On the morning of Easter Thursday, the 3^rd/16^th of April 2015, the B’nai B’rith Organisation and Keren Kayemet Le – Israel hosted an event in the memory of World War II Jewish victims of Nazism in Greece, mainly Volos. The event was also held in honour of rabbi Pesah of Volos who, in collaboration with the then Metropolitan of Demetrias, Joachim Alexopoulos, the Mayor of Volos, and Greek rebels, helped approximately 1,000 Jewish citizens flee the town and find refuge in Greek families in the countryside. Of the Jewish residents in Volos, 85% survived the war to return to their hometown. 

The event took place in a vast forest where 6.000.000 trees have been planted, as many the Jewish victims of Nazism. It was attended by representatives of the B’nai B’rith, Mr Haim Katz of Keren Kayemet, Mr Efi Stenzler, grandson of rabbi Pesah, the President of Jewish Communities in Greece, Mr Moses Constantinis, and the Greek Ambassador to Israel, Mr Spyridon Lamprides.

In the addresses heard at the event, special reference was made to the harmonious coexistence of Greek Jews with the rest of the Greeks in Greece, especially Volos, and the contribution of the Greek nation to the rescue of Greek Jews from Nazi mania.

Patriarch Theophilos was the first to speak at the ceremony, see link: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2015/04/16/13879

The event ended with the reading of the names of children victims from Volos, and a performance of the Israeli National Anthem.

From the Secretariat-General

On Easter Wednesday, the 2^nd/15^th of April 2015, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem reciprocated the visit of the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, led a delegation of Hagiotaphite Fathers.

The Patriarchal Hagiotaphites were welcomed by the Armenian Patriarch, Nourhan Manougian, in the presence of Armenian Primates and Priests.

During the visit, Patriarch Theophilos addressed the Armenian Patriarch and His retinue in English, see link: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2015/04/15/13873

From the Secretariat-General

15 April 2015

Your Beatitude, Patriarch Nourhan,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Reverend Fathers,

Beloved Members of our Respective Brotherhoods,

Christ is risen!

We are pleased to be able to greet you today in this Bright Week, as we celebrate the joy of the Easter Feast. We bring greetings to you, Your Beatitude, to the Brotherhood, and to all the people of your community in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and we assure you of our prayers for you in your arch pastoral ministry.

As we greet you this Easter, we are deeply conscious that we do so on the eve of the centenary of the Armenian genocide. This celebration of Easter will have a special meaning for all Armenians in the light of this commemoration, and we pray that the Light that shines from the Holy Tomb of Our Lord Jesus Christ may bring comfort and encouragement to the Armenian people as you remember the horrors of this terrible chapter in human history.

Sadly, the world remains an intimate witness to persecution and terror, in our own day, Christians and others are still persecuted for their faith. The innocent continue to be the victims of unscrupulous and amoral leaders and gangs of terrorists. In our own region we see almost daily unspeakable acts of cruelty that stains further a land that is already marked with the blood of martyrs.

In the face of this reality the Light of the Resurrection remains a beacon of hope and inspiration to millions. We who are the guardians and servants of the Holy Places know the power and the possibility of the Holy Places to transform the human heart and renew the human spirit.  In a world of darkness this Light is our only hope.

May God give us the grace always to keep before us the mission of the Holy Places to be a beacon of hope to all, and may this celebration of Easter strengthen our resolve to do all in our power to deepen our common witness to the truth of the Resurrection.

Christ is risen!

Thank you.

His Beatitude

THEOPHILOS III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

On Easter Tuesday, the 1^st/14^th of April 2015, the visit of the Israeli President to the Patriarchate was followed by the Paschal visits of Western Church delegations.

The first to visit the Patriarchate where the Franciscan monks of the Holy Land.

The Franciscan Brothers were addressed by His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, in English, see link: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2015/04/14/13865

The Franciscans were followed by representatives of the Armenian Patriarchate, led by Archbishop Aris Shirvanian.

Likewise, Patriarch Theophilos welcomed the Armenians in English, see link: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2015/04/14/13870

From the Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/hQBrMVNoHGY

14 April 2015

Your Beatitude, Patriarch Nourhan,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces.

