On Sunday, February 20/March 5, 2023, the Sunday of Orthodoxy was celebrated by the Patriarchate at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On this Sunday, the First of the Fast of Holy and Great Lent, the whole Church commemorates and celebrates the restoration of the holy icons, their restoration to the Church under Empress Theodora and her son Michael after the persecution and destruction, they suffered under the impious iconoclast emperors Leo the Isauros and the husband of Saint Theodora Theophilos.

This restoration of the icons in the Church is considered a victory for Orthodoxy, that is, as a victory for the truth, because the icons depict the earthly presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. By decision of the empress Saint Theodora from the year 842 and henceforth, the icons were established again in the Church, not to be worshipped, as the iconoclasts claim, but to render worship to the Holy Trinity and honour to the Theotokos and the Saints through them.

In honour of the Holy icons of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the Saints, Great Vespers was celebrated on Saturday afternoon, after incense and the blessing of bread in the Catholicon of the Church of the Resurrection presided over by His Beatitude, our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos.

On the morning of the feast, the Divine Liturgy at the Catholicon of the Church of the Resurrection was officiated by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, with the co-celebration of their Eminences, Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias and the Archbishops, Theophanes of Gerassa, Aristarchos of Constantina, Theodosios of Sebasteia, Demetrios of Lydda, Makarios of Qatar, and Aristovoulos of Madaba, the Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nectarios, Archimandrite Dometian from the Church of Russia and Archimandrite Ioannis from the Church of Romania, Archdeacon Mark and other Deacons. The chanting was delivered by Hierodeacon Simeon and Mr Gotsopoulos with the Patriarchal School Students, as the service was attended by faithful Christians from Jerusalem and pilgrims and the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Evangelos Vlioras.

After the Divine Liturgy there was a litany three times around the Sacred Edicule and then around the shrines, followed by the reading of the Gospel narrative of the day before the Holy Sepulchre, and the reading of the Synodical of Orthodoxy, with the anathema of those denying the holy icons and all heretics, and the beatitudes of those who venerate them. These were followed by the return to the Patriarchate Headquarters.

There, His Beatitude addressed those present as follows:

“He who is invisible in His eternal and divine nature took flesh from thy pure body, O Virgin, in His great compassion, and became visible as a mortal man. Therefore, we depict His flesh in ikons which we venerate and honour with reverence and true faith” (Small Vespers, Theotokion).

Beloved brothers in Christ,

Reverend Christians and pilgrims,

Today appears to be a day of cheerfulness and joy. The feast of Orthodoxy, as our holy Church commemorates the restoration of the holy and sacred icons, made by the late emperors of Constantinople, Michael and his mother Theodora, on the Patriarchal Office of the holy confessor Methodius.

Today’s feast of the restoration of the Holy Icons, which we celebrated with thanksgiving at the Holy Church of the Resurrection, is not only about the triumph of Orthodoxy, but mainly and primarily about the confession of faith in the ineffable mystery, both of the Incarnation of God from the pure blood of the Virgin Mary, and the depiction of the faces of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

That is why Saint Anastasios of Sinai also says: “How can it be believed that [Christ] was taken up in the flesh from the Holy Virgin if He was not represented to us”?

St. John of Damascus, responding to the detractors, i.e. the critics of the worship of “the icon of our Saviour and Lady, invokes the words of the approved Father of the Church Basil the Great: “the honour of the icon over the original is passed on”. “There God” adds John the Damascene, “through his tender mercies he truly became a man for today’s salvation, not as in Abraham he came in the form of a man, not as in the prophets, but in essence, he made a true event that was not a man on the earth ‘and with the people he was acquainted ‘” (Baruch 3,37).

The restoration of the Holy icons in AD 842 from the reverend empress Theodora and the Patriarch Methodius the Confessor is of great importance for Christ’s Church, they preserved the intact and uninitiated the truth of our Orthodox faith.

