utmost ascesis and humility at the Holy Monasteries of the Jordan River area, and in that of Saints George and John the Hozevites, he slept in peace and was deemed worthy to work miraculous signs, that is why he was canonized among the saints by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in 2016.

The feast of the Dormition of Saint John was celebrated with an all-night vigil at the Holy Monastery of Hozeva, and the Hegoumen and renovator of the Monastery, Archimandrite Constantine welcomed H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, who presided over the vigil with the following address:

“Blessed Father and Master,

The glorious feast of Saint John the New Hozevite, who came from Romania, has dawned for another year. The holy hymnographer characterizes him very successfully as the father of peace and silence and of prayer.

If we delve into the above characterizations, we will clearly perceive the work of each Monk, who, through his silent preaching, renounces the entire world. The monk leaves the world not motivated by hatred, but by love for God first and for his fellow man. He listens to the misery and pain of his brothers and effectively helps through prayer and almsgiving. And how does the monk perceive the world one could ask. But precisely through quietness and silence and prayer”, which were dominant throughout the life of the honoured Saint.

  God does not ask the monks to go out into the world to help people walk, but He asks them to give them the light with their experience to lead them to eternal life. Should not the lighthouses always be placed on the rocks? What; should they go to the cities to be added to the traffic lights? The lighthouses have a different mission, the traffic lights have another. The monk is not a traffic light to be placed in the city at one end of the street and to light the passers-by so that they do not stumble. It is a distant Lighthouse, set high on the rocks, which with its flashes illuminates the seas and oceans so that the ships can be guided and reach their destination towards God”.

Blessed Father and Master,

Being such a man, a torch flamboyant in life, Sant John even after his dormition, through his intercessions, helps, comforts, inspires, sweetens the pain, and heals the illnesses of souls and bodies, as testified by the thousands of pilgrims of every race and language, who visit him, but as we also testify that as we have been greatly benefited by the Saint many times.

Welcome!

Let us commence the feast!”

 Co-celebrants to His Beatitude were their Eminences, Metropolitan Isychios of Capitolias and Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina. The chanting was delivered by Leonidas Doukas, Christos Stavrou, Gregorios Zarkos, Nikolaos Papadimitriou, Vasilios Papadimitriou, Pavlos Papadimitriou, as the service was attended by monks of the Monastery and other Monasteries from Jericho and Jerusalem.

His Beatitude delivered the following sermon before the Holy Communion:  

“For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light (Ps. 36,9).

Because You, Lord, are the source of life and with Your own light we will see the true light, exclaims the psalmist.

Beloved brothers and fathers in Christ,

The Grace of the Holy Spirit, who enlightened and sanctified and directed the footsteps of the holy Prophets Helijah of Thesbis and John the Forerunner in this holy place of Hozeva, brought us all together so that we solemnly honour the memory of our holy Father John the New Hozevite.

Our Holy Father John had been seized by Divine zeal since his childhood, left his homeland Romania and came to the Holy Land, where he retreated and hid himself like another Elijah in the caves of Brook Chorath, near the River Jordan (3 Kings 172-3) and where Saint George from Leukara of Cyprus founded his Monastery, which became a fountain of divine healings for those who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ who said, ““He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7,38).

This living water is none other than the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Son of God and our Saviour Christ according to the testimony of the Evangelist John (John 7, 39). This very Spirit is the source of light, as the Lord says “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).

On this word of the Lord, Saint Cyril of Alexandria says: “Whoever follows me, i.e. whoever walks in the footsteps of my teachings will not be in the dark but will obtain “the light of life”, i.e. he will achieve the revelation/manifestation of the mysteries concerning me and the revelation, able to lead to eternal life”.

And we ask ourselves, what is eternal life? “Eternal life is the transcendence of the death of corruption, that is, of sin through the death of incorruption, that is, the death of the Risen Christ. In this death of Christ, our Holy Father John became a communicant and sharer, who listened to the order of Saint Paul saying: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death: just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6,3-5).