Reverend Fathers,

Beloved members of our Respective Brotherhoods,

We greet you in this joyous season of Easter, and we thank you for your festal greetings. As we celebrate this Feast of Feasts, we give thanks to Almighty God for deepening relationship of co-operation that is emerging between our two Brotherhoods, as we seek to be faithful in our mission as guardians and servants of the Holy Places.

Our region is facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions and the Christian presence in the Holy Land and in the Middle East, where we have lived and flourished since the earliest days of the Church, is under new and terrible threat. Persecution is on the rise, and ancient, established communities are disappearing or being systematically eradicated.

This new situation puts an even higher premium on our mission. The Holy Places that have been committed to our care by Divine Providence are the living testimony of our sacred history in this land, an undeniable witness to the presence of God among his people and the guarantee in the eyes of the world that this region is our home. A vital, vibrant Christian presence is essential to the integrity of the Holy City of Jerusalem and our entire region, and ours is the responsibility to ensure that this presence remains strong and safe.

We therefore continue to be committed to all that is necessary to safe-guard the well-being of the Holy Places and the security or our Christian communities, and we welcome the genuine ecumenical spirit that must always characterize the best relations between Churches.

May the Light that shines from the Holy Tomb this Easter enlighten our minds and our hearts, that we may be effective witnesses to the truth of the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is risen!

Thank you

His Beatitude

THEOPHILOS III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

On the morning of Easter Tuesday, the 1^st/14^th of April 2015, the President of Israel, Mr Reuven Rivlin, visited the Patriarchate.

His Excellency the President was welcomed at the Hall of the Throne by His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, in the presence of Hagiotaphite Fathers and the Leaders of Christian Churches in Jerusalem, as Archimandrite Aristovoulos with his assistants sang “Let’s rejoice on this Day of the Resurrection”.

On behalf of all, His Beatitude addressed the Israeli President in English, see link: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2015/04/14/13615

The Patriarch went on to offer Mr Rivlin a silver seven-branch lampstand in commemoration of their meeting.

His Excellency the President was also addressed by the other Leaders of Christian Churches in Jerusalem.

In his reply speech, the President of Israel spoke in English (https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/2015/04/14/13610) whilst offering the Patriarch a replica of a very old coin.

The Israeli President was accompanied by associates of his and the representatives of the Department of Christian Affairs at Israel’s Religions Ministry, Messrs. Salameh Yacoub and Cezar Margiye.  

From the Secretariat-General

Tuesday, 14 April 2015

An Address on the Occasion of the Visit of the President of Israel

to a Gathering of the Heads of the Churches and Christian Communities

of the Holy Land at the Patriarchate

Your Excellency, Mr. President,

Your Beatitudes,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Respected Members of the Government and Civil Service,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We welcome you, Mr. President, to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem on behalf of the Churches and Christian communities of the Holy Land, and we thank you for your visit during this season in which Christians throughout the region celebrate the most sacred feast of the year. At Pascha, the eyes of the world turn toward Jerusalem in hope and expectation.

We greet you also with blessings for the recent feast of Pesach. The close relationship between Pesach and Pascha are an important reminder to us all of the deep bonds that unite the children of Abraham in our respective Abrahamic traditions, of which our Muslim sisters and brothers are also an integral part.

Jerusalem and the Holy Land have always known religious, cultural, and ethnic diversity, and this diversity is an essential part of the integrity of our region. Jews, Christian and Muslim have lived here side by side for centuries, always seeking mutual understanding, and this experience is both crucial for our mutual well-being and for peace in our region and our world. Ours is a unique witness, especially in the particularly turbulent current situation of the Middle East region, of the possibility of a future in which all peoples may realize there is no better alternative than to live together in genuine harmony. Therefore, we will keep this vision before us in this city, which is holy to all three Abrahamic faiths, and in fact, to the whole world.

We wish to acknowledge and commend you, Mr. President, for the strong stance you have taken against religious bigotry of any kind, and for the actions you have taken against crimes targeting religious shrines, monuments, and the Holy Places. We share with you, Mr. President, an abhorrence of prejudice of any kind, and we support the protection of communities and sacred places against attacks and vandalism. Such acts have no place in this city or in this Holy Land.

