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

On the morning of Wednesday, May 4/17, 2023, the members of the Ecumenical Council of Hungary from various Doctrines visited His Beatitude.

In this meeting, the Delegation said to His Beatitude, “It is an honour for us to be in the Holy City and visit You and to know about Your Flock and activity”.

His Beatitude replied: “We greet and welcome you to Our Rum Orthodox Church, which Our Lord Jesus Christ established on earth, which was watered by His redemptive blood”.

His Beatitude then said that Jews and Christians are linked by the Old and New Testament common tradition, and Christians and Muslims are linked by the treaty of the late Patriarch Sophronios with Caliph Omar Khattab in AD 638.

The recognition of the Patriarch of Jerusalem by the State of Jordan, the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority is based on this tradition.

On this visit, gifts appropriate to the occasion were presented.

From Secretariat-General

On Tuesday the 3rd / 16th of May 2023 H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos accepted:

The Priest and the representatives of the county of Touran, in order to invite Him for the Divine Liturgy and a Pastoral visit on May 15/28, 2023, Sunday of the Holy Fathers.

Afterward, His Beatitude received the priest of the Kufr-Smea Community of the Acre-Ptolemais area, Father Spyridon, with, Commissioner Mr Youssef Nasser and his sons, who built the new Church of this town, and discussed with them issues of their Community.

From Secretariat-General

At midday on Monday, May 2/15, 2023, His Eminence the Metropolitan Daniel of Caesariani, visited the Patriarchate together with a group of clergy from his diocese.

In the context of this visit, His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos bestowed on His Eminence the Metropolitan of Caesariani the honorary distinction of the Superior Grand Commander of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, in recognition of his devoted ministry to the Church as a Hierarch and a Priest, at the Chief-secretariat of the Church of Greece, with the blessed Archbishop of Athens. Christodoulos, the charity and other diverse ministries of the Church of Greece, and his close cooperation and support for the Holy Places and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Moved, His Eminence the Metropolitan of Caesariani thanked His Beatitude and praised Him for the wise governing of the Church of Jerusalem for the benefit of the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood, the Christians of the Holy Land, and the unity in Christ of the Orthodox Churches.

From Secretariat-General

Sunday, May 1/14, 2023, was celebrated by the Patriarchate as the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman at the Samaria Well of Jacob in Nablus.

On this Sunday, the Church celebrates the fact that the Evangelist John (John 4, 5-29) reports, that a woman from the county of Sychar in Samaria came to Jacob’s Well to draw water and there she had a conversation with the Lord, in which the Lord revealed to her the things of her life and that “God is a Spirit and those who worship Him should worship Him in spirit” and that “He who speaks to her is the Messiah”.

The Samaritan woman named Foteini believed in Christ and martyred for Him with her entire family of daughters, sons, and brothers.

Next to the Well, on the excavated Byzantine Church, the Hegumen, Archimandrite, Ioustinos, erected a magnificent Church in honour of Saint Foteini.

In this Church, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, along with their Eminences the Archbishops, Damascene of Yaffo, Aristarchos of Constantine and Metropolitan Joachim of Helenoupolis, the Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nectarios and Archimandrite Meletios, Archdeacon Mark and Hierodeacon Dositheos. The chanting was delivered by the Hegoumen of Rafidia Archimandrite Leontios on the right in Greek and members of the Community of Rafidia on the left in Arabic, with the participation of many local faithful and pilgrims.

His Beatitude spoke to them through His following address:

“Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water” (John 4,10 ).

Beloved brethren in Christ,

Reverend Christians and pilgrims

The grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us all in this Eucharistic Paschal gathering to celebrate in joy and gladness the commemoration of the Samaritan Woman who spoke with Jesus by the Patriarch Jacob’s well, in this holy place.

The Lord’s disciples became eyewitnesses, as Peter says in the book of Acts: “And we are witnesses of all the things which Jesus of Nazareth did, Whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” (cf. Acts 10,38-39).

Indeed, Christ was not restricted in benefiting the people in a specific city, nor did He wait for the benefited ones by Him to come to Him, instead, He went to them, marching on foot all of Palestine, as in the occasion with the Samaritan Woman, to whom the Lord revealed Himself.