In other words, this historical event of the restoration and veneration of the Holy icons is the one that sealed the victory of the Orthodox faith against the invisible or better said its now visible and variously named wars. For we are called to remain firm and unmoved in the Apostolic Tradition and the faith of our Holy Fathers, listening to the order of Saint Paul to his disciple Timothy: “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1 Tim. 6:12). Amen. Many happy returns and blessed the stage of the Holy Lent”.

From Secretariat-General

On the evening of Friday, February 18/March 3, 2023, in the Catholicon of the Church of the Resurrection and in the context of the Service of the Small Compline and the Canon of the Akathist of the Theotokos, the First Stasis of the Salutations to the Theotokos was read, presided over by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, with the participation in prayer of the Hagiotaphite Fathers, the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Evangelos Vlioras and pious Christians, to whom after the end of the Service His Beatitude addressed the following sermon:

“An Angel and the chiefest among them was sent from Heaven to cry: Rejoice! To the Mother of God. And beholding Thee, O Lord, taking bodily form, he stood in awe, and with his bodiless voice he cried aloud to her such things as these: Rejoice, thou through whom joy shall shine forth. Rejoice, thou through whom the curse shall be blotted out”.

Beloved Brethren in Christ,

Reverend Christians and pilgrims

Our holy Church established through its God-bearing Fathers, that every week of the Fast of the Holy and Great Lent is fortified through the Akahist Hymn to the most blessed Theotokos and Mother of God, the Ever-Virgin Mary.

And this is because the fasting of Holy Lent is the gate through which we enter, or rather, we return to the joy of the Lord, that is, the joy that shines on the Easter day, that of the glorious Resurrection of our God and Saviour Christ.

The response of the Virgin Mary to the message of the angel Gabriel: “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS”, (Luk. 1,30-31). “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luk. 1,38), broke down the barrier of the enmity that existed between God and humans, due to the disobedience of the first-born Adam and Eve. “For he [Christ] is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Eph. 2:14) Saint Paul preaches.

The one that heard the bodiless voice of the Angel, “Hail, gracious”, the Theotokos Mary, became the cause of the disappearance of sorrow between the Creator and creation. That is why the hymnographer Saint Andrew of Crete also calls the Virgin Mary “divine intercessor”: “Hail, chosen by God before births; rejoice, divine intercessor for people; rejoice, treasure of eternal life.” This divine intermediary is none other than the “heavenly ladder, i.e. the Theotokos Mary, through whom God came down to earth, but also the bridge that took those from earth to heaven”, i.e. the medium, through which Christ “reconciled in the body of his flesh through death” (Col. 1:21-22). This means that because of the Theotokos, the all-pervading philanthropy of God towards the human race was manifested. God the Word assumed our human flesh from it and deified it “in Himself”. As Saint Gregory Palamas says, the Blessed Virgin Mary is “the intercessor between God and the whole human race, she made God the Son of Man, and the humans were made sons of God”.

And Saint John of Damascus, praising the incarnation of the Word of God from the pure blood of the Virgin, says: “The whole world was amazed at thy divine glory for thou, O Virgin who hast not known wedlock, hast held in thy womb the God of all and hast given birth to an eternal Son, who rewards with salvation all who sing thy praises” (Katavasiae of the Theotokos, Ode 5).

Indeed, my beloved brothers, the divine glory of the Blessed Theotokos Mary causes the admiration of the entire world. The indescribable greatness of the Virgin Mary consists in the fact that in her womb she conceived without seed the Lord, indeed God over all”, as the wise Paul preaches saying: “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:6).

Our holy Church not only honours and blesses the Theotokos and Mother of God, but above all invokes her intercessions and prayers to her Son and God, our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is because the Mother of God is inextricably linked with the great mystery of the divine Providence of salvation, albeit of man. From the Theotokos came the Sun of Justice, the light of the world, Christ. And: “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) says the Lord.

