On the morning of Tuesday, December 14th / 27th, 2022, the long-established visits of the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood took place to the local Churches, celebrating their Christmas holiday, in accordance with the Gregorian Calendar.

First, the visit to the Franciscan Brotherhood took place. In it, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos addressed the Custodian Fr. Francis Paton with the following address in English:

“Your Paternity, Father Francesco,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Beloved Members of our Respective Fraternities,

Dear Fathers,

 We greet you with joy today as you and your communities celebrate the great Feast of the Nativity of the Incarnate Logos, the Word made flesh.

As the hymnographer tells us:

 “Behold, the Most Holy Word comes unto his own

 in a holy body that is not his.

By a wondrous birth he makes his own

   the world that was estranged” .

(Irmos for the Forefeast of the Nativity)

 In this festive Christmas season, it must be our special care to articulate a message of hope, especially for our communities here in the Holy Land.   As we all so fully recognize, we are living through challenges and dangers unprecedented in our lifetime, and our Christian communities in the Holy Land are bearing a terrible burden.   The combination of the consequences of the pandemic, world economic volatility, political uncertainty in the region, and the pressure to emigrate all weigh heavily on our people, especially on our youth.  

What hope can we show our own people?   Can this hope, the Incarnate Logos, our Lord Jesus Christ, reach our own people with life-sustaining force in the face of so much that seems to rob them of life?

The hope that comes to us at Christmas is precisely the expectation that we can live fully in the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious landscape in which Divine Providence has placed us, where there can and must be peace, justice, reconciliation, and mutual respect of those who know themselves to be the sons and daughters of the Creator and Father of all.

Hope is the conviction of those who are confident in God, even in the face of the most terrible of circumstances.   For, as Saint Paul says, we know that affliction produces endurance, ^and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us (Rom. 5:3-5).   Hope is the resolve that our Lord Jesus Christ has made his own a world that was once estranged, but has now been redeemed by his life, passion, death, and resurrection.

Dear Father Francesco, our unity of purpose in our common mission to guard and serve the Holy Places and to ensure the Christian integrity of the Holy City of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, is itself another sign of hope, for this has produced real fruits.   We wish to express once again our appreciation for all that you have done, and continue to do, in this regard, especially in your firm resolve in the face of provocative behaviour from radical groups.   We are stronger and more effective in this alliance.

ΜΑΥ our partnership ever deepen, that together we and our fraternities may be agents of hope to those entrusted to our pastoral care in the Christian communities of the Holy Land.   In this way, the world may see hope born again in the Holy Land, and the Holy Land may shine as a beacon of hope to the world.

We wish you, the members of your Brotherhood, and all the faithful committed to your care, the blessings and the joy of this Christmas Feast.

Thank you”.

Then the visit to the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem took place. There, His Beatitude addressed the Latin Patriarch His Beatitude Mr Pierre Battista Pizzaballa with the following address in English:

“Your Beatitude, dear Patriarch Pizzaballa,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Dear Fathers,

Beloved in Christ,

We wish to extend to you, Your Beatitude, the greetings and the blessings of this holy season as you and your communities celebrate the Christmas Feast.  As we hear in the hymns at this time of the year:

A Light shall spring forth from the root of Jesse,

 as the prophet full of light foretold…

O ye people, let us say:

Blessed are you, our God who has come among us:

Glory to you.

(Canticle Nine, Mattins, the Forefeast of the Nativity)

The Light that has come is the Incarnate Logos, the Word made Flesh, the Sun of Righteousness who has brought healing in his wings (Malachi 4:2).    By uniting heaven and earth, divinity and humanity in himself, he has brought hope to the world, so that all may know that in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, (2 Cor. 5:19).

As we all well know, we are celebrating this Christmas season at a difficult time for our world and our region.   In every aspect of our life, people are under pressure.   So well-known are the circumstances of our present life that we need not number them all, but their cumulative effect on our communities is extremely serious.   Perhaps most seriously, we see creeping despair, especially among our young people, who do not see a future of possibility for themselves in our region.

We have a message of hope in the Gospel of Christ so that hope may be made manifest in our life today. Our mission is precisely this, to bear witness to the manifestation of hope.

We wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge your commitment, Your Beatitude, to creating a culture of hope in our region, even in the face of tremendous difficulty and challenge. For hope is the only light that can pierce the darkness of despair and futility, and hope must be our constant message as well as our tireless resolve.   The common mission that we share in protecting the Christian character of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and in pastoring the communities entrusted to us is nothing less than a mission of hope. Μay we always keep this hope before us in all that we do.

May God bless you and your communities in this holy season of light and hope, as we celebrate the birth of the living Hope whose light and life shine from the cave in Bethlehem for us all.

Thank you”.

Finally, His Beatitude, accompanied by the Patriarchal Commissioner His Eminence Metropolitan Isychios of Capitolias and the Geronda Chief Secretary His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, visited the Apostolic Delegate (Nuncio), that is, the representative of the Vatican in Jerusalem.