We re-affirm to you our commitment as the Heads of the Churches and Christian communities of the Holy Land to be an effective partner in your mission, together with all who strive for peace in our beloved Holy Land. This is our moral duty and responsibility as religious leaders, and we cannot rest until all those who call Jerusalem their home come to know the peace of Jerusalem, for which we all pray.

Again and again, we return to the words of the Psalmist who says, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! For there the Lord ordained His blessing, life for evermore” (Psalm 132 [133]: 1,3).

It is the responsibility of all the children of Abraham, Jew, Christian, and Muslim, to live the full meaning of this promise, so that the Light that shines from this Holy City may always be a beacon of hope to all humankind.

May God bless you, Mr. President, your family, and all the peoples of our beloved Holy Land, and may God grant you strength for the work that is yours.

Thank you.

HIS BEATITUDE

THEOPHILOS III

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM

14 April 2015

Your Beatitude,

Your Excellency, Father Pierbattista,

Your Eminences,

Dear Fathers,

Beloved Members of our respective Brotherhoods.

We greet you, dear brothers, in this Easter Week, as you celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection with your communities in the Holy Land, with the stirring words of the great hymn by Saint John Damascene:

The day of resurrection! Earth tell it out abroad

The Passover of gladness, the Passover of God.

From death to life eternal, from earth unto the sky,

Our Christ hath brought us over, with hymns of victory.

The victory of God destroying death by raising our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is made plain in that uncreated Light, that shines even now from the Holy Tomb. This Light enlightens all in that faith that “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”, (Heb. 11:1).

As we greet you for your celebration of Easter, we rejoice in the excellent co-operation that continues to characterize our common mission to guard and serve the Holy Places. In our Easter faith, we derive the strength and conviction to deepen our mutual relationship of good will that we must maintain not just for ourselves, but for the sake of the well-being of the Christian presence in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East and all those who come to us every year on pilgrimage from around the world.

We continue to face many challenges together, not the least of which remains the on-going concern that we all have about access to the Holy Places, especially at the time of the great feasts. There is also the matter of the inappropriate intervention in the life of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher by external authorities that can only but raise serious questions for us.

While we value the support and assistance of others in our mission, we recognize that in the end it is our collective responsibility as the guardians and servants of the Holy Places to ensure that the ancient rights and privileges of the Christian community are safe – guarded. There can be no intrusion into responsibilities that are properly ours and that are guaranteed by the Status Quo. It is only by the grace of God that we can do this work together and we commend your commitment, dear brothers of the Franciscan Custody to ensuring that nothing subverts the genuine ad proper collaboration between us.

So we rejoice with you today, and we congratulate you as we celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless you in your common life as a brotherhood and may God bless all the peoples of our this Holy City of Jerusalem and our beloved Holy Land.

Thank you.

His Beatitude

THEOPHILOS III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

THEOPHILOS III

By God’s Mercy Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem

and all Palestine,

to the entire flock of the Church

in grace and mercy and peace from the All-holy and Life-giving Sepulcher

of the Resurrected Christ.

“Christ rose from the dead,

the commencement of the departed, the First-Born

of creation and Creator of all events

renovating in Him the cleansed nature of our genus.

Death, you shall no longer prevail. Because the Master of all

has overpowered your dominion”.

(Sunday of third echos, of Invocation)

Immersed in brilliance and praising God, the Church today celebrates the glorious Resurrection of the Lord. It celebrates the fact that the Monogenes Son and Logos of God, Jesus Christ, our Incarnate Lord, who walked on earth, associated with humans and benefited them, He who offered Himself to His God and Father to be sacrificed by crucifixion for our sins, and was buried in this “new” tomb, “where no one had ever been laid” (John 19, 41) has risen from the dead.

Truly, Christ has risen. Hades and death had no authority over Him. They had not been able to detain Him. Hades thought he had received a mortal intended to be swallowed, and instead he met a God and human, he met a Theanthropos, a God-man, the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin. Hades was deceived and embittered, as God the Father brought His Incarnate Son back from the dead. Jesus Christ broke the shackles of Hades, was resurrected and rose over the earth, carrying within Him His incarnate human nature, making Adam and his whole race alive.