This path of light, that is, the life and the walk of those who are of God”, as Saint Chrysostom preaches, we too, my beloved brothers, are called to follow during the present stage of the holy and Great Lent of the current time, during which, as the hymnographer exclaims: “The glory of the Fast has shone upon us, putting to flight the darkness of the demons. The solemn time of abstinence has come, bringing with it healing for the passions of our soul” (Thursday in Cheese week, Aposticha of Matins, Troparion 1). As Basil the Great says, “because we did not fast, we fell from Paradise; let us therefore, fast so that we may return to it”.

It becomes clear that abstinence and fasting is the safe way, the gateway to the gate of repentance. According to Saint John of the Ladder, repentance means an agreement with God for a new life. “Repentance is the covenant with God of a second life”. For even Saint Theodore the Studite instructs us to accept “the gift of fasting as a God-given time of repentance”.

Therefore, let us beseech the gracious Theotokos Mother of God, that by her fervent intercession, she directs our prayers to her Son and God, our Lord Jesus Christ. After the hymnographer, we say: “Let us praise the holy mount of God, Mary the immaculate, from whom the Sun of Justice rose to those in darkness, Christ the life of all.”

Happy and blessed season of Holy Lent. Amen”.

From Secretariat-General

https://www.facebook.com/JerusalemPatriarchate/videos/729005675543883

A historical event took place today, Friday March 3, in Jerusalem where the oil that will be used for the anointing of His Majesty King Charles III in the coronation ceremony on the 6th May 2023, was consecrated by His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch Theophilos III, and later by the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, The Most Reverend Hosam Naoum.

Below is the press release issued by Buckingham Palace.

All captions start with: This photograph can not be used after Wednesday 31st May, 2023, without prior permission from the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Buckingham Palace. Any questions relating to the use of the photographs should be first referred to Buckingham Palace before publication. 

MANDATORY CREDIT: Patriarchate of Jerusalem/Buckingham Palace.

Editorial use only. The photograph is provided to you strictly on condition that you will make no charge for the supply, release or publication of it and that these conditions and restrictions will apply (and that you will pass these on) to any organisation to whom you supply it. There shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photographs (including by way of example only) any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-news editorial use. The photographs must not be digitally enhanced, manipulated or modified in any manner or form.

All captions end with: Picture date: Friday March 3, 2023. PA Photo. The King will be anointed, blessed and consecrated with the oil by the Archbishop of Canterbury in a sacred ritual during his coronation on May 6. The anointing is the most sacred part of the coronation ceremony, and takes place before the investiture and crowning. The Archbishop anoints the sovereign on the hands, breast and head. See PA story ROYAL Coronation. Photo credit should read: Patriarchate of Jerusalem/Buckingham Palace/PA Wire.

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the fatal train accident in Tempi, Larissa Prefecture, through the following letters of our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III to the Primate of the Church of Greece His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Hieronymos and to the Prime Minister of Greece His Excellency Mr Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which are as follows in Greek:

Ἀριθμ. Πρωτ. 63

Μακαριώτατε Ἀρχιεπίσκοπε Ἀθηνῶν καί πάσης Ἑλλάδος καί Πρόεδρε τῆς Ἱερᾶς Συνόδου τῆς ἐν Ἑλλάδι Ἁγιωτάτης Ἐκκλησίας ἐν Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ, λίαν ἀγαπητέ ἀδελφέ καί συλλειτουργέ τῆς Ἡμῶν Μετριότητος Κύριε Ἱερώνυμε. Τήν Ὑμετέραν περισπούδαστον Ἡμῖν Μακαριότητα ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ περιπτυσσόμενοι, ἡδέως προσαγορεύομεν.

Διά τῶν Πατριαρχικῶν ἀδελφικῶν Ἡμῶν Γραμμάτων τούτων, μετ’ ἄλγους ψυχῆς ἐπικοινωνοῦμεν μετά τῆς Ὑμετέρας λίαν Περισπουδάστου Ἡμῖν Μακαριότητος, ἵνα ἐκφράσωμεν τήν βαθεῖαν θλῖψιν καί συμπαράστασιν Ἡμῶν διά τό ἐπισυμβάν εἰς τήν κοιλάδα τῶν Τεμπῶν ἀπροσδόκητον σιδηροδρομικόν  δυστύχημα, ἐν ᾧ ἐφονεύθησαν δεκάδες ἀνθρώπων κυρίως νεαρᾶς ἡλικίας.

