His Beatitude Theophilos III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

3 May 2017

Your Grace, Archbishop Justin,

Dear Mrs. Welby,

Your Grace Archbishop Suheil,

Dear Father Hosam,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Dear Fathers,

Christ is risen!

We welcome you, dear Archbishop Justin and Mrs. Welby, back to the Holy City of Jerusalem and to the Holy Land in this joyful Eastertide with the triumphal words of the Paschal troparion that we sing throughout this season:

Christ is risen from the dead,

trampling down death by death,

and to those in the tomb

He has given life!

This year, our Easter celebration has special significance for us all, for as we keep the Feast of Feasts at the same time, we demonstrate to the world our common faith in our crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed our physical presence here at the places of the crucifixion and the burial, proclaiming together the resurrection, is a powerful martyria, of the Light of salvation that shines from the Holy Tomb that has been given to the whole world through the Church.

Your pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and of course, to the Church of Jerusalem, at this time, is a visible expression of your desire to be one with the local Church. As you yourself said in your own Paschal letter, we “join in an ecumenism of action to bring the transforming, serving love of Christ to the world.” Our task is not simply one of proclamation, but also of putting that proclamation into practical work on behalf of the poor, those who are the victims of war, violence, and persecution, and all who are in any kind of need.

Your pilgrimage makes two important matters clear:

First, your presence among us confirms and supports our witness here in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

And secondly, your pilgrimage demonstrates true affirmation and encouragement for the native Christian communities in the Middle East, as well as other innocent peoples in our region, who are, even as we are gathered in this holy place, suffering persecution and the results of violence and displacement on a scale that is unprecedented in recent history. Your presence is a confirmation of the integrity of the Christian community in our multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious landscape.

As we gather today in this meeting between the Anglican Community with the Mother Church of Jerusalem, the Rum Orthodox Patriarchate, we affirm our long mutual commitment to our historical ties and to our substantial theological dialogue. However, in the Holy Land, this dialogue is not simply about theological principles: in our Christian life, worship, and work together, we demonstrate our unity and one-ness in our proclamation of our Lord Jesus Christ as the redeemer of humanity, and his resurrection as the victory of life over death, of light over darkness, of wholeness over brokenness.

As Saint Gregory Palamas says, in a typical but rich play on words, the anastasis – that is the resurrection – , means anaplasis – which is remaking as well as anakenisis – which means renewal. And it also means anazoosis – which is bestowal of new life. All these concepts are deeply related to the resurrection.

In this proclamation we are already united. Our mission as Christians and Churches is precisely to declare to the world that darkness, even the darkness of this present time, has no power over the Light of the resurrection and the hope that this Light brings to creation. This hope we hear in the words of the Letter to the Colossians, when Saint Paul says that we “have clothed ourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator” (Col. 3:10).

From this place where we are gathered this morning, we send our common message to our Christian sisters and brothers who live throughout the Middle East, as well as the Christians in other parts of the world, and to all people of good will regardless of their faith, who suffer despair, fear, confusion, grief, exile from their homelands, and the consequences of violence at the hands of other human beings. For in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, God has acted decisively to restore all humanity and the creation that “has been groaning in labor pains until now” (Rom. 8:22) to our original eternal destiny.

It gives us deep pleasure to welcome you, dear Archbishop Justin and Mrs Welby, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the wake of the recent renovation and re-dedication of the Sacred Edicule of the Holy Tomb, the focus of our Paschal devotion. In honour of your pilgrimage, we wish to present you with this icon of the Theotokos, praying to the risen Lord that He may strengthen you in your archpastoral ministry. And we pray that the risen Lord will bless your mission in our beloved Holy Land.

Christ is risen!

Thank you.

On Sunday afternoon, 17th/30^th April 2017, after the festal Liturgy at the Holy Church of the Annunciation in Amman, Jordan, His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos visited the Holy Monastery of the Life-giving Spring in Dibin, which is one-hour drive from Amman.  The Spiritual Father of the Monastery is Archimandrite Christophoros and Nun Eirinaia is the Abbess.