  Our sanctified Father John not only walked in newness of life but also fore-tasted the future resurrection of Christ, as his incorruptible and fragrant whole-body relic testifies before our eyes.

The incorruption of his body was achieved by the spirit-bearing John, listening and applying in theory and practice, the exhortation of Saint Paul: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12,1). Interpreting this word of Paul, Saint Chrysostom says: “What is rational worship? The things of the soul, the things of the Spirit (God is Spirit, and those who worship Him, shall worship Him in Spirit and Truth), (John 4:24); what is not seen in the body, what is not seen in the organs, is not in the places, which are leniency, sobriety, mercy, non-judgment, long-suffering, humility… “I want mercy and not sacrifice” (Hesiah 6:6)… and there are other miracles, indeed the holocausts, the bodies of the holy martyrs; there is a saint and a soul and body; that smell of fragrance is great”. [And in more detail; what is rational worship? Those that are offered with the soul, with the spirit (because the Lord said “God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him, do so in Spirit and in truth”), meaning what is not needed by the body, by organs, by places. And such are; leniency, temperance, charity, non-judgment, tolerance, humility, “I want mercy and not sacrifice”… however, there are other sacrifices, the real holocausts, the bodies of the holy Martyrs. Both the soul and the body are holy there, they have a great fragrance.

Indeed, my beloved brothers, our celebrated Father John loved God with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his mind (cf. Matt. 22,37), thus becoming a sacrifice pleasing to God. Because even the psalmist exclaims, “God is wonderful in His saints” (Psalm 67:36).

The Father of the Church, Saint Chrysostom, points out the value and power of rational worship, which leads the faithful Christian to the purification of the heart (God, create in me a clean heart – Psalm 50,12) and consequently to incorruption, says: “You can too if you want this sacrifice to be repeated… Let your body die and crucify, and you also shall receive the crown of this martyrdom”, [and simpler; you can too if you want to offer your body as an instrument and then will you yourself receive the crown of this martyrdom].

Our holy Church of Jerusalem boasts of boasting in Christ (Rom. 15,17), because the Monastery of Hozeva, by the intercessions of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and of the today honoured Saint John the New, continues to be a lodging of the holy and righteous men of God, and those who practised and are practising their monastic striving in this Monastery and Lavra “these are shining lamps everywhere on earth”, according to Saint Chrysostom.

We thank the Holy Triune God and after Saint Paul, we say: “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen” (Eph. 6:24). Many happy returns.”

After the dismissal of the vigil, there was a monastic meal.

From Secretariat-General

On Wednesday, July 27/August 9, 2023, the memory of the holy glorious martyr and healer Panteleimon was celebrated by the Patriarchate in his holy Monastery, located between the Patriarchate and Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

On this day, the Church remembers that the Saint came from Nicomedia and was the son of a pagan father, Eustorgios, and a Christian mother, Eubouli, from whom he learned the sacred scriptures and had as his Spiritual Father Saint Hermolaos, celebrating 26th of July.

Having been taught medical science, he healed the sick without money, working signs and miracles in the power of Christ, Whom he confessed and was tortured and martyred and ended by beheading during the reign of Maximian in AD 305.

In the Holy Church of the above Monastery, in honour of the Saint, Vespers on Tuesday afternoon and the Liturgy on Wednesday morning were presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Isychios of Capitolias, along with Archimandrite Christodoulos and Hierodeacon Dositheos, at the chanting of  Mr Angelos and the participation in prayer of a congregation of monks, nuns and pilgrims.

During the Divine Liturgy, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos came for veneration along with the Holy Sepulchre Fathers.

The Abbess Charitini, who renovated the Holy Church, presented a treat of refreshment to the Patriarchal and Episcopal entourages and the congregation in the hegoumeneion and the courtyard of the Holy Monastery.