Συμμετέχοντες εἰς τό ἐθνικόν πένθος καί συλλυπούμενοι τῇ Ὑμετέρᾳ Μακαριότητι καί τοῖς πενθοῦσι συγγενέσι τῶν θυμάτων, προσευχόμεθα ἀπό τοῦ Φρικτοῦ Γολγοθᾶ ὑπέρ ἀναπαύσεως τῶν φονευθέντων ἐν χώρᾳ ζώντων μετά δικαίων, ἐξ ὕψους παρηγορίας τῶν πενθούντων συγγενῶν αὐτῶν καί ὑπέρ ταχείας ἰάσεως τῶν τραυματισθέντων. Προσέτι δέ ὑψώνομεν χεῖρα ἱκέτιδα τῷ Δεσπότῃ τῶν ὅλων Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν, παρακαλοῦντες Αὐτόν, ὅπως φυλάσσῃ τό Γένος ἡμῶν καί τήν ἀνθρωπότητα ἅπασαν ἀπό «θανάτου, πένθους καί λιμοῦ» (πρβλ. Ἀποκ. 18,8).

Ἐφ’ οἷς, ἀποδιδόντες Αὐτῇ τόν ἐν Κυρίῳ ἀσπασμόν ἀπό τοῦ Παναγίου καί Ζωοδόχου Τάφου τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Χριστοῦ,  διατελοῦμεν.

Ἐν  τῇ Ἁγία Πόλει Ἱερουσαλήμ  ͵βκγʹ  Φεβρουαρίου  ιζ΄.

Τῆς Ὑμετέρας Πεφιλημένης Μακαριότητος

Ἀγαπητός ἐν Χριστῷ ἀδελφός

 ΘΕΟΦΙΛΟΣ Γ΄

Πατριάρχης Ἱεροσολύμων

Ἀριθμ. Πρωτ. 61

Ἐξοχώτατε,

Μετ’ ἄλγους ψυχῆς ἐπικοινωνοῦμεν μετά τῆς Ὑμετέρας λίαν Τετιμημένης Ἡμῖν Ἐξοχότητος, ἵνα ἐκφράσωμεν τήν βαθεῖαν θλῖψιν καί συμπαράστασιν Ἡμῶν διά τό ἐπισυμβάν εἰς τήν κοιλάδα τῶν Τεμπῶν ἀπροσδόκητον σιδηροδρομικόν  δυστύχημα, ἐν ᾧ ἐφονεύθησαν δεκάδες ἀνθρώπων κυρίως νεαρᾶς ἡλικίας.

Συμμετέχοντες εἰς τό ἐθνικόν πένθος καί συλλυπούμενοι τῇ Ὑμετέρᾳ Ἐξοχότητι καί τοῖς πενθοῦσι συγγενέσι τῶν θυμάτων, προσευχόμεθα ἀπό τοῦ Φρικτοῦ Γολγοθᾶ ὑπέρ ἀναπαύσεως τῶν φονευθέντων ἐν χώρᾳ ζώντων μετά δικαίων, ἐξ ὕψους παρηγορίας τῶν πενθούντων συγγενῶν αὐτῶν καί ὑπέρ ταχείας ἰάσεως τῶν τραυματισθέντων. Προσέτι δέ ὑψώνομεν χεῖρα ἱκέτιδα τῷ Δεσπότῃ τῶν ὅλων Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν, παρακαλοῦντες Αὐτόν, ὅπως φυλάσσῃ τό Γένος ἡμῶν καί τήν ἀνθρωπότητα ἅπασαν ἀπό «θανάτου, πένθους καί λιμοῦ» (πρβλ. Ἀποκ. 18,8).