There, His Beatitude was most warmly welcomed by many young people and others, and was addressed by the Spiritual Father of the Monastery Archimandrite Christophoros. He was hosted for a meal by the Holy Monastery, where present was also the representative of the Royal Throne of Jordan Emir Gazi, and members of the delegation of the “Harmony” week in Jordan.

The Spiritual Father Christophoros in his oral address underlined the honour for the Holy Monastery of the Life-giving Spring to host H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos and His Excellency the Prince Emir Gazi, and thanked His Majesty the King of Jordan for His democratic administration in the country, in which the Christians enjoy prosperity and righteousness, living peacefully with their Muslim fellow citizens.

After the meal, His Beatitude placed the foundation stone of the newly-founded Orthodox Cultural Centre, where there will be camping areas, as well as areas for many other activities, for the Patriarchate Sunday Schools in Jordan. His Beatitude awarded the sponsor of this project Mr. Aissa Nassif Ode with the distinctive honour of the Grand Commander of the Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. Mr. Ode is also willing to contribute to the continuation of the restoration project of the Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre.

From Secretariat-General
httpv://youtu.be/0gf64y6kXgo
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On Tuesday morning, 12th/25th April 2017, His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos awarded the Ambassador of Hungary in Ramalla Mr. Géza Mihalyi with the award of the Grand Commander of the Order of Nights of the Holy Sepulchre.

This honourary distinction was given to Mr. Géza Mihalyi due to his constant support as well as that of his country to the Patriarchate in general and to the restoration project of the Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre in particular, and also for their financial support.

Touched, Mr. Géza Mihalyi, thanked His Beatitude for this honourary distinction and promised that after the end of his service in Ramalla he will continue from his position in his country to proclaim the work of the Patriarchate and be its advocate.

From Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/hhevQM4v7PM

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His Beatitude Theophilos III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

20 April 2017

Your Beatitude,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Beloved Members of our respective Brotherhoods,

Dear Fathers,

Christ is risen!

In this Bright Week, we greet you, Your Beatitude, and the members of your Brotherhood and the Armenian community in Jerusalem, in the joy and gladness of the Resurrection.

As the Easter Hymn of Exodus 15 in your Armenian tradition declares:

Today the immortal and heavenly bridegroom

Has risen from the dead:

Good tidings of exultation to you,

O Church, bride from the earth.

Praise your God in a voice of delight, O Sion.

Our Easter celebrations are made all the more moving this year as we celebrate the Feast at the renovated and re-dedicated Sacred Edicule. This project is the most significant endeavor in the Holy Places in our lifetime. We have saved Holiest site in the Christian world from certain permanent damage, and we have enjoyed the experience of the intimacy of touching the Tomb.

The most important fruit of this work has been the active dialogue that brought to fruition the co-operation of our three Communities in carrying out this project. This new chapter in our life has drawn the attention of the world and is a true sign of hope in a world torn apart by division, fear, violence, and persecution. The human family is fractured, and longs for unity and communion. Our unity of purpose in the renovation of the Sacred Edicule is of enduring significance, and we must build on this important foundation.

For there is more to be done, in completing further work in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, especially on the underground sewage system of the rotunda and the completion of the rest of the works in the compound of the Holy Sepulchre. There is also more to do in building a deeper unity among the Churches and Christian communities of the Holy Land in our spiritual mission. The renovation of the Sacred Edicule is a good beginning: we have shown that we can accomplish great things. But the strength of our resolve will be proven as we move on to do more in the future.

Once again, we wish to express our gratitude to you, Your Beatitude, for all your efforts in the work restoring the Sacred Edicule, and we look forward to further partnership with you as we take on the next tasks that lie before us. This work has been laid upon us by Divine Providence, and we must be faithful to our calling, especially in our days, when our region is going through such horrible experiences and the world lives in total confusion and a very great danger.

May the Light that shines from the Holy Tomb at Easter give us the strength of purpose to carry on the good work that has been started. May we, as the Apostle Paul has said in the Acts of the Apostles, “finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).

We wish you, Your Beatitude, your Brotherhood, and the Armenian community under your archpastoral care, the joy of this Paschal Feast.

Christ is risen!

Thank you.