Following these, was the visit to the Anglican Archbishop Naum Hossam, who, on the occasion of Christmas and the visit, offered His Beatitude a decorated porcelain plate.

From Secretariat-General

On Sunday, December 12/25, 2022, the Patriarchate celebrated in accordance with its Typikon the feasts of the Holy Forefathers and of our Holy Father Spyridon the Miracle Worker, Bishop of Trimythus.

During the feast of the Holy Forefathers, celebrated on the 1st Sunday after December 11, the Church commemorates and honours the pre-Law and post-Law Forefathers of Christ in the flesh, who were pleasing to God, that is, Adam the Forefather, Enoch and Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the twelve Patriarchs, Moses, David and Daniel and the three Children, Zechariah and John the Forerunner and a multitude of others.

On this occasion, a Divine Liturgy was held in the Church of the Holy Forefathers in the Shepherds’ Village / Beit Sahour, presided over by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, with the co-celebration of their Eminences, the Metropolitan Isychios of Capitolias, the Archbishops; Aristarchos of Constantina, and Methodios of Tabor, the Metropolitan Joachim of Hellenopolis, the Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nectarios, and the Hegoumen of  Beit Jala and Beit Sahour Archimandrite Ignatios, the Priests of this community,  Fr. Issa, Fr. Savvas, Fr. Ioannis and Fr. Georgios. The chanting was delivered by the Community Byzantine choir, as the service was attended by the full congregation of this parish, the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Evangelos Vlioras and the Mayor of the city Mr Haik.

His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon to this congregation:

“The genealogy of Christ according to the divinity cannot be phrased, however, His lineage according to man is possible, as He became a descendant of man, He who is also the son of man in order to save man”, Saint Gregory Palamas preaches.

Beloved brethren in Christ,

Dear Christians,

The Grace of the Holy Spirit brought us all together today in this holy place of the Village of the Shepherds, where the angel of the Lord gave the good news to us the people of great joy and where there was a multitude of heavenly hosts with the angel praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (cf. Luke 2:10-14), so that we may celebrate in Eucharist the memory of the Forefathers in the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ before the Law of Moses and according to the law; especially of the Patriarch Abraham, in whom first the promise was given, when God said to him  “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).

Indeed, as the Holy Bible says, Abraham was given the promise, that is, the promise that, because he obeyed God’s command, through Christ, Who would be one of his descendants, all the peoples of the earth will be blessed. “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Gen. 22:18).

 And according to the psalmist: “His name shall endure forever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed” (Psalm 72:17).  The land of the promise is none other than the land of blessed Palestine and the city of Bethlehem, where, according to the true testimony of the Evangelist Luke, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

The holy Church of Christ honours the memory of the holy Forefathers, in order to demonstrate through the mouth of the Apostle Peter that: “we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). The Forefathers in general and the Prophets, in particular, refer to this very majesty of the power and presence in human history of the Son and Word of God according to the Father, and of the Son of man according to the Mother.

From the pure flesh of the Ever-Virgin Mary and from the Holy Spirit, the incarnation of God the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ is a universal and irrefutable event, witnessed by sacred and secular history; at the same time, it is also a great mystery, impossible to be understood by the human mind, that is, by human logic: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1 Tim. 3:16), Saint Paul preaches.

St. Gregory Palamas, referring to this great mystery of piety, of the so-called divine Providence, asks: “How to form a lineage for the One Who was from the beginning, and was God, and with God, and also was the Word of God, and the Son of God”, (Cf. John 1:1) and He did not have a Father prior to Himself and has a name after the Father “the name above every name” (Phil. 2:9) and “every word?”

Indeed, my beloved brothers, Jesus Christ has a lineage according to His human nature, that is, the human form, which He assumed for the salvation of us humans. “Because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13), the wise Paul says.

According to the interpreter Zigavinos, the Word God, becoming a man, did not avoid “our disgrace”, that is, he did not despise certain human weaknesses which were not sinful. He assumed the whole of human nature, except for its sin: “For Christ came for this reason also, not to flee (=avoid) our disgrace, but to receive it and relieve it through his own virtues. For He came as a doctor, not as a judge.”

As for the divine nature, i.e. the divinity of Jesus Christ, it is unapproachable and indefinable. “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18), the evangelist John teaches.  “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Tim. 6:16), Saint Paul preaches. “For there shall no man see me, and live” (Exodus 3:20), says the Lord. In the next life, however, those who have reached perfection shall see Him. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8), says the Lord again.

We are also called to this, my beloved brothers, to purify our hearts and properly approach and worship the born Christ, Who “sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready” (Luke 14:17), as we listened to today’s Gospel reading.

Interpreting the above words, Saint Cyril of Alexandria says: “God and Father in Christ has prepared for those on earth, the goods given to the world, the forgiveness of sins, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the splendour of adoption, the kingdom of heaven.” And Saint Paul says: “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4-5).