Ἐπί δέ τούτοις, ἐπιδαψιλεύοντες τῇ Ὑμετέρᾳ Ἐξοχότητι τάς Πατριαρχικάς Ἡμῶν εὐχάς καί εὐλογίας ἀπό τοῦ Παναγίου καί Ζωοδόχου Τάφου, διατελοῦμεν.

Ἐν τῇ Ἁγίᾳ Πόλει Ἱερουσαλήμ  ͵βκγ΄  Φεβρουαρίου  ιζ΄.

Τῆς Ὑμετέρας Τετιμημένης Ἐξοχότητος

Διάπυρος πρός Κύριον Εὐχέτης,

 ΘΕΟΦΙΛΟΣ Γ΄

Πατριάρχης Ἱεροσολύμων

 On Saturday morning, February 5/18, 2023 the Divine Liturgy at the Horrendous Golgotha, which was officiated by His Eminence Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias, was followed by the fortieth-day memorial service for the repose of the soul of the blessed Patriarch of Jerusalem Eirinaios.

The Service was led by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, along with High Priests and Hieromonks of the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood, monks, nuns and members of the Church of Jerusalem, who prayed for the repose of his soul in the land of the living.

After the Service there was a reception at the Patriarchate Hall.

From Secretariat-General

On Friday, February 4/17, 2023, His Excellency Mr Sergey Cheremin, Minister of the Moscow City Government and Head of the Moscow City foreign economic and international relations Department, accompanied by the Ambassador of Russia in Tel Aviv, Mr Viktorov, under the Head of the Russian Mission to Jerusalem (MISSIA) Archimandrite Alexander and under other diplomatic and ecclesiastical agents, visited His Beatitude, our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos.

In the context of this meeting, His Beatitude repeated His prayer for the unity and communion in Christ of the brotherly Orthodox Churches through dialogue.

The Ambassador of Russia, Mr Viktorov, informed His Beatitude about the meeting, which he held after the Israeli politician, and former member of the Government, Mr Tzachi Hanegbi, and the discussion with him about His Beatitude’s work to support the Christian Community and safeguarding the property of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and all Christians in the Holy Land.

From Secretariat-General

On Thursday, 3/16 February 2023, the feast of Saint Simeon the God-receiver was celebrated at the Holy Monastery dedicated to him, called Katamon, in west Jerusalem near the Holy Monastery of the Cross and the Jewish Knesset on Katamon hill.

The feast of the Meeting of the Lord was celebrated also in this Monastery, to especially honour Saint Simeon the God-receiver who was the main person serving the Lord in this event, and said when he received the Lord in his arms, “now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke: 2:29-32).

In honour of Saint Simeon, the Divine Liturgy was officiated by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos with the co-celebration of their Eminences, Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias, the Archbishops, Aristarchos of Constantina, Methodios of Tabor and Aristovoulos of Madaba, the Archimandrites, Mattheos, Ieronymos, Priests and Hieromonks from various Orthodox countries, among whom, the Head of the Russian MISSIA in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Alexander, Archdeacon Mark and the Hierodeacons, Eulogios, Simeon and Dositheos. The chanting was delivered by Mr Gotsopoulos and the Patriarchal school students, as the service was attended by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Evangelos Vlioras, the Consul Mrs Zaharioudaki, members of the Consulate, the Ambassador of Georgia to Tel Aviv Mr Lasha Zhavania and many faithful Christians from Greece, Russia, Romania and Palestine.  

His Beatitude delivered the following sermon in Greek, Arabic and Russian:

“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon… Then took he him [Christ] up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke: 2:25-32).

Beloved Brethren in Christ,

Reverend Christians and pilgrims

The grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us all in this holy place, where the tomb of Saint Simeon the God-receiver is preserved, to celebrate his holy commemoration and synaxis along with that of Saint Anne the Prophetess.

The Evangelist Luke precisely narrates the entrance of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple of Solomon, forty days after His Nativity, according to the custom of the Law of Moses.