  From Secretariat-General

On Tuesday, July 26 / August 8, 2023, the memory of Saint Paraskevi was celebrated by the Patriarchate in the chapel of the Holy Monastery of Saint Basil, where the Saint’s icon is kept. Saint Paraskevi confessed Christ and suffered a martyr’s death in Rome, during the reign of Emperor Antonios in AD 140.  

In honour of the Saint, a Liturgy was celebrated on the morning of the feast by the Master of Ceremonies Archimandrite Bartholomew with the Archdeacon Mark and the Hierodeacon Dositheos with the participation of the faithful from Jerusalem and pious pilgrims.

After the end of the Liturgy, refreshments were served by the Elder Hegoumen Kamarasis Archimandrite Nektarios at the forecourt of the Church.

  From Secretariat-General

On Monday, July 25 / August 7, 2023, the Patriarchate celebrated the memory of the Dormition of Saint Anna in the holy Monastery outside the Gate of Saint Stephen, inside the wall of the Old City of Jerusalem.

On this feast, the Church commemorates the event of the Dormition of Saint Anna, whose prayer moved God’s mercy and gave her, who was barren until then, as the fruit of the womb the Most Holy Theotokos and Mother of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus of Christ.

In honour of Saint Anna, a Vespers was held in the above-mentioned Holy Monastery in the evening and the Divine Liturgy in the morning under His Eminence the Archbishop Filoumenos of Pella, with Archimandrite Christodoulos and Archdeacon Mark.

After the Divine Liturgy, the Hegoumen Archimandrite Meletios offered a reception at the hegoumeneion.

From Secretariat-General

On Saturday, July 22/August 5, 2023, the feast of the prophet Elijah was celebrated by the Patriarchate in his Holy Temple, in the village of Maaloule, near Nazareth.

This Holy Church belonged to the Greek-Orthodox Arabic-speaking Community of Maaloule, it was abandoned due to the events during the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and it was maintained during the last years by the Patriarchate and His Eminence the Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth with the funding of the Hegoumen of Tabor Archimandrite Hilarion, with the permission of the Israeli army and a Divine Liturgy is celebrated in it during the feast of the Prophet Elijah.

In this well-preserved Church, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, and their Eminences, the Metropolitans, Kyriakos of Nazareth and Isychios of Kapitolias, and Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, the Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nectarios, Fr. Simeon of the Holy Metropolis of Nazareth, at the chanting of the Acre Byzantine choir and that of Nazareth, as the service was attended by many Arabic-speaking faithful Christians, descendants of the founders of the Church and others from Nazareth.

Before the Holy Communion, His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon:

“When thou wast united unto our God through thy virtue and unspotted life, O Prophet of renown, and hadst for this cause received from Him authority and power, then thou didst change creation as seemed good to thee, and by thy will didst shut the gates of rain on high; and thou didst bring fire down from above, wholly consuming and impious. Do thou entreat Christ the Saviour that our souls be saved” (Matins, praises, Troparion 1).

Beloved brethren in Christ,

Reverend Christians and pilgrims

“The incarnate Angel and the prophet’s summit and boast, Elijah the glorious”, has gathered us all in this holy place to celebrate his holy commemoration of his fiery ascension into the heavens in Eucharist.

Praising the character of Elijah of Thesbis, Sirach says about him: “Then Elijah arose, a prophet like fire, and his word burned like a torch. He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire. How glorious you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Whose glory is equal to yours?” (Sirach 48,1-4).

Saint James the Brother of God, referring to the power of the righteous man’s prayer says in his catholic epistle: “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest” (James 5,16-18).

And Luke and Mark the Evangelists mention the presence of the Prophet Elijah during the Lord’s Transfiguration on Mount Tabor: “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one[a] on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus” (Mark 9,2-4/ Luke 9,28-30).

