On Thursday, June 23rd / July 6th 2023, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, accepted:

1. The Elder Treasurer Fr Daoud, Head of the parish of the county of Taibe near Ramallah for matters concerning this Community.
2. The Elder Treasurer, Fr Nikolaos, Head of the Acre-Ptolemais region of Northern Israel Greek Orthodox Arabic-speaking Community in Abu Snan with a group of fifty young people of the Catechetical School of this Community.3. The Elder Father Savvas, Head of the Greek-Orthodox Arabic-speaking Community of Northern Israel in Abelin for issues concerning this Community.From Secretariat-General

On Tuesday, June 21/July 4, 2023, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos accepted:

1. 1. The former Mayor of Bejalla, Mr Nikolaos Hamis, followed by members of his family and the Priest of Bejalla, Father Youssef Hodali.
   2. A group of Israelis from Northern Israel near the border with Lebanon under Mr Sidi Zidkiyahu Simenhaus.

1. A twenty-member team of Police officers from various countries as shown in the attached list of the International Police Association, here: https://jerusalem-patriarchate.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023_07_04_13_44_33.pdf

Receiving them, His Beatitude referred to the complexity of the work of the Police in Jerusalem, which is overcome through the Grace of Jesus Christ, whose redemptive Blood watered Jerusalem and the entire Holy Land.

From Secretariat-General

On Tuesday, June 7/20, 2023, His Beatitude Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos received a group of female conservators from Russia under the icon and book conservator Mr Stavros Andreou and Mr Igor, who will maintain the icons of the Patriarchate working in the Holy Cross Monastery.

From Secretariat-General

On the evening of Tuesday, June 7th/20th, 2023, the awarding ceremony of the Remla School certificates took place in the ceremony hall of the cultural center of the city. This ceremony is the 28th since the Community founded the School with the practical support of the Patriarchate.

This ceremony, begun by the “Our Father”, included notable performances by the fifty graduates of the School, male and female students, patriotic music, dances, and other performances, attended by parents and other relatives of the graduates, the Hegoumen of Remla Archimandrite Nifon, the President of the Community, Mr Faez Mansour, and members of the Community Council, the Mayor of the city, representatives of other Municipalities and denominations.

From Jerusalem, the ceremony was honoured by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, His Eminence Metropolitan Isychios of Capitolias, the Elder Chief Secretary His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Hierodeacon Dositheos and Fr Issa Mousleh.

The importance and value of Education for the graduates’ lives and the Patriarchate’s continuous support was particularly emphasized by His Beatitude in his speech by Fr Issa, after which He handed over the certificates to each of the graduates, wishing them success and a good career.

From Secretariat-General

On Friday, June 3rd/16th 2023, His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos received the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Holy See, Mr Chris Trott.

On this day His Beatitude gave the Head of the Rum Orthodox Arabic-speaking Community, Mr Emanuel Awad from the neighbouring to Ramallah town of Abud, a pectoral priestly cross, on the completion of twenty-three years of his priestly office.

On the morning of Saturday, June 4/17, 2023, a group of a hundred Georgian people, elderly, middle-aged and children under the Ambassador of Georgia to Israel Mr Lhasa visited H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos and asked for His blessing and for their subsequent visit to the Holy Sepulchre and the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

From Secretariat-General

On the morning of Tuesday, May 31/June 13, 2023, His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos awarded with the medal the order of the Orthodox Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Doctor Majid Tawfiq Gadous.

This distinction was awarded to the honourable Dr Gadous for the dedication, care, effort, perseverance and patience, that he showed for the construction, decoration and dignity of the Holy Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the commune of Sakhnin of the region of Acre – Ptolemais of Northern Israel, which was consecrated by His Beatitude and is the jewel and the pride of the Greek Orthodox Community of the entire region.

His Beatitude praised Doctor Mr Majid and his present wife, who stood by him as another Cyrene.

From Secretariat-General

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUJ0Grl082n5ebQS0hXtc7g

On the evening of Sunday, May 29/June 11, 2023, a reception was organized at the Sergei Hotel in Jerusalem by the Russian Spiritual Mission – (MISSIA) in honour of the National Independence Day of Russia.

H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos was invited to this event after the Elder Secretary-General His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, the Elder Dragoman Archimandrite Mattheos, the Archdeacon Mark and Hierodeacon Simeon.

In his address, the Russian Ambassador to Israel, Mr Anatoli Victorov, referred to Russia’s contribution to the defeat of the Nazi forces during World War II, as well as to His Beatitude’s efforts to protect the presence and property of Christian Churches in the Holy Land, as well as in His efforts to restore the unity of the Orthodox Churches.

From Secretariat-General

On the morning of Saturday, May 28/June 10, 2023, the cadets of the Patriarchal School of Zion, graduates, seniors and other students, visited His Beatitude on the occasion of the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer vacation.