The presentation of Jesus in the Temple by His mother, the Virgin Mary and Joseph the Betrothed, as well as the meeting, namely the welcoming by the righteous Simeon and Anne the Prophetess are the content of today’s feast.  The righteous Simeon, being a Priest under the Law of Moses, became a true witness of the mystery of the Divine Providence, namely of the Incarnation of God the Word, which refers to the salvation of man. “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation” (Luke 2:30-31) the Elder Simeon exclaims.

Interpreting these words of Simeon, Saint Basil the Great says: “He calls salvation the Christs of God in the Scriptures”; while Athanasius the Great says, “by salvation he means His presence in the flesh”. “He calls salvation the incarnation of the Only-begotten Son and Word of God”, Saint Theophylaktos remarks.

God had prepared this “salvation of God” which the Elder Simeon’s eyes beheld, since the foundation of the world for the whole human race. “He prepared [the salvation of] Christ since the foundation of the world, and revealed it in the end of times”, Saint Cyril of Alexandria says.

God, my dear ones, is the God of love, light and peace, as witnessed by the holy Prophets, Apostles and Evangelists and in general by the Holy Scriptures. “God is love” (John 4:8). “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33), Saint Paul preaches. And Saint Cosmas, Bishop of Maiouma composes a hymn referring to Prophet Isaiah: “When Isaiah beheld God symbolically on an exalted throne attended by Angels of glory, he cried: o wretched man that I am! For I have seen beforehand the incarnate God, the Lord of peace and unwaning light” (Katavasia, Ode 5).

In other words, the prophet Isaiah was deemed worthy to see the exalted throne of God, which was a symbol of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, who became a living throne of God by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, as the God-man Lord and our God and Saviour received flesh from her pure flesh. Therefore, the hymnographer adds the words: “the incarnate God” is the “Lord of unwaning light and peace”.

Saint Simeon the God-receiver became a communicant of this unwaning light and peace, not only through his bodily eyes but also through the eyes of his soul and pure heart. “Then took he [Simeon] him up in his arms, and blessed God” (Luke 2:28), the Evangelist Luke says. He blessed, namely he glorified God the Elder Simeon because his eyes saw the salvation of God (cf. Luke 2:30). “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:23), the Lord says.

And the salvation of God is no other than His spiritual light, which will reveal to the nations the true God and the true path of salvation, namely of Christ, Who is the revealed light, “a light to lighten the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32). The established Father of the Church, Saint Cyril of Alexandria says, “Christ became the light to those who were led astray in the darkness and had been fallen by devil’s hand”.

Our Holy Church, being the body of Christ, and Christ is its head (cf. Col. 1:18), is the only source of the true light, which sheds light upon every man in this world (cf. John 1:9). Therefore, the hymnographer says, “Thou foundation of them that hope in Thee, O Lord, make steadfast the Church, which Thou hast purchased with Thy precious blood” (Katavasia, Ode 3). Saint Paul is also referring to this when he says, “the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). And that “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it” (Eph. 5:25-26).

Our Lord Jesus Christ, my dear brethren, calls all those “who believe in Him” through the righteous and God-receiver Simeon, to remain steadfast and firm in our faith in our life in Christ because the only true way of light and salvation lies in true reverence.

And the hymnographer of the Church urges us by saying: “Let us hasten to the Theotokos, we who wish to see her Son brought unto Simeon. When the incorporeal powers looked on Him out of Heaven, they were astonished, saying: Now do we see strange and wondrous things, incomprehensible and inexpressible. He that made Adam is carried as a babe; the Uncontainable is held in the arms of the Elder; he that abideth uncircumscribed in the bosom of His Father is willingly circumscribed in the flesh, but not in His Godhead, even the only Friend of man” (Matins, Oikos). Amen! Many happy returns and blessed the forthcoming Great lent period!”

The Patriarchal entourage and the congregation were offered a reception by the Hegoumen and renovator of the Monastery Archimandrite Theodoritos.