Let us also listen to the hymnographer: “Since Thou art the God of peace and the Father of mercies, Thou hast sent unto us Thine Angel of Great Counsel, granting us peace. Wherefore, having been guided to the light of divine knowledge, and watching by night, we glorify Thee, O Friend of man” (Katavasia of Christmas Ode 5).

This Angel of the Great Council of God the Father, the illumination, as it were, of the knowledge of God (Eph. 2:14), our Savior Jesus Christ, Whom the Forefathers prepared and the Prophets foretold, let us also hasten and come in repentance, so that by the intercessions of the Most Blessed Theotokos Mary and the prayers of our holy Father Spyridon the Wonderworker, who is celebrated today, we are blessed with our spiritual rebirth on the one hand and physical renewal on the other. Amen. Many Happy returns and blessed Christmas.”

This was followed by the parade of the Boy Scouts and a reception at the Hegoumeneion, where H.H.B addressed those present through the ministering Priest of the Church, Dean Priest Issa Mousleh as follows:

 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1), exclaims the psalmist.

Dear Mr Mayor,

President and honourable members of the Ecclesiastical Council,

Holy Fathers and Brothers,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Beloved brethren in Christ,

Today’s solemn commemoration of the holy Forefathers is the harbinger of the great Feast of Christmas.

The truly joyous and universal event of Christmas was overshadowed for a moment by the tragic and sudden death of two innocent and angelic infants, brothers of your biblical Village of the Shepherds. And the psalmist says “As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth” (Psalm 103:15) and our Lord Jesus Christ says: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

The Birth of Christ refers to the rebirth of us believers and His resurrection, which is a sure guarantee that our hope will not be denied, but we will also be resurrected, as the Apostle Peter preaches saying: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

This means that the Church of Christ, and especially the Rum Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem constitutes the physical and spiritual Ark, which throughout the centuries guarded and continues to guard the Christian congregation of the Middle East in general and of the Holy Land in particular. The political and social crisis created by the occupation situation and its consequences, the uncertainty and the impasse is enough to demonstrate that the Rum Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the only institution that guarantees not only the religious but also the cultural identity of those in the wider area of living Christians.

What is noteworthy in this regard, is the fact that the present Patriarchate, whose ecclesiastical and spiritual jurisdiction includes the State of Palestine, the Gaza Strip, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Emirate of Qatar and the State of Israel, consists of one point of reference, that is, to belong, but also “the unity of the spirit of Christ’s flock in the bond of peace; one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling”, (Eph. 4, 3-1) according to Saint Paul.

We want to assure you, my beloved brothers, that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem has never ceased to care as much for the protection of the Holy Places and the divine worship performed on them, as for the various needs of its pious flock: “Ask, and it shall be given to you, seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you”, Matthew 7:7), says the Lord. Nevertheless, “let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40), the Apostle Paul orders.

In conclusion, we wish a blessed Christmas to all of you, and to the parents, tested by great sorrow, of their beloved children who unfortunately and unjustly fell asleep in the Lord, we express our deepest condolences, assuring them that “whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). May the Lord God, give rest to the infant angels who have passed away in the Father’s arms. Amen”.

At noon, a meal was offered.

From Secretariat-General

On the morning of Saturday, December 11/24, 2022, following a Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral Church of the Holy Apostle Barnabas of the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus and following a standard electoral procedure, in accordance with the new Statutory Law of the Church of Cyprus, the election of the former Metropolitan Georgios of Paphos to Archbishop of New Justiniana and all of Cyprus took place.

On this election, His Beatitude the Patriarch of JerusalemTheophilos III sent the following congratulatory Letter to the Archbishop-elect:

Your Beatitude Archbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus, in Christ God, dearly beloved and profound brother and co-minister of Our Mediocrity Mr Georgios. Embracing Your Holy Beatitude in a holy kiss, we humbly invoke the supreme blessing.

With pleasure, we have been informed of the ascension of Your highly praised and widely studied Beatitude to the Archbishopric and National Throne of the Most Holy Apostolic Church of Cyprus in succession to the blessed Archbishop Chrysostomos.

We also make haste from thence, from the Holy Land, to heartily congratulate You and pray in the Grotto of the Nativity in the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, for a blessed, fruitful and in the Holy Spirit governing, a hierarchical and pastoral ministry for the preservation of the sacred legacy of our Orthodox Faith and restoration of the unity of the people of long-suffering Cyprus.

At this time, when schisms and dissensions are shaking the unity of our One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church, every reasonable effort is required on the part of all the Primates of the local Orthodox brotherly Churches to ensure and preserve the God-ordered unity “that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. Rom. 15:6).

Wherefore, congratulating You on the meritorious election of Your Beatitude to the Office of the Primate of the Church of the saint-bearing land of Cyprus and kissing You fraternally with a holy kiss, from the Most Sacred and God-receiving Grotto, we remain.

In the Holy City of Jerusalem, 11^th of December 2022.