The conversation among Elijah, Moses and Jesus testifies to the fact that Christ is the Lord of the Law of Moses and of the prophets and Moses appears as the representative of the Law, while Elijah is the representative of the prophets according to the interpretation of Origen and of Saint Cyril of Alexandria. “Moses appears as the man of the Law, while Elijah as that of the prophets; for He [Christ] is the Lord of the Law and of the Prophets”.

Elijah was distinguished to the extent that he was the only one of the prophets, after Moses to converse with the Transfigured Christ, the Christ that they both knew on Mount Sinai; Moses knew Him as “fire and steam and darkness”, while Elijah like “fine breeze of thin air” (3 Kings 19,22). They saw God with their own eyes, in the Transfigured Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor, becoming the exception to the Lord’s word to His disciples: “Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it” (Matt. 13,17).

Indeed, my dear brothers and sisters, Elijah from Thesbis was especially favoured by God. And this was because as the hymnographer says: “When thou wast united unto our God through thy virtue and unspotted life, O Prophet of renown, and hadst for this cause received from Him authority and power, then thou didst change creation as seemed good to thee, and by thy will didst shut the gates of rain on high; and thou didst bring fire down from above, wholly consuming and impious. Do thou entreat Christ the Saviour that our souls be saved” (Matins, praises, Troparion 1).

This authority was also received by Christ’s disciples and saints, as Saint Luke the Evangelist says: “See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you” (Luke 10,19).

Interpreting these words of the Lord, Saint Basil the Great notes that it is impossible for man to exercise this power, if he has not cleared himself and become fortified by the Lord beforehand, the Lord who said to the apostles, behold I have given you the power to tread on snakes and scorpions.

In other words, my dear brothers and sisters, the one who hears and keeps God’s commandments is able through the power of the divine Grace to become a communicant of the power of the prophet Elijah, just like the prophet Elisha, who followed him.

Behold why Saint Paul says, “Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1,27).

It is noteworthy that the prophet Elijah has a special place in both the Old and the New Testament. And this is so because Elijah is recognized as the second forerunner of the presence of Christ, meaning the last days of the Judgment. Regarding the reappearance of zealot Elijah during the last days, the prophet Malachi says about him: “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4,4). Replying to His disciples’ question, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things” (Matt. 17,10-11).

According to the interpretation of the distinguished Church Fathers, the Lord here speaks about His Second Coming, of which Elijah is the forerunner. “I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased” (Matt. 17,12). This second Elijah is Saint John the Baptist who came before our Lord Jesus Christ. Saint John the Baptist was very much like Elijah of Thesbis which is why the Scripture calls him “With the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1,17). Interpreting these words, Zigavinos and Origen say: “[The Scripture] named ‘spirit’ the spiritual gift, while power is the strength. It thus says that he has both the gift and the strength of Elijah”.

As for us, who keep fervently the commemoration of the prophet Elijah, let us say along with the hymnographer: “Compassionate Lord, grant Thy people remission of sins and the great mercy, by the intercessions of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and of the holy glorious prophet Elijah of Thesbis”. Amen, Many happy returns.”

After the Divine Liturgy, under the shade of the towering pines, a recreational reception was held by those who sustain the Church, Archimandrite Hilarion and those with him, while at lunch the Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth hosted a meal for His Beatitude and His Entourage at the Metropolis.

From Secretariat-General

1. The feast of Saint Magdalene in her Russian Holy Monastery in Gethsemane.

On Friday, July 22/August 4, 2023, the memory of Saint Mary Magdalene was celebrated in the female Russian Monastery in Gethsemane.

During the Divine Liturgy in this Monastery, which was presided over by the Metropolitan of Berlin, His Eminence Mark, with two High Priests of the Russian Orthodox Church of the former diaspora, their Eminences Irenaeus and Theodosios, and Priests of the same Church. H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos visited the Monastery and presented an icon to Metropolitan Mark and a cross of blessing to the Abbess Nun Elizabeth and spoke in English.