From Secretariat-General

On the evening of Thursday, January 27/February 9, 2023, an event was organized in the hall of ceremonies of the Holy Ζion Seminar School of the Patriarchate in honour of the Greek Language Day which has been established in recent years.

This event was organized with the cooperation of the Greek Consulate General in Jerusalem and the Dragoman of the Patriarchate and School Managing Director, Archimandrite Mattheos. The event was presented by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem, Mr Evangelos Vlioras, with the following preface:

“They gave me Greek as my language, the poor house on the sandy beaches of Homer. My only concern is my language on the sandy beaches of Homer….”

Your Excellency,

Dear Fathers,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Greek language holds the precious and rare privilege of belonging to only 5 languages, out of the 6,500 official languages spoken today, which demonstrate an uninterrupted presence of 4,000 years of oral and written existence in the history of the human race. Notable is the fact that up to 5 centuries ago the Greek language was also an international language of communication.

But language is not just a tool for communication and transmission of information. It is a carrier of culture and historical memory. Within the linguistic shapes and forms that sometimes become oral narration, sometimes written testimony, poetry, essay or song, are hidden the anxieties, the desires, the joys, the values and the history of a people who, according to our great poet Odysseus Elytis, has the privilege to call the sky “heaven” and the sea “sea”, as Homer and Plato called it two and a half thousand years ago.

 So we speak a language that only a few million people speak for two and a half thousand years without interruption and with minimal changes. This fact captures the peculiar dimension of our country, which, according to Elytis, is “small in terms of space and vast in terms of time” and confirms the saying of the linguist Yiannis Psycharis, that “language and homeland are the same”.At the same time, the Greek language, as the language of the Gospels, makes the Greek language, and by extension Hellenism, a universal and timeless point of reference. In recent years, our national poet Dionysios Solomos highlighted the values of Hellenism as a universal cause, having nothing else in mind “beyond freedom and language”.This universal dimension of the Greek spirit, as spread through the Greek language, is reminded and honoured by the establishment of the Greek State on February 9, the day of commemoration of Dionysios Solomos, as the International Day of the Greek Language.

Highlighting, promoting, and strengthening the learning and dissemination of the Greek language abroad are top priorities for the Greek State, not only because the language is a connecting link between the motherland and the diaspora, but also because the language, like Hellenism, is a living, dynamic and constantly evolving element. It constantly renews itself, adapts to changing conditions and assimilates new influences. Thus, the Greek language is the thread that holds us and brings us from the world of myth to the world of artificial intelligence and the internet.

As stated by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Katsaniotis, in his message for the International Day of the Greek Language: “From the ‘golden Mycenae’ and Linear B”, the speech of Homer and the great Tragedians, until today, in the age of information, digital technology and social media, the Greek language is alive and active, producing history, culture and science”.

We can only grasp the thread and continue the course with a deep awareness of the responsibility imposed on us by our centuries-old linguistic tradition and history.

On this occasion, I would like to express special thanks to Professor Mr Nikos Michaelidis for the keynote speech of the event, H.H.B. the Patriarch of Jerusalem for His blessing for the event to be held at the Patriarchal school of Holy Zion, and of course the Managing Director of the School, Fr Mattheos, the children and the teachers and all those who worked for today’s event.

Finally, I would like to thank all of you for your presence at the event tonight.”

The main speaker on the subject of the Greek language was the anthropologist professor Mr Nikolaos Michaelidis of the University of Missouri, USA, with his lecture to be posted shortly.

Among the guests were; the representative of H.H.B. the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos Geronda Secretary-General, His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, the French Consul in Jerusalem Mr René Troccaz and the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus in Ramallah Mr Assos, members of the Greek Consulate and the Greek Parish of Jerusalem and the Arab-speaking flock, teachers and students.

From Secretariat–General

On Sunday, January 23rd/February 5th, 2023, Fr Constantinos Karmas, the elder Dean Priest of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, slept in the Lord.