On Easter Tuesday at 11:00am and at 15:00, 5th/18th April 2017, the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood under its Hegoumen, our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, returned the Easter visit of the Franciscan Fraternity and the Custos of the Holy Land.

            At 9:15 on Wednesday, 6th/19th April 2017, our Patriarchate under His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos visited the Latin Patriarchate on the occasion of Easter. The Patriarchate was also visited by all the Christian Churches on the occasion of their Easter.

            On Thursday 7th/20th April 2017 our Patriarchate visited the Armenians for their Easter.

            On these visits His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos gave the addresses in the links below:
https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2017/04/18/32028

https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2017/04/19/32032

https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2017/04/20/32199

From Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/M0s3valRcnk

httpv://youtu.be/onANz2C5BDM

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His Beatitude Theophilos III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

19 April 2017

Your Excellency Mr. President,

Your Excellency, Archbishop Pizzaballa,

Your Excellency, Archbishop Lazzarotto,

Your Beatitudes,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Respected Members of the Government and Civil Authorities,

Beloved Monastics,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour for us, Mr. President, that you are here with the Christian communities for this celebration of Easter, and in our turn we would like to express our best wishes to you in this season of Passover. Your festive greetings to us are very important, for by your greetings you make clear that Jerusalem is a holy place common to the three monotheistic religions, and that this Holy City of Jerusalem embraces a multi-religious and multi-ethnic mosaic. Your presence among us also confirms this harmony of our celebrations, especially of Passover and Easter. Jerusalem can be an example to all of harmonious co-existence and a synthesis of traditions and civilizations.

Your visit comes at a time when our region is experiencing despicable acts of violence against the human family and holy places, the latest of which was the heinous attack against our ancient Monastery of Santa Catherina in Sinai. We appreciate your compassion, and your deep respect for human life, which is the image of God, and your sensitivity to human experience.

In these days of our common celebration we see the deep relationship that unites Jews and Christians as the children of Abraham, along with our Muslim sisters and brothers. This coming together of these feasts this year in this way for us all is a wonderful providential sign of hope. This year the entire Christian world celebrates Easter on the same day, and Passover falls over the same time as Holy Week for us all.

We share the same spiritual language, and we celebrate in our feasts the same divine deliverance and salvation, from bondage to freedom. And we understand afresh our common roots in this land that is our shared home and holy to us all.

This is a profound message in a world that is captivated by pride and arrogance, the fruits of which we see in war, persecution, violence, poverty, and other ills in the human family. As we read in the Letter of St. James, “you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil” (James 4:16). We see all around us that human beings have put themselves at the centre of their own little universes, without a care for anyone of anything outside their small circle of concern. Man has, in so many ways, replaced God with himself, and with disastrous consequences both for the individual human person and the whole community.

Here in Jerusalem we have been blessed not to have had any illusions: here we know that the ultimate criterion is God himself, God the compassionate One. The Holy Land is the embodiment of sacred history that is unfolding before our very eyes on a daily basis, whether we are Jews, Christians, or Muslims. And the Holy Land is a living testimony to the ancient traditions that we live and celebrate as Jews, Christians and Muslims, side by side in this land in which we live together.

In our world of confusion and peril, Jerusalem and the Holy Land are the only place where people can take refuge and be renewed by the light of truth and the spiritual refreshment that comes from contact with our sacred history. This has been clear in these holy days as we have welcomed thousands of pilgrims from East and West.

Jerusalem makes us alert to all this. This is the beauty and uniqueness of the privilege of serving this Holy Land, where we have inherited such a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-faith environment, and where diversity is part of the integrity of our shared existence. We all have a place, and we have a moral obligation to guard, sustain, and deepen this integrity for the benefit not only of our people, but for the whole of humanity that longs to drink from the deep, clear spiritual waters that well up in this Holy Land.

We would like to take the opportunity of this festive occasion to congratulate you, Mr. President, and to express our gratitude for all that you do to support these truths and values that give purpose to our lives, values that your mentioned, for example in a speech you gave last year honouring Danielle Sonnenfeld:

“Frequently we minimize the power of touch, of a smile, of a good word, and a listening ear, a compliment, or a small act of caring. But all of these have the potential to change lives.”