2.The feast of the Holy virgin Martyr Markella of Chiopolis at the Patriarchate.

On the same day, the Patriarchate celebrated the commemoration of the Holy Martyr Marcella of Chiopolis, who martyred in the island of Chios at the hands of her own father. The feast was celebrated with Vespers on Thursday afternoon and the Divine Liturgy on Friday morning at her chapel in the Holy Monastery of Saint Spyridon, by Archimandrite Christodoulos and the caretaker of the Monastery Hierodeacon Dositheos, in the presence of many faithful Christians who honoured the Saint.

3. The Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene in the Church of the Resurrection

The memory of Saint Mary Magdalene was celebrated in a Vigil at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantine in special honour, in a litany around the Holy Sepulchre and the shrines in procession and worship of the Saint’s sacred relic, which is preserved in the Sacristy of the Church of the Resurrection.

From Secretariat-General

On Wednesday, July 20 / August 2, 2023, the Patriarchate celebrated the feast of the Prophet Elijah of Thesbes, so named from his hometown Thesbes or Thisbes of the city of Gilead.

During this feast, the Church recalls to its memory the things about the prophet Elijah as described in the Old Testament, mainly in the books of the Kings, but also in the New Testament, in the Gospels through the words of the Lord and in the Catholic Epistle of Saint James the Brother of God.

The prophet Elijah, as from his zeal for God, was called a zealot, and because of his faith he was heard and performed many miracles through God, such as the absence of rain for three years and the falling of rain again, the burning of the stones and firewood of the altar on Mount Carmel, the resurrection of the daughter of the Sumanite woman, the crossing of the Jordan river and the throwing of his fleece to his disciple Elisha, through which he parted the waters of the Jordan and walked as if on dry land and also received double his teacher’s grace.

According to his apolytikion, the prophet Elijah is: “the incarnate angel the prophets’ summit and boast, the second Forerunner of Christ’s presence”.

In honour of the prophet Elijah, Vespers was held in his Holy Monastery, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, on Tuesday evening, by His Eminence Metropolitan Benedictos of Diocesarea, and the Divine Liturgy on the morning of the feast, presided over by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, along with their Eminences, Metropolitan Isychios of Capitolias and the Archbishops Aristarchos of Constantina and Theodosios of Sebastia. The chanting was delivered by Mr Angelos in Greek and the choir of Saint James the Brother of God under Mr Rimon Kamar in Arabic. The service was attended by many Greek-speaking Orthodox believers, but mainly Arabic speakers from the occupied territories and especially from Jerusalem.

Before the Holy Communion, His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon:

“When thou wast united unto our God through thy virtue and unspotted life, O Prophet of renown, and hadst for this cause received from Him authority and power, then thou didst change creation as seemed good to thee, and by thy will didst shut the gates of rain on high; and thou didst bring fire down from above, wholly consuming and impious. Do thou entreat Christ the Saviour that our souls be saved” (Matins, praises, Troparion 1).

Beloved brethren in Christ,

Reverend Christians and pilgrims

“The incarnate Angel and the prophet’s summit and boast, Elijah the glorious”, has gathered us all in this holy place to celebrate his holy commemoration of his fiery ascension into the heavens in Eucharist.

Praising the character of Elijah of Thesbis, Sirach says about him: “Then Elijah arose, a prophet like fire, and his word burned like a torch. He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire. How glorious you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Whose glory is equal to yours?” (Sirach 48,1-4).

Saint James the Brother of God, referring to the power of the righteous man’s prayer says in his catholic epistle: “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest” (James 5,16-18).

And Luke and Mark the Evangelists mention the presence of the Prophet Elijah during the Lord’s Transfiguration on Mount Tabor: “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one[a] on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus” (Mark 9,2-4/ Luke 9,28-30).