Your Holy Beatitude’s

Beloved brother in Christ

THEOPHILOS III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

From Secretariat-General

“Let Heaven greatly rejoice, let earth make merry;

the Lamb of God is born upon the earth for our sake,

and He granteth the whole world His divine redemption”.

(Sessional Hymn, Christmas Matins)

Today, the human race everywhere rejoices and is glad. The whole creation rejoices. The whole world celebrates, because “the unheard has been heard”, the things hushed up for centuries have been revealed. What are these unheard things, for which “the world that has heard them is dancing?” It is the joyful news that God’s promises have been fulfilled. That the visions of the prophets have been openly revealed, and the expectations of the nations have been fulfilled.

Out of extreme philanthropy, God came to earth to raise man to heaven. God in Christ assumed our human nature. He assumed man and made him unmistakably a sharer of His Divinity, “communicant of divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). In unspeakable joy, the Church thankfully sings: “God has sent redemption to His people”. The all-pervading God, “when the fulness of the time was come, sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4,4-5). He “Who, being in the form of God, made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2, 6-8) according to the Apostle Paul.

  According to Saint Chrysostom (Homily on Matthew 3:13), “He accepted to be conceived in the womb of a virgin and to come from thence in the form of our nature”, and according to Saint Cyril of Alexandria: “the Only Begotten Word of God was communicated in flesh and blood, thus a man who took on flesh and making it His, was born in the flesh through the Holy and Theotokos Mary” (PG 77, 1205A). According to this Father, this whole event, “that is, God emigrated on earth, in order to make man a citizen of heaven and to join him in the heavenly chorea, for this we too must offer to God, Who honoured us, as a just reward the modesty of works, philanthropy, hospitality, love, love towards our brethren” (PG 77, 4690).

This supernatural mystery of the incarnation, and nativity in the flesh of the Son and Word of God, was revealed to people locally and historically, in place and time, in Bethlehem the Holy, in this humble Cave, during the monarchy of Caesar Octavian Augustus. It was not revealed to the then mighty men of the earth, workers of power, violence and impiety, but to simple, without malice people; to the wise explorers of the universe led by a celestial star and to shepherds led by singing angels, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill among men” (Luke 2, 14). Those who were called and came fell down and prostrated themselves, “They saw the One-without-beginning (Anarchus) being an infant in the cave.”

The incarnate King in Bethlehem carried on His shoulders and throughout His incarnate life on earth this promise of God, “peace on earth and goodwill among men”, which the angels announced from heaven. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, raised the dead. By words and deeds, he taught peace, love even towards the enemies and delivered the Church as a legacy to his apostles, which He redeemed with His own blood on the Cross. Ever since the days of His Resurrection from the dead and His Ascension to heaven, the Church obeying His command preaches His word “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) and reminds people that those alive on earth “have their conversation in heaven” (Phil. 3:20), they are predestined not to fight each other in “chariots and horses”, not to shed blood on the earth killing each other endlessly, but to ascend to heaven.

In this sanctifying ministry to Christ, God and His people, the local Church of Jerusalem is also strengthened from these holy places of His appearance in the flesh, silent but true witnesses of Him as a person and of His work. From this place of His Nativity in the flesh, Bethlehem, from the Holy and God-receiving Cave and the Constantine and Justinian Basilica of this Nativity, it preaches to its Christian congregation in the Holy Land and all over the world, and to the pious pilgrims of the period of the Twelve days, that again, “today the universe is filled with joy, Christ is born of the Virgin.”

 In the Holy City of Bethlehem, Christmas 2022.

THEOPHILOS III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

On Monday, December 6/18, 2022, the feast of our holy Father Nikolaos, Bishop of Myron of Lycia, was celebrated by the Patriarchate.

During this feast, the Church remembers that St. Nikolaos was the Bishop of Myra of Lycia who “gained the high places through humility, the rich through poverty” throughout his life, and especially as Bishop of Myra of Lycia, he defended the “one essence” of our Lord Jesus Christ with the Father, worthy of God’s gift to work miracles, by which he helped many, especially the seafarers.

His feast was celebrated in the nearby town of Beit Jala, with a warm welcome accompanied by the Boy Scout Corps and the Palestinian Municipal Authorities, and with a Divine Liturgy wich was officiated by our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, with the co-celebration of their Eminences the Archbishops, Aristarchos of Constantina, Methodios of Tabor and Philoumenos of Pella, the Archimandrites Porfyrios and the Elder Kamarasis Nectarios, Priests Yusef, Pavlos and George and the Hierodeacons Eulogios and Simeon. The chanting was delivered by the local Byzantine choir as the service was attended by the full congregation of the citizens and the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Evangelos Vlioras.

His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon to this congregation:

“Rejoice, O mind most sacred and great, and purest dwelling of the All-holy Trinity; thou steadfastness of the faithful, and pillar staying the Church, and the help of all bowed down with grievous pains; thou star ever scattering with thy beams of well-pleasing prayers the heavy darkness of temptations, of sufferings, and of all distress, O divine Hierarch Nikolaos. Harbour of all serenity wherein they are swiftly saved that flee thereto when encompassed with the tempestuous waves of life. Entreat Christ with fervour to grant pardon of our sins and great mercy to our souls” (Vespers, Aposticha 2).