These words sum up so much of the meaning of this season of deliverance and salvation, and your presence among us at this holy season is a tangible sign of the peace and reconciliation that must always shine from the heart of Jerusalem. We take the opportunity of this blessed occasion to assure you, Mr. President, that we continue to be form in our commitment to support genuine efforts and work for peace and reconciliation, and we pledge ourselves to this sacred purpose.

May God bless you, Mr. President, your family, the Government, and all the civil authorities, in this joyful season.

Thank you.

His Beatitude Theophilos III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

19 April 2017

Your Excellency, dear Archbishop Pizzaballa,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Beloved Monastics,

Dear Fathers,

Christ is risen!

It is our joy to be here, Your Excellency, to express our Easter Greetings to you on the occasion of your first Easter as the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate. We rejoice today with the Mother of God in these words of one of our Paschal hymns:

Shine! Shine! O New Jerusalem!

The glory of the Lord has shone on you!

Exalt now and be glad, o Zion!

Be radiant, O Pure Theotokos,

In the Resurrection of your Son!

Our joy is made all the more complete this year by the fact that we have celebrated Easter on the same day, and this common celebration emphasizes the importance of our Christian witness, especially at this time when our Christian brothers and sisters in our region and elsewhere are enduring hardship and persecution, particularly in Syria, and Egypt.

The current intolerable climate of violence makes it clear that our pastoral ministry is not limited to the guarding and serving of the Holy Places, but demands a careful attentiveness to all the communities under our diakonia. And by extension our pastoral concern reaches the world-wide Christian family, especially to those beyond our region who are suffering.

Your broad experience for many years as the Custos has given you to understand, defend, and proclaim the significance of the Holy Places – a significance that is inseparable from the indigenous Christian community. We cannot separate the “living stones” from the sacred stones from which the holy sites are built, for holy sites cannot be separated from their communities, or communities from their holy sites. Each gives life and purpose, and reveals meaning to the other.

Your steadfastness in promoting harmonious co-operation is deeply appreciated by all, and we must not forget the pivotal role you played in the restoration of the Sacred Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre – a role that reflects also your authentic instinct for the unity of our Churches.

We are grateful for everything that you have done, and continue to do, both in your role as Custos, and now as Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate. We pledge to you our support and complete understanding, so that we may continue in that co-operation and common pastoral mission that Divine Providence has placed upon us, and so that we may be an effective witness of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in a world that is torn apart by violence, hatred, war, and persecution.

However, we recognize that people expect us to whom leadership has been entrusted not just to raise awareness, but also to support genuine efforts and work for peace and reconciliation. It is our duty to translate the message that we celebrate into effective action. This is how we demonstrate that we are not here simply as moral and spiritual leaders, but as those who put our beliefs into practice. The living witness of the message of the Gospel is to  work for peace and reconciliation between all people, and in our region in particular between our fellow citizens, Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. This is the true meaning of the resurrection for the life in the world.

May the Light of Christ that shines from the Holy Tomb strengthen and encourage you in the challenging mission that lies before you and all of us, and may God bless your clergy and the communities entrusted to your care.

Christ is risen!

Thank you.

His Beatitude Theophilos III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

19 April 2017

Your Beatitude,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Beloved Members of our respective Brotherhoods,

Dear Fathers,

Christ is risen!

We welcome you, Your Beatitude, and your brethren to our Patriarchate in these bright days of the Easter Feast, and we thank you for your words of greeting. As we welcome you, we recall the moving words of the Easter liturgy:

It is the day of Resurrection;

Let us be radiant for the festival,

And let us embrace one another.

Let us say, o brethren, even those who hate us:

Let us forgive all thins in the Resurrection;

And thus let us cry:

Christ is risen from the dead,

By death he has trampled down death,

And on those in the tombs he has bestowed life.

(Doxastikon of the Praises)

We celebrate this great Feast this year in the happy remembrance of the renovation and re-dedication of the Sacred Edicule just a few weeks ago – a renovation and re-dedication that were made possible by an unprecedented co-operation between our three Communities.