The conversation among Elijah, Moses and Jesus testifies to the fact that Christ is the Lord of the Law of Moses and of the prophets and Moses appears as the representative of the Law, while Elijah as the representative of the prophets according to the interpretation of Origen and of Saint Cyril of Alexandria. “Moses appears as the man of the Law, while Elijah as that of the prophets; for He [Christ] is the Lord of the Law and of the Prophets”.

Elijah was distinguished to the extend that he was the only one of the prophets, after Moses to converse with the Transfigured Christ, the Christ that they both knew on Mount Sinai; Moses knew Him as “fire and steam and darkness”, while Elijah like “fine breeze of thin air” (3 Kings 19,22). They saw God with their own eyes, in the Transfigured Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor, becoming the exception to the Lord’s word to His disciples: “Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it” (Matt. 13,17).

Indeed, my dear brothers and sisters, Elijah from Thesbis was specially favoured by God. And this was because as the hymnographer says: “When thou wast united unto our God through thy virtue and unspotted life, O Prophet of renown, and hadst for this cause received from Him authority and power, then thou didst change creation as seemed good to thee, and by thy will didst shut the gates of rain on high; and thou didst bring fire down from above, wholly consuming and impious. Do thou entreat Christ the Saviour that our souls be saved” (Matins, praises, Troparion 1).

This authority was also received by Christ’s disciples and saints, as Saint Luke the Evangelist says: “See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you” (Luke 10,19).

Interpreting these words of the Lord, Saint Basil the Great notes that it is impossible for man to exercise this power, if he has not cleared himself and become fortified by the Lord beforehand, the Lord who said to the apostles, behold I have given you the power to tread on snakes and scorpions.

In other words, my dear brothers and sisters, the one who hears and keeps God’s commandments is able through the power of the divine Grace to become a communicant of the power of the prophet Elijah, just like the prophet Elisha, who followed him.

Behold why Saint Paul says, “Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1,27).

It is noteworthy that the prophet Elijah has a special place in both the Old and the New Testament. And this is so because Elijah is recognized as the second forerunner of the presence of Christ, meaning the last days of the Judgment. Regarding the reappearance of zealot Elijah during the last days, the prophet Malachi says about him: “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4,4). Replying to His disciples’ question, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things” (Matt. 17,10-11).

According to the interpretation of the distinguished Church Fathers, the Lord here speaks about His Second Coming, of which Elijah is the forerunner. “I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased” (Matt. 17,12). This second Elijah is Saint John the Baptist who came before our Lord Jesus Christ. Saint John the Baptist was very much like Elijah of Thesbis that is why the Scripture calls him “With the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1,17). Interpreting these words, Zigavinos and Origen say: “[The Scripture] named ‘spirit’ the spiritual gift, while power is the strength. It thus says that he has both the gift and the strength of Elijah”.

As for us, who keep fervently the commemoration of the prophet Elijah, let us say along with the hymnographer: “compassionate Lord, grant Thy people remission of sins and the great mercy, by the intercessions of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and of the holy glorious prophet Elijah of Thesbis”. Amen Many happy returns.”

After the Divine Liturgy, the hard-working caretaker of the Monastery Monk Achillios hosted a reception and a rich banquet, with the help of the nuns of the Holy Monastery of the Ascension of the Lord.

From Secretariat–General

On Monday morning, 18/31 July 2023, after the Divine Liturgy at the Horrendous Golgotha which was led by His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, the fortieth-day memorial service of the Patriarchal Representative in Acre- Ptolemais Archimandrite Philotheos was held by the Patriarchate. Archimandrite Philotheos passed away while working on restoring the Holy Church of Saint George in Acre.

The memorial service was led by His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, with Holy Sepulchre Archbishops, Hieromonks and Hierodeacons, with the participation in prayer of monks, nuns and faithful Christians, who honoured the memory of the departed and prayed for the repose of his soul in the land of the living along with the righteous.

After the service H.H.B. and the Fathers returned to the Patriarchate hall for the memorial reception.

Everlasting his remembrance!

From Secretariat-General