The departed to the Lord Fr Constantinos Karmas was born in 1927 in the commune of Beit Jala. He joined the ranks of the clergy of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, being ordained as a deacon and priest in 1957 in the Holy Temple of the Meeting of the Lord in Amman and then received the office of Steward under the blessed Archbishop Aristovoulos of Kyriakoupolis.

After his widowhood, he received the office of Archimandrite by His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos in the year 2019.

After zeal and devotion, he served the Patriarchate of Jerusalem during the blessed Patriarchs of Jerusalem Benedictus, Diodorus, Irinaios and the current Patriarch Theophilos.

He was distinguished for his contribution to the flock of the Patriarchate in Jordan in a variety of ministries, cultivating the liturgical life, preaching, charity, maintaining a rich Library and developing constructive writing activity for the people. He also stood out for his patriotic attitude, supporting the rights of his beloved homeland Jordan, founded cultural and educational centers and represented the Patriarchate in many local and international Conferences. He enjoyed appreciation from the Jordanian Authorities and respect from the Jordanian people.

He was honored with the insignia of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre by the Blessed Patriarchs Benedictus and Diodorus and by the current Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos and by the President of the Palestinian State, Mr Mahmoud Abbas Abou-Mazen, with the awarding of the Star of Jerusalem for the year 2022.

On the morning of Monday, January 24/February 6, 2023, His Beatitude, our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos held a Trisayon at the monastic Church of Saints Constantine and Helen of the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood for the repose of his soul in the land of the living.

His funeral service was held in Amman in the Holy Church of the Meeting of the Lord, presided over by the Most Reverend Archbishop Christophoros of Kyriakoupolis, with the participation of all the clergy of the Patriarchate in Jordan and a large number of people honoring his offering to the flock and the Jordanian people.

In his funeral procession, His Beatitude sent the following condolence address. See link:

https://jerusalem-patriarchate.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/%CE%A3%CE%A5%CE%9B%CE%9B%CE%A5%CE%A0%CE%97%CE%A4%CE%97%CE%A1%CE%99%CE%9F-%CE%9C%CE%97%CE%9D%CE%A5%CE%9C%CE%91.pdf

From Secretariat-General

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III attended this morning, Monday January 30, the opening session for the annual International Religious Freedom Summit (IRF) held in Washington DC, United States. 

 After greeting the attendance with the peace of Jerusalem, His Beatitude took the opportunity to relay the current circumstances of Christians of the Holy Land and Jerusalem to the audience. Pointing out that the “peaceful mosaic that we have known for hundreds of years is under threat” explaining that for years now “the Christian community has faced hate crimes and acts of vandalism” that are no longer targeting properties alone but carrying subtle messages with every attack, that being “that Christians are not welcome in Jerusalem”. In addition, Patriarch Theophilos III underlined that those attacks are intensifying and targeting the Christian pilgrim route at Jaffa Gate, New Gate, as well as the Mountain of Olives, which will impact the Garden of Gethsemane. 

 Being a main speaker at this summit, representing his fellow Church leaders as well as the faithful communities of the Holy Land, His Beatitude utilized the joint statement published yesterday by the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem regarding the increasing cycle of violence in the Holy Land, “we have been constantly warning of an exploding, senseless cycle of violence that will only cause hurt and suffering to everyone. Such a state of affairs will almost certainly bring further atrocities and anguish, driving us away from the much sought-after peace and stability that we all seek.” 

 Towards the end of his speech, His Beatitude called on Members of the Congress and leaders of American civil society to support the Christian existence in the Holy Land to thrive alongside other communities, highlighting that although “we are small in number but large in mission” and to ensure that the upcoming generations would be able to visit the Holy City and walk in the footsteps of the Prophets and Christ, and be welcomed not only by stones “but by a vibrant Christian presence.” 

 The IRF summit of 2023 is going to be held for three days in Washington D.C., starting January 31st and ending on February 1st. 

Article by: Heba Hrimat