Let us hear what Saint Cyril of Alexandria says on this: “Christ does not reveal Himself solely to uneducated and ignorant souls (like the Samaritan Woman), but to the souls who “are shining and visible”, the ones who have prepared themselves to learn something and they have born faith in them, and “make haste to gain the perfect knowledge”, that is, they are in a hurry to learn the perfect mysteries”.

To Christ’s words “thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water”, the Samaritan Woman replies, “From whence then hast thou that living water?” (John 4,11). Interpreting these words, Saint Cyril of Alexandria says: “The Samaritan Woman with the words ‘living water’ means her own interpretation of water; the one that gushes forth from the spring, the natural water”.

The Samaritan Woman’s question is the same as that of many people with feeble faith. And this is because they don’t pay heed to the Lord’s words, which are words of eternal life (cf. John 6,68), as Christ Himself teaches by saying: “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6,63).

Christ, my dear brethren, is the unending source of life and of divine grace. This is what He told the Samaritan Woman, after all: “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4,14). Christ is the “well-spring of the principle of life”, as the hymnographer says, “Come and see the Knower of things hidden, God Who is come in the flesh to save man” (Matins, Glory of praises), hearkening to the Samaritan Woman’s voice, who received the wondrous changes in herself of our Lord Jesus’ grace.

“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom” (Psalm 51, 6), the prophet David chants. These very hidden and inward parts of His truth did Christ reveal to the Samaritan Woman by saying, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4,24).

Interpreting these words, Saint Cyril of Alexandria says: “Righteously God accepts the spiritual pilgrim, who does not bear the image of reverence in the Jewish manner of pretension, but shines in an evangelical manner through the accomplishments of virtue and applies the true worship through the correctness of the divine doctrines”.

In other words, the true pilgrim, namely the Christian, is the one who lives according to the teaching of the Gospel of Christ. It is not enough to worship God only in our minds, theoretically, but we should do so actively, through our participation in the mystical life of the Church, which is the body of Christ, as Saint Paul advises: “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (1 Cor. 12,27). “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (John 6,56), the Lord says. For this, the purity of our life and the correctness of the doctrines, namely of our precise Orthodox faith, constitute the true worship of God. “Spiritual worship is”, according to Zigavinos, “the humility; for the Bible says, the sacrifice of God is a broken spirit”.

“A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51, 17), the psalmist proclaims. Indeed, the Son and Word of God did not avoid to show to the sinner Samaritan Woman, what is the wealth of the glory of “the mystery which hath been hidden from ages and from generations” (Col. 1, 26), the woman that the Holy Church of Christ honours today in her hometown on the one hand; and projects her as an example of humility and of a broken heart, on the other.

As for us, let us say along with the hymnographer: “Accepting Thine divine law O Saviour, man puts out the burning coals of fallacies. Therefore, unto the ages, he will not thirst, nor will he hunger of Thee Master, heavenly King; for this we glorify Thine might Christ our God, asking that Thou may send down richly to Thine servants the remission of sins”. Amen. Christ is risen!”

After the Divine Liturgy, there was a Procession around the Church, while at noon the Hegumen hosted a meal.

From Secretariat-General

On the morning of Thursday, April 5/11, 2023, His Beatitude received Mr Trond Buckevitz from Norway, who has been working for years in the peace dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, and his successor, Mrs Ingrid Rosendoof Joys, who worked in the organization “The council for religion and life communities”.

Then He received His EminenceMetropolitan Chrysostomos of Patra, leading a group of 50 pilgrims

and the nuns of the Holy Monastery of the Annunciation of Hormylia, Halkidiki, under their Abbess, nun Nicodimi,

and finally His Eminence Metropolitan Antonios and Fr Nikolaos Balasov of the Moscow Patriarchate.

At last, His Beatitude received Mrs Madeea Axinciuc, Director of Theology and Philosophy of the University of Bucharest.

From Secretariat-General

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem was honored to receive His Excellency Nikos Christodoulides, President of Cyprus, this afternoon at the Patriarch’s Headquarters in the Old City of Jerusalem today. His Excellency was hosted by His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, as well as formally accompanied to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. His Beatitude also decorated the President with the Megalostavros which is the Great Cross of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre.

Patriach Theophilos and H.E. Christodoulides engaged in a constructive discussion on various issues of mutual concern, with emphasis on the challenges facing Christians in the Holy Land.