Beloved brethren in Christ,

Dear Christians,

The Divine Grace of the Holy Spirit, who anointed His Holiness Nikolaos Archbishop of Myra of Lycia with divine myrrh, brought us all together in this holy place of his emigration, and the Church dedicated to him, so that we may solemnly honour his sacred memory.

The Bishop of Myra of Lycia, Nikolaos, rose in the firmament of the Church as a universal luminary, who enlightened the world through his virtues, thus he was recognized as a “Canon of the Orthodox faith of the doctrinal teaching of the divine mystery of piety, formulated by the first Ecumenical Council in Nice in AD 325 by the holy and approved Fathers of the Church.

It is noteworthy that as a member of this Ecumenical Synod, the wonderful Nikolaos effectively contributed to the extermination of the blasphemous heretical teaching of Arius, and formulated the truth about the Holy Trinity and the Theology about the Son and Word of God and our Saviour Christ as the hymnographer exclaims: “I reverence the uncreated Trinity, Father and Son together with the Spirit, a Divinity simple in essence, a Nature not severed in essence, being of Three Hypostases, while I distinguish Them according to person and hypostasis” (Matins, Ode 1, Canon 2 of the Saint, Triadicon). And again “Foreseeing things to come with the eye of thy mind, thou didst fill all men with upright doctrines, declaring unto us the Son’s consubstantiality with the Father; and thou hast utterly destroyed the madness of Arius, offering thy venerable achievements as a monument of the Orthodox Faith” (Matins, Ode 6, Canon 2 of the Saint, Troparion 3).

Having the mind of Christ, (1 Cor. 2:16), Nikolaos exterminated the fury of Arius, because he spoke not with the spirit of the world, namely with human wisdom like Arius, but with the grace of the Holy Spirit, as Saint Paul preaches: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (1 Cor. 2:12).

Behold, therefore, why His Holiness Nikolaos was called “canon of faith and pillar of the Church but also a great shepherd”. He, as a spiritual Father and shepherd, did not seek his own interest, but that of the many, so that they may be saved (1 Cor. 10:33). That is why he was “the support of the faithful and the help of the afflicted”. Nikolaos was recognized as a real Father, listening to and applying the order of Saint Paul saying: “Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). Of course, Christ is the model to which we are all called to conform. If we are encouraged to imitate the saints or the apostles, it is because before us the Saints and the Apostles like Paul, who received “visions and revelations of the Lord” (2 Cor. 12:1), conformed to the example of Christ and imitated Him.

In other words, Saint Nikolaos brought together all those gifts of the Holy Spirit, which make up the teacher and spiritual Father of the Church. He was “nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:6). That is why Saint Ignatius of Antioch considers “the bishop in the type of God” and listens to the Proverb: “Revere, son, God and the King” (Prov. 24, 21) and exhorts by saying: And I say; fear God, as the cause of all and Lord; the bishop as high priest, wearing the image of God; according to the principle, of God, according to the priests, of Christ”.

Indeed, my beloved brothers, the meek Bishop of Myra of Lycia proved himself to be a true High Priest of the Church, bearing in himself the image of God, as far as the administration [of the Church] is concerned and the image of Christ as far as the Ministry of the divine mysteries is concerned. “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Cor. 15:49), Saint Paul preaches.

Interpreting the above words of Paul, St. Methodius says: “the earthen image, which we have put on [which says, thou art dust and dust thou shall become], while the image of the heavenly, the resurrection from the dead, and incorruption, so that “like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). “Virtuous life is new life,” Zigavinos says.

It was precisely this “newness of life”, this life in Christ that our Father Nikolaos walked and taught so that he received the crown of incorruption. This life in newness, namely, the virtuous life we are also called to walk, listening to the voice of the wise Paul: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

In other words, we as human beings, but above all as reborn Christians, are His own creation, created to remain united with our Lord Jesus Christ. For even Saint Paul gives a paternal order, saying: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise” (Eph. 5:15).

Here is this blessed time of our preparation through fasting and good works, of receiving in the cave of our hearts the Christ born from the pure blood of the Ever-Virgin Theotokos Mary.

Yes, my brothers, “not as unwise”, that is, as worldly, but as wise, since as children of the light of Christ we celebrate the metropolis of the holidays, the blessed Christmas in this God-receiving cave of Bethlehem.

Let us say along with the hymnographer “As thou standest before the throne of God, cease not to intercede earnestly for us all, thy faithful servants, O wise and wondrous Nikolaos, that we be delivered from the eternal fire and from the wicked counsel and ill-dealing of our enemies” (Matins, Ode 4, Canon 2 of the Saint, Troparion 2).  Amen. Happy and blessed Christmas.”