In the context of this visit, the students thanked His Beatitude for the beneficial things they enjoyed at the School during their studies with the following address:

“Your Beatitude Father and Master,

after we have navigated the sea of secondary education with toil and hardship, we stand before You with filial respect to thank You.

About 6 years ago, leaving our family home, which gave us a climate of love for the “living” but also the “living well”, we moved to the philanthropy of the spiritual family of the Patriarchal School, which operates under the paternal protection and love of You, to complete our circular education.

God’s providence defined our Holy Sepulchre School as a stage of virtues and knowledge. However, the difficulties of adaptation we faced, combined with the revolutionary concerns of our adolescence, often made us think of abandoning this beautiful struggle to return to our homeland with wounded memories.

But our victorious Resurrected Lord protected us from such an impulse and bestowed upon us His perfect gifts through You, Your Beatitude, the guardian of the Holy Light. In the few years that we lived near You, we gained our opinion that You are the Patriarch who knows how to love and knows how to sacrifice for His children.

Your patriarchal filial piety to assign as our Schoolmaster the Reverend Elder Dragoman Mattheos confirms “the truth of the word”. Thanks to the multi-talented Fr. Mattheos and Your help, the School was renovated in terms of buildings and upgraded in quality, with the selection of teachers and support staff, who worked hard to impart good morals to us and equip us with wise and practical knowledge to move forward hopefully in our difficult and demanding times.

In the face of Father Mattheos, Your Beatitude, we saw Your sacrificial love for us. As our guardian angel, he instructed us, educated us, protected us and guided us to good.

We thank You, Father and Master, for all Your blessings, spiritual and material.

Your respected face will be like a guiding star, which will always lead us to life in Christ and we will invoke Your Holy Sepulchre prayers and wishes to overcome the manifold difficulties of our lives.

We promise You that we will honour with words and deeds the identity of the Holy Sepulchre student, keeping in our hearts the beautiful Holy Sepulchre experiences.

We wish you for many more decades, with unshakable health and forward-looking boldness, to defend the rights of our Patriarchate, as until now, without cowering before the principles and powers of “the ruler of this century”.

  Many returns to you!”

His Beatitude thanked the Managing Director and the teachers for the good operation of the School and praised the students for their performance in accordance with the data of the program of the Ministry of Education of Greece and the Patriarchate in anticipation of their inclusion of their free will in the Brotherhood in due course and wished them a good holiday, a good return and good success in the special entrance exams for foreigners to the University Faculties.

From Secretariat-General

On the evening of Tuesday, May 10/23, 2023, the 35th ceremony of awarding degrees to the thirteen graduates of the School of Saint Demetrios of the Patriarchate took place in the ceremony hall of the Notre Damme hotel near New Gate.

This ceremony was honoured by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, who was accompanied by the Inspector of Arabic Schools of the Patriarchate His Eminence the Metropolitan Joachim of Helenoupolis, the Elder Chief Secretary, His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, His Eminence Archbishop Philoumenos of Pella, Fr Farah Bandour, Fr Issa Mousleh and the Archdeacon Mark, in the presence of the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Evangelos Vlioras, the teachers, the parents and relatives of the graduates.

This ceremony began with the Palestinian and Greek National Anthems and the reading of a passage from the Holy Bible. The ceremony also included songs and dance performances by the students of the School’s Primary School and a speech on the long-term educational experience of the School’s director, Mr Samir Zananiri.

In his speech, the Director presented the important educational work of the School, which has been carried out for thirty-five years, and of this year, and praised the Patriarchate for the support of the School.

A student of the School offered His Beatitude a bouquet of flowers as an expression of gratitude for His support in the School.

One of the students addressed His Beatitude in Arabic, one student in English and one student in Greek. All three expressed their gratitude to their teachers and to His Beatitude for the support of the Patriarchate to the School.

Palestinian songs were sung and Palestinian and Greek traditional dances were danced. With the teaching of Mrs Panagiota Cafetzi and the performance of Mr Nikolaos Michailidou, they sang hymns and danced under the music of Pontus.

This was followed by the address of His Beatitude through the mouth of Fr Essa and the awarding of titles by His Beatitude to each of the graduates, wishing them good academic and social success.

From Secretariat-General

On Thursday, May 5/18, 2023, His Beatitude received:

1. The Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem, Mr Evagelos Vlioras.
2. The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Israel Mr Bulat Sarsenbagev.
3. The priests of the Kufr Yasif Community of Northern Israel, Fr Theodosios Mahul and Fr Charalambos, accompanied by members of the International Human Rights Organization.
4. A group of pilgrims from Ukraine and Romania.
5. The Nun Danielia Caretaker of the Monastery of the Men of Galilee.

From Secretariat-General