This co-operation has been a profound encouragement to Christians and people of good will throughout the world, and we hope and pray that we may build on this foundation for fresh work in the years ahead.

In this project we have seen reconciliation in action, and we are only too aware of the urgent necessity of reconciliation in our region and in our world. We know that it is only by the patient coming together in dialogue and common endeavor that we grow in unity of purpose, and we also know how closely the eyes of the world watch what we do here in this Holy City.

This feast of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the sign to us that nothing – not even death itself – can stand in the way of God’s purposes for humankind and for his creation. We who are called to the spiritual mission of the Holy Places know the power of these Places to encourage and sustain the faithful in their Christian lives of service. May we continue in our God-given diakonia  of the Holy Places in faithfulness and love, so that all who come to worship at them may know the true and eternal Light that enlightens every heart.

May God bless you, Your Beatitude, in your ministry, and may God bless the members of your Brotherhood and all your communities in the Holy Land.

Christ is risen!

Thank you.

On Tuesday, 5th/18th April 2017, the Easter visits among the Christian Communities took place. At 8:5am of that day the Patriarchate received the Franciscan Fraternity of the Roman Catholic Church. At 9:30am His Beatitude and the Hagiotaphite Fathers received the representative of the Apostolic Delegation of the Vatican in Jerusalem.

At 10:00 am His Beatitude and the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood received all the Christian Communities together, the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, the Anglican Church, Lutheran, Syrian, Coptic and other smaller ones.

On Wednesday, 6th/19th April 2017, at 8:30 am the Armenian Brotherhood visited the Patriarchate.

At the Franciscans’ visit His Beatitude gave the following address:
  https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2017/04/18/31940

At the visit of all the Christian Communities His Beatitude gave the address in the following link:

 https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2017/04/18/31942

The address of His Beatitude at the visit of the Armenians is in the link below:

https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2017/04/19/32030

Both the Custos of the Holy Land and the Heads of the other Communities stressed in their addresses the need for the co-operation of the Christian Churches within the spirit of the Cross and the Lord’s Resurrection for the support of the Christian inhabitants in the Middle East and in other areas.

On Wednesday morning, 6th/19th April 2017,  a Delegation of the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem visited the Patriarchate at the Patriarchate Hall on the occasion of Easter.

From Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/xpdsxJeCnS4

httpv://youtu.be/b_krWg6Dg8Q

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His Beatitude Theophilos III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

18 April 2017

Your Paternity, dear Father Francesco,

Beloved Members of our Respective Brotherhoods,

Dear Fathers,

Christ is risen!

We welcome you in the joy of this Paschal Feast to our Patriarchate, as we celebrate the Feat of Feasts, and we thank you for your greetings. This providential coming together of the Eastern and Western celebrations of Easter is especially significant for us this year, for we have just marked the completion of the renovation of the Sacred Edicule.

This joint project, carried out by the co-operation of our three Communities, has been a great sign tot the world of the unity and harmony of our spiritual mission in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and this unity and harmony of mission have been crowned in our celebration of the Resurrection on the same day.

As we gather together, we repeat the great salutation of the Easter Liturgy:

This is the day that the Lord has made,

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

In these words we discern the spiritual mission of the Holy Places. Here both faithful pilgrims in our native communities find the peace, love, pardon, faith, hope, light, an joy that are made manifest by Easter. Here all who come are able to drink deeply from the well that springs up to eternal life. Here all who come are refreshed by the fount of immortality.

On Palm Sunday, as Holy Week began, the desperate need of our world for the spiritual mission of the Holy Land was made clear to us in the bombings of the churches in Egypt. Christians as well as those of other faiths are experiencing terrible persecution, and in the face of this suffering the message of light and hope of the Holy Places, and especially of the Holy Tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ, becomes so much more urgent.

May we deepen our co-operation in our spiritual mission, and may the unity of purpose that we have known in the renovation of the Sacred Edicule be an inspiration to all who look to the Holy Land for the assurance of God, who in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, has brought life and immortality to light.

May God bless you, Your Paternity, the members of your Brotherhood, and the communities that you serve.

Christ is risen!

Thank you.