At noon, the Community Council hosted a meal, where His Beatitude spoke again in Arabic.

This holiday was also celebrated in the Holy Monastery of Agios Nikolaos, near the Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

The Vespers and the Divine Liturgy were presided over by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias, with the co-celebration of the Elder Master of Ceremonies Archimandrite Bartholomew, Fr Nectarios, Fr Dometianos of the Russian MISSIA in Jerusalem, the Russian Fr Nikolaos Kolinsky, the caretaker of the Monastery Archdeacon Mark, at the chanting of the Typikon Keeper of the Monastic Church of Saints Constantine and Helen Archimandrite Alexios, Fr Seraphim and Mr Gotsopoulos. The Services were attended by faithful Orthodox Christians and pilgrims from Greece, Palestine, Romania, and Russia.

After the Divine Liturgy, Archdeacon Markos, who continues the renovation of the Holy Church, offered a reception for the Episcopal Entourage and the congregation.

From Secretariat-General

On Sunday, 5th/18th of December 2022, the feast of our Holy Father Savvas was celebrated in the Holy Monastery named after him, which he himself founded on the right bank of the Brook of the Cedars that descends towards the direction of the Dead Sea.

On this feast, the Church of Jerusalem commemorates anew that Saint Savvas came from his birthplace Mutalaski in Cappadocia to the Holy Land in the year 456 at the age of 18.

At first, he studied under Euthymius the Great and Abba Theodosios for twenty years and then lived a hesychastic life in a cave opposite the Monastery, which is preserved to this day.

Distinguished in obedience, humility and devoted to all virtues, he was called upon by the monks of the desert and founded for them his Monastery as a Lavra, that is, a monastery for monks who had advanced to asceticism, and he guided to the right monastic state thousands of monks of this Monastery and of the eleven other Monasteries, which he founded. Along with his fellow patriot and co-ascetic Saint Theodosios the Cenobiarch, he became the defender of the doctrine of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod of Chalcedon in AD 451 of the synergy of the two natures, human and divine, in the one person of Christ, unconfused and indivisible. There were also many saints who lived in his Holy Monastery, such as Saint John of Damascus, Saint Stephen of Saint Savvas Monastery, John the Bishop of Cologne and others.

In honour of Saint Savvas, there was a feast which was presided over by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos with the co-celebration of the High Priest according to the order for this year, His Eminence Metropolitan Joachim of Helenoupolis, His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, the Spiritual Father of the Monastery Archimandrite Eudokimos, Hagiotaphite Hieromonks, Archimandrite Dionysios and deacons, Arab-speaking Priests and Fr Joseph. The chanting was delivered on the right by Hierodeacon Simeon, His Eminence Archbishop Aristovoulos of Madaba and Fr George from the Holy Metropolis of Elias in Greek and by a Byzantine choir under the Bethlehem choir leader Mr Elias, at the presence of the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Evangelos Vlioras, monks and pilgrims and members of the flock from Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour.

Before the Holy Communion His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon:

“O Godly Savvas, blazing pillar bright with virtues’ fire, and beacon-light that showeth peoples the way leading through the sea of the wide world unto that divine port: spirits of error hast thou cast to the ground, O thou purest vessel of God the Holy Spirit; unto monastics thou art a guide and an exact rule and standard of abstinence; the outstanding height of true humility and meekness and fountain gushing forth with seas of cures and healings. Do thou entreat Christ, do thou plead with Christ, O righteous one, that the Church may be granted concord, tranquillity, great mercy and lasting unity” the hymnographer of the Church proclaims (Great Vespers, sticheron 3).

“Beloved brethren in Christ,

Dear Christians,

The holy Church of God, namely the Church of Jerusalem, today honours and upholds the memory of our holy and God-bearing Father Savvas the sanctified, in this Lavra which bears his name.

Saint Savvas diligently practised the virtue from infancy, becoming a vessel and instrument of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, thus becoming a teacher of the monasteries of the desert, a far shining luminary of the faithful, the peer of the Angels and the companion of the righteous. And his fame spread to the ends of the world, as the psalmist says: “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever” (Psalm 37:29).

Our Father Savvas, the offspring of Cappadocia, having come to the Holy Land at a young age, knew the great teachers of the desert such as Theodosius the Cenobiarch, Theoktistos, Gerasimos and the great teacher of the desert Euthymius, next to whom he was taught the manner of living of the ascetics, thus becoming a spiritual luminary, shining with miracles upon the world, as his fragrant imperishable relic also testifies.

Holding in his heart the illuminating energy of the Holy Spirit, Saint Savvas not only cultivated the barren desert by the streams of his tears but also became a defender of the Orthodox faith and the doctrines of the Fourth Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon, before the Kings of Constantinople Anastasios and Justin the Great. Therefore, even the hymnographer shouts in amazement and says: “O strange and terrible wonder is the clay tongue, the clay nature, the earthen body, for it has indicated the noetic and immaterial [of the Holy Spirit] knowledge “.