The Resurrected Lord robbed Hades of the dead. The descent of the Saviour into Hades had been foretold in divine economy by the decapitated John the Baptist. Christ liberated the prisoners of Hades. The darkness of Hades’ torture and pain He transformed into light, joy and abundance of Paradise. Those were the first He received into His Kingdom after the thief he had pronounced a citizen of Heaven. “Christ stood before those in Hades and called to them, come back to Paradise”.

In this mystery as in other mysteries of the Bible, God had called on His Angels as accomplices. An Angel had removed the stone that sealed the Tomb. An Angel proclaimed this unprecedented mystery to the Myrophorae who thought He was dead and “came to anoint Him with spices” (Mark 16, 1). Having received word of this, His disciples “saw the empty sepulcher and the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes but in a place by itself” (John 20, 7).

Upon looking at the empty sepulcher, in spite of the angelic vision and the news of the resurrection, sorrow, terror, wonder and ecstasy conquered their souls, “for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (John 20, 9). Their sorrow suddenly turned to joy, when “the Lord said to them “Greetings” (Matthew 28, 8); and when they were together “with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” (John 20, 19); when “He walked with Luke and Cleopas and blessed their bread” (Luke 28, 8); and when “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days” (Acts 1, 3).

When He finished “the work given to Him by His father to do” (John 17, 4), the crucified and resurrected Lord ascended to Heaven, carrying with Him our human nature He had received during His Incarnation, and sat on the right of the Father and became god by grace.

From there he sent His Disciples His Holy Spirit. With the light and power of this Spirit, these twelve men went on to preach His truth across the world. They became the instruments through which Christ founded His Church in the world. He founded the Church as the beginning of His Kingdom. Church, as His body, performs on earth His salvaging work. The Church teaches, sanctifies, heals, comforts, feeds the poor, liberates the prisoners, heals the ill, pacifies, alleviates and relieves human pain, prevails over the world and death. Just like Christ “had suffered these things to enter into His glory” (Luke 24, 26), so will the Church “must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts, 14, 22).

For this reason the persecuted Church prays for its persecutors, holds its peace when provoked, tolerates when slandered, teaches with its words, sanctifies through its sacraments and pours oil and wine into the wounds of humans; attends to their spiritual needs without neglecting the material ones. It offers the bread of life for the forgiveness of sins and the eternal life, but also provides the daily bread to those made poor and deprived by the unjust economic system of this deceiving century.

The Church of Sion performs this salvaging work of Christ on the sites of His appearance, indeed the land of His crucifixion and resurrection. These sites it guards as witness to His presence on earth. From these lands, especially the Horrendous Golgotha and the Hallowed Sepulcher wherein the Lord resurrected, we generously offer Patriarchal wishes and blessings to the entire flock in Israel, the Palestinian State, Jordan and Qatar, welcoming you, pious pilgrims surrounding the Holy Sepulcher and concelebrating with us this redeeming and brilliant night, as we supplicate for mercy, life, health, progress, wellbeing and salvation on your behalf, exclaiming the joyful salutation “Christ Has Risen!”

In the Holy City of Jerusalem EASTER 2015

Ardently Blesser in the Lord

THEOPHILOS III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

At 10:00 am on Wednesday, the 12^th/25^th of March 2015, Doxology was performed at the katholikon of the Church of the Resurrection on the anniversary of the 25^th of March 1821, Greek national day.

Doxology was performed as gratitude for the liberation of the Greek Nation from the bitter Turkish slavery, and as supplication for the atonement and repose of our Fathers, the National Martyrs who had fought and died for the freedom of Greece.

Patriarch Theophilos led the service with co-officiating Hagiotaphite Primates dressed in a pallium and a stole, and Hieromonks dressed in a stole. The Greek Consul-General to Jerusalem, Mr Georgios Zacharoudiakis, attended the service with associates of his, members of the Greek Parish of Jerusalem, fathers and nuns of the Patriarchate.

Doxology was followed by procession to the Patriarchate, where the Greek Consul-General addressed guests in Greek.

His Beatitude also spoke in Greek. In Arabic, His address may be reached here: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/ar/2015/03/25/11183

A reception followed at the Patriarchate, hosted by the Greek Consulate-General.

From the Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/BCyvCqjnvRw