In the course of their meeting, Patriarch Theophilos underscored the grave challenges confronting Christians in the Holy Land, especially those stemming from political instability, hate crimes and the persistent attempts by Israeli radical groups to illegitimately expropriate Christian cultural heritage and seize control of church properties as well as vandalize holy sites. The Patriarch emphasized the significance of upholding the “Status Quo” agreements, under the Custodianship of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, over Muslim and Christian Holy Sites.

H.E. Christodoulides provided an update on the political developments in Cyprus and the European Union as a whole. Both parties expressed their shared commitment to expanding cooperation in order to safeguard Christian heritage and presence in the Holy Land.

The encounter between the Patriarch and the Cyprian President represented a significant step forward in addressing the challenges that Christians face in the Holy Land especially in Jerusalem. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of Cyprus and other countries in protecting the “Status Quo” agreements and ensuring the welfare and safety of Christians in the region.

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem is steadfastly dedicated to promoting cooperation with different states, and remains committed to protecting and preserving Christian cultural heritage in the Holy Land.

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem is delighted to announce that His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III participated -as a guest- today at the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Patriarch Theophilos was the only Orthodox head of church at the ceremony. The oil used in the coronation ceremony was consecrated by His Beatitude and then by His Grace the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum at the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, further cementing the historic ties between the Coronation, the Bible, and the Holy Land.

The anointing oil utilized to anoint the King and Queen is derived from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, specifically two groves at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene, which also houses the burial place of the King’s grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, as well as from the Monastery of the Ascension.

For centuries, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this hallowed city of Jerusalem, from ancient kings to the present day.

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem is honoured to have played a pivotal role in this historic moment, which marks the first coronation of a British monarch in the 21st century. The ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey in London, which has hosted coronations for over 900 years, since the coronation of William the Conqueror on 25 December 1066.

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III expressed “we are deeply honoured to have contributed to this historic event and to have had the privilege of contributing to the anointing of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The use of oil from Jerusalem is a powerful symbol of the historic ties between Britain and the Holy Land, and we hope that this ceremony will serve to strengthen those ties for generations to come.”

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem extends its warmest wishes to King Charles III and Queen Camilla for a long and prosperous reign. We offer our prayers and blessings to both of them on this momentous day.

Sunday, the 17th / 30th of April 2023, was celebrated by the Patriarchate as the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women and Joseph of Arimathea in accordance with the Gospel narratives and the book of Pentecost on the 3rd Sunday of the Resurrection.

On this feast, the Church commemorates Joseph of Arimathea, the present day Ramle, who asked for and received frthe immaculate Body of the Lord from Pilatewrapped it in a shroud, and buried it in an empty Tomb that was close to the place of His Crucifixion. (John 19, 38-42). It also commemorates the Myrrh-bearing women, who “after the Sabbath bought perfumes, so that the Body of Jesus would be anointed, and coming to the monument they saw the stone being measured and a white angel sitting on the monument and saying “he is not here…, see the place where they placed him”, (Mark 16,6). These glad tidings were announced by the myrrh bearers to the apostles and by the apostles to the whole world.

This event was celebrated in Ramle, Ancient Arimathea, Joseph’s hometown, with the welcoming reception of H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos by the Scouts, Priests and Commissioners of the Community of Ramle and through the Divine Liturgy. Co-celebrants to His Beatitude were their Eminences, the Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias, the Archbishops Damascene of Joppa and Aristarchos of Constantina, the Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nectarios, Archimandrite Hieronymos, Arabic-speaking Priests, Archdeacon Markand Hierodeacon Dositheos. The chanting was delivered by the choir of the Ramle at the attendance of all the Orthodox Community of the City, in the presence of the representativie of the Greek Embassy in Tel-Aviv Mr Kleovoulos Tsourkas and the military attaché Squadron Leader Mr Georgios Petros.

His Beatitude delivered the following sermon to this congregation:

“O Thou Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, when Joseph with Nicodemus took Thee down from the Tree and beheld Thee dead, naked, and unburied, he struck up a compassionate dirge, and with mourning he said: Woe is me, O sweetest Jesus! When but a short while ago the sun beheld Thee hanging upon the Cross, it shrouded itself in darkness, and the earth quaked with fear, and the veil of the Temple was rent asunder. And behold, now I see Thee willingly submitting unto death for my sake. How shall I bury Thee, O my God? Or how shall I wrap Thee with winding sheets? With what hands shall I touch Thine undefiled Body? Or what dirges shall I sing at Thy departure, O Compassionate One? I magnify Thy Passion; I praise Thy Burial and Resurrection, and I cry out: O Lord glory to Thee” (Pentecostarion, Saturday of the Myrrh-bearing Women, Entreaty, Glory).