The God-fearing Savvas received the illumination of the Holy Spirit because he did not care for the earthly things but for the kingdom in the heavens, listening to Paul saying: “For our conversation is in heaven? from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil 3:20-21).

It is noteworthy that as the Hegoumen of the Lavra and shepherd of rational sheep, that is, monks, Saint Savvas ruled imitating the state of Paul, who “served the Lord after all humility and many tears and temptations of what happened to him in the councils of the warlike enemy of the devil” (Cf. Acts 20,19).

The renowned biographer of our holy Father Savvas, Kyrillos Scythopolitis writes about him: “Having received strength from on high [Savvas] surrenders himself to self-control as he suspends evil thoughts and fights the heaviness of sleep, and he restrains himself toiling physically, remembering David’s melody to God which says, “Look upon mine affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins” (Psalm 25:18). With all study and willingness, he humbled his soul with hunger, and tamed his body with toil and labour. Having sixty or even seventy co-ascetics in the monastery, he surpassed all of them in humility, obedience and painstaking for the sake of reverence”.

From the above, it is clearly demonstrated that the weapons of the ascesis, of the spiritual struggle of our Father Savvas, were obedience and humility. In his speech about obedience, Saint John of the Ladder says: “obedience is the tomb of will and the rising of humility” and in simple words, obedience means the burial of our own will and the resurrection of humility. Christ, on the other hand, is the ultimate model of humility, that is, of self-denial and obedience, as Paul also preaches. “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:8-9).

The Son and Word of God was found in human form from the Holy Spirit and the pure blood of the Virgin Mary for our salvation so that we might be deified, as the Great Father of the Church Athanasius says: “He became man, that we might also be deified; he revealed himself through the body so that we may receive the understanding [= knowledge] of the invisible Father; and he endured the curse of men, so that we may inherit immortality”.

Our sanctified Father Savvas also inherited this exact immortality in Christ through his humility and obedience to the will of God: “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister, and mother” (Matt. 12:50), the Lord says.

Indeed, my beloved brothers, Saint Savvas was shown to be the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, having boldness to Him; therefore, after the hymnographer, let us tell him: “O righteous Father Savvas, into all the earth, hath the sound of thine achievements gone forth?” wherefore thou hast found in the Heavens the reward of thy labours. Thou didst destroy the ranks of the demons? thou didst attain to the orders of the Angels, whose life thou didst emulate without blame. Since thou hast boldness with Christ God, pray that peace be granted unto our souls” (Matins, idiomelon after Matin’s Gospel).

Moreover, let us implore the righteous and sanctified Savvas, so that we may pass the stage of the blessed fast of Christmas and be worthy to worship the immaculate Son of the most blessed Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, in the God-receiving cave of Bethlehem, Amen. Merry Christmas.”

After the Divine Liturgy, a monastic meal followed.

After blessing the monks in the morning, His Beatitude returned to Jerusalem, passing through the Monastery of Saint Theodosios.

From Secretariat-General

On Saturday, December 4 / 17, 2022, the ministering Priest of the Russian-speaking parish of the city of Beer-Sheva Alexander visited His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, accompanied by the members of the first Ecclesiastical Committee of the parish, Mr Artemios Gerkovich, Mr Alexandros Vilensky and Mr Alexandros Saintov.

Fr Alexandros invited His Beatitude to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on the parish’s annual feast in memory of Patriarch Abraham, which is to take place on Saturday, December 18th / 31st 2022.

  On this occasion, the matter of finding a suitable place for the construction of the Holy Church, and other issues concerning the Parish were discussed.

  From Secretariat-General

Per the annual tradition of lighting up the Christmas tree at the entrance of the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem, the Imperial Hotel in Jaffa Gate was immersed this evening, December 16, with the colorful communities of the Holy City as His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, along fellow Heads of Churches and their representatives took to the balcony of this significant hotel, the opportunity to welcome everyone to this event.

As His Beatitude delivered a heart-warming speech from the balcony, the crowds listened attentively as the entrance to the Old City was lit with the candles of Christmas cheer and hope.

Fellow leaders of  the various Churches in Jerusalem were joined by the respective members of the diplomatic cord, as several civil society organizations participated in this seasonal festivity.

A Christmas reception was held soon afterwards at the Imperial Hotel as a gratitude from the Heads of Churches for the members of the diplomatic cord.

His Beatitude’s full speech can be read as follow:

” Your Beatitudes,

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Reverend Fathers,

Beloved Members of our Communities,

Respected Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Sisters and Brothers,

At the beginning of this great festive season, as we gather here to light this Christmas tree, we recall these words from the Gospel of Saint John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.   He was in the beginning with God.   All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

(Jn 1:1-5)

 

This Light of Lights, the Sun of Righteousness, that rose in the Holy City of Bethlehem from the Cave of hope, is Christ himself, the Word made flesh.   This same Light shone again in this Holy City of Jerusalem from the Tomb of hope when our Lord Jesus Christ was risen from the dead.   And so today we, as the sons and daughters of the Light of the Sun of Righteousness and of the hope of the resurrection of Christ bless the lighting of this Christmas tree, which stands as a symbol of this Light and this hope.

We pray that this light may shine in the hearts and minds of the rulers of this world as well as in the hearts and minds of those who govern our region, so that peace, righteousness, and reconciliation may reign over us all.

For, as Saint Paul reminds us, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us (2 Cor. 5:19).   The work of peace, righteousness, and reconciliation is the responsibility of all people of goodwill.

In the lighting of this Christmas tree, we celebrate all that represents the true character of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and our centuries-old unique experience of our multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious life together and our history of co-existence and mutual respect.   This is a powerful reminder that Jerusalem is a beacon for the whole world, especially in the face of the turbulence and violence that affect the lives of so many. Christians have become the target of repeated and continuous attacks by radical Israeli groups, especially in the Holy City. For the past decade, countless crimes have been committed against Christians, including physical and verbal attacks against priests and clergy, attacks have been targeted against churches, holy places have been vandalized and systematically desecrated, in addition to continuous intimidation of Christian citizens, who all they want is to live normal lives as the God-given right of all humans. These radical groups are committing their crimes in a deliberate attempt to expel Christians from Jerusalem and other parts of the Holy Land.

This is the society we seek so eagerly to preserve and continue to build.   We long for peace, and so let us not rend this fabric of our historic common life that has provided room enough down the ages for all who call the Holy Land their home.   Divine Providence has set us in this Holy Land together and given us a matchless heritage.   This simple ceremony of the lighting of a tree shows us the way and shines as a sign of hope in the darkness. We stand with our good friend Abu Al-Waleed Dajani and his family in their struggle to protect this pillar property. May this season of light and of the hope of new life bring us together in a new resolve.

We wish all our people many peaceful years and a happy Christmas season.

Thank you.”

On Friday, December 3/16, 2022, His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos received the Most Reverend Metropolitan  Timotheos of Bostra, , Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in Cyprus and honoured Mr Vasilios Papadimitriou, as the Byzantine singer of the Holy Church of the Exarchy of the Holy Sepulchre in Cyprus with the medal of the Order of the Cross-bearers of the Holy Sepulchre.

From Secretariat-General

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem and all of Palestine, joined the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem today, December 14, to attend the annual Christmas reception hosted by His Majesty King Abdullah II, King of Jordan.

During the reception His Beatitude gave the following speech: 

Your Majesty,

Your Royal Highnesses,

Esteemed Members of the Government,

Beloved Leaders of our Religious Communities

Your Eminences,

Your Graces,

Reverend Fathers,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

We greet you, Your Majesty, in this festive season, in which our region has the privilege of holding the festival of the light of justice, even in a world, and in a time, when there is deep confusion and despair. The words of the Holy Book remind us:

 

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples,

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will appear over you.

(Is 60:1-2)

 

As we emerge into a post-pandemic world, we face tremendous challenges. Most especially we are painfully aware of the deepening danger of new assaults from some quarters on the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious integrity of our region. There can be no doubt that this is an extremely sensitive time in our history, and the situation in which we are living, both in this region and around the world, is extremely delicate. We must admit that it can feel like a volcano that is on the verge of eruption. Those who are motivated by ideology rather than by our common sacred values put not just individual lives at risk, but the entire human community.   

In the face of these harsh realities, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan remains a beacon of stability, mutual respect, tolerance, and the flourishing of different religious groups side by side. Your Majesty is well known throughout the world for your commitment to peace-building and the promotion of ordered co-existence so that all may prosper. We are fully aware of Your Majesty’s firm and clear voice in defending the Status Quo of our Islamic and Christian religious institutions and also for your care for the Christian presence in the Holy Land and for the Christian character of Jerusalem. As the Heads of the Churches and Christian Communities of the Holy Land, we want to assure you once again of our full support of you in your essential role as the Custodian of the Christian and Islamic Holy Places in the Holy Land. The Status Quo has always been the key for the welfare and peaceful co-existence between all who call the Holy Land our home.

We wish to express our appreciation to you for gathering us in this festive event, so that we may give expression, by our presence, to Your Majesty’s commitment to the religious diversity of our region in general, and of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and of the Holy Land in particular, which is at the heart of our collective identity. We are gathered from the many religious communities that make up our diverse society here in Jordan and in Jerusalem, and which have lived together for generations. The future of our region depends on sustaining this diversity, so that all our peoples may have a future of opportunity, hope, and safety.

In times of darkness, the light shines ever more brightly. This is exactly what we are about to celebrate in Bethlehem. We are grateful for the light that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan shines in our region, and we assure you, Your Majesty, of our ongoing willingness to work with you to ensure the prosperity of all our peoples.

May God bless you, Your Majesty, all the Royal Family, and all those set in authority under your wise leadership, and may God bless all the peoples of our beloved Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and our beloved Holy Land.

Thank you.