Beloved brethren in Christ,

Reverend Christians and pilgrims

Τhe immanent light of the resurrection of our Saviour Christ has gathered us all in this holy gathering of the mystical blessing in the biblical hometown of Christ’s hidden disciples, Nicodemus, who became a Dissenter, Joseph of Arimathea and the myrrh-bearing Women, who were the first ones to witness the resurrection, so that we may celebrate in Doxology the commemoration of these Saints who witnessed the Passion and the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the hymnographer very clearly expresses by saying: “Let the twelve disciples rejoice with us, together with the myrrh-bearing women and Joseph, and the other men and women and disciples of Christ” (Matins, Ode 3, Canon of the myrrh-bearers, Troparion 9).

It is noteworthy that the Most Holy Mother of God is the first one who saw her Son risen from the dead according to Saint Gregory Palamas: “First among the people, as it was befitting and righteous, the Theotokos received the good news of the Lord’s resurrection by the Lord Himself, and she was the first one to see Him risen and rejoice in His divine voice”.

To Christ’s question to His disciples, “But whom say ye that I am?” “Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ” (Mark 8, 29). And to our question, Who, or rather, what is Christ? Saint John the Evangelist replies that Christ is “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1,9).

This very light, my dear brethren, is the Resurrection of Christ, according to His own testimony, “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11,25), “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).

According to Saint Gregory Palamas, “Christ’s resurrection is the renewal of the human nature and the gaining of a new life and the return to eternal life of the condemned to death due to sin first Adam, who through death returned once more to the earth from which he was created”.

Our Holy Church specially honours Christ’s hidden disciples, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, the myrrh-bearing women as well as the Apostle Thomas, because they became “eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word” (Luke 1,2). Joseph is the one who came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus (cf. Mark 15,43), and along with Nicodemus took Him down from the Cross and buried Him. While the myrrh-bearing Women “bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun” (Mark 16,1-2), and they announced to the disciples that they had seen the Lord.

As for Thomas, he touched the pierced by the spear side of Christ and confirmed that he had seen “the side whence issued the blood, the water, the baptism, and see the wound through which man, the great wound, was healed, and except I see that He is not a spirit, but flesh and bones” (Tuesday of the 2^nd week, Matins, Aposticha of Praises, Glory), as Saint John of Damascus says.

Indeed, man is the “great wound” which stemmed from his free will, “fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Eph. 2,3), as Saint Paul says. And according to Saint John the Theologian, “the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever” (1 John 2,17). Joseph of Arimathea and Joseph and the myrrh-bearing Women “gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God” (2 Cor. 8, 5).

Christ is the new Pascha (the new Paschal lamb), the one who sacrificed His life for our salvation, the lamb of God Who redeems with His blood the sin of the world, according to the hymnographer.

This new Pascha, my dear brethren, is the God-man resurrected body of Christ, namely our Holy Church, which evangelizes the One who “willingly suffered, and was buried for three days and then rose from the tomb”, the resurrection of Christ, through the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, where we taste the “sacrificed lamb” the flesh and body of Christ. “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life” (John 6,54), the Lord says.

To this cause all of us who confess our Saviour’s resurrection are called, the ones who pay heed to the words of Saint Gregory Palamas: “If you are Joseph of Arimathea, ask for the crucified body of Christ; if you are Nicodemus, the pious disciple of the night, bury Him bathed in spices. If you are Mary, or the other Mary, of Salome, or Ioanna, let the tears flow from your eyes at dawn…and if you are Thomas, absent from the Room where the disciples were gathered when Jesus appeared to them, when you see, do not lose faith; and if you don’t believe, believe in those who talk about this; and if you don’t believe in them either, become a believer when you see the marks of the nails”.

Let us entreat the eye-witnesses and ministers of the passion on the cross and the resurrection of the Son of God and Son of the Ever-Virgin Theotokos, – through Whom “Hades was cast down and death was slain. Having been put to death, we were raised up and were deemed worthy of life; We received Paradise, the ancient bliss” (Sunday of the myrrh-bearers, Matins, Second Sessional Hymns, Theotokion), that they may intercede with the true God to save our souls. Amen. Christ is Risen!”

A reception followed in the reception hall, where the energetic Hegoumen Archimandrite Niphon addressed His Beatitude, thanking Him for the moral and material support at the renovating work in the Holy Church and the Monastery and for the spiritual uplifting of the Community.

 Finally, a meal was offered at noon, where His Beatitude spoke again through His following address:

“For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain” (1 Cor. 15, 16-17), the apostle Paul preaches.

Your Excellencies representatives of the Greek Embassy in Tel-Aviv,

Holy Fathers and Brothers,

Reverend Hegoumen Archimandrite Niphon,

Dear President of the Ramle Community,

Most Holy Brethren

Today’s commemoration of the hidden disciples of Christ Joseph the Righteous from Arimathea, i.e. of your birthplace Ramle, as well as the holy myrrh-bearing Women is the undeniable testimony of their faith and love for the God-man Christ and His Resurrection from the dead. The Myrrh-Bearing Women “stood by the cross of Jesus” (John 19:25). The brothers Joseph and Nicodemus “took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices… Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand” (John 19, 40-42), as the Evangelist John informs us.

This irrefutable testimony of the crucifixion, the three-day burial and the Resurrection has been denounced and preached throughout the centuries by the Holy Church of Jerusalem, especially by the living and uninterrupted historical presence of the Rum Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land.

This is due to the fact that the truth and the light of Christ overcame the fear of falsehood and darkness: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:21).

In this judgment of the love of people in the darkness, the holy Church of Jerusalem stands up after its Christian pious flock. Needless to say, the signs of the “judgment” announced by the evangelist John are now visible and palpable in our contemporary era due to the legislative imposition of the New Order of Things.

The Greek Orthodox (Rum Orthodox) Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is founded on the redemptive blood of Christ, is the only guarantee of the preservation of the saving inheritance, which was given to us by the Risen Christ, Who “hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).

For this, my dear brothers, we are called upon to safeguard the precious treasure of the Evangelical Truth, whom God the Father has entrusted to His Son, and the Son of the Most Blessed Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, to those who love Him, through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in them: “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us”, (2 Tim. 1,14), Saint Paul commanded his disciple Timothy, but also all of us.

May the light of the glorious and brilliant Resurrection of our God and Saviour Christ enlighten your heart and mind. “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John. 5, 20), Saint John the Evangelist preaches. Amen. Christ is Risen”.

This feast was also celebrated in the chapel of the Myrrh-bearing Women, at the Cathedral of Saint James the Brother of God, with Vespers in the evening and the Divine Liturgy in the morning, presided over by the Most Reverend Archbishop Aristovoulos of Madaba, with the co-celebration of the Archimandrite Nicodemus, the Elder Priests of the Cathedral, Fr Farah and Fr Hader. The chanting was delivered by Hierodeacon Simeon and the students on the right and the choir of the Cathedral under Mr Rimon Kamar on the left. The service was attended by the parishioners of the Cathedral and the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem of Mr Evangelos Vlioras.

After the Divine Liturgy, a reception took place in the “Ojut” hall, organized by the association of “Myrrh-bearing Women” of Saint James.

From Secretariat-General

On Saturday, April 16th/29th, 2023, the eve of the Sunday of Myrrh-bearing Women, the Community of South Pkea, a town of the region of Acre – Ptolemais under its priest Fr Ioannis, the Commissioners and about twenty members visited the Patriarchate and thanked His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos for the ecclesiastical, moral and material support provided to them.

The representatives of the Orthodox Scouts, who participated in the Easter celebrations and the Orthodox “Nadi” – Orthodox Club, also visited His Beatitude and thanked Him for the support provided to the Christian presence in the Holy Land.

A delegation of the parish of the Cathedral of Saint James the Brother of God also visited His Beatitude and asked for His blessing for the transfer of the choir of this parish to the Patriarchate of Serbia through cooperation with the “Branko” choir of the city of Nis – the birthplace of Constantine the Great – and with the choir of the Cathedral of Saint Savva in Belgrade.

Finally, His Beatitude was visited by the Arabic translator of the posts of the Official Website of the Patriarchate, Dr Nikolas Khouri, who acquired Greek citizenship, with his parents, his wife Dr Nicoleta Papaeugeniou and his son and thanked His Beatitude for His trust and support.

From Secretariat-General