The Patriarchal Representative of Acre – Ptolemais Archimandrite Fr Silouanos and the twelve ministering Priests of the jurisdiction of this Metropolis visited His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos on Saturday, 14th / 27th January 2024.

At this meeting, the Priests greeted His Beatitude on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year. They presented the issues of the Metropolis and their parishes, for which His Beatitude gave the appropriate instructions and awarded the office of the Cross-bearer to the Priest of Count Kufr Yassif Farah-Haralambos Farah and the Elder Savva Mahoulis, also Priest of this county and assistant priest of the county of Tarsikha.

In this connection, His Beatitude mentioned to the visiting priests the event that took place yesterday on the East Bank of the Jordan River in the celebration of the silver jubilee of the founding of the Baptism Site in the Jordan River, He referred to its excellent organization by the Jordanian Government and by the Amman Metropolis under the Archbishop Christophoros of Kyriakoupolis and also mentioned the collective participation of the people and representatives of various states.

Subsequently, His Beatitude received a representation of the Corps of Arabic-speaking Scouts living in Israel, numbering around 3,000 members and active in the Kufr Yassif commune, under their President Mr Nader Samaan, with Mr David Mansour, Mrs Esther Abumane, of Mr Jiries Yakub Gadous, Mr Nikolas Limanis and the son of the President of the Council of Acre, Mr Fuad Breck, among others.

The Scouts paid their respects to His Beatitude on Christmas and New Year’s Day and thanked Him for the help He had provided them in the past, as they mentioned in detail to Him.

The Scouts specifically referred to their relations with the Scouts of other countries, such as Jordan and Serbia, and asked for His Beatitude’s blessing to visit the Greek Scouts next summer.

His Beatitude blessed their efforts to cultivate a climate of coexistence and reconciliation and praised their action for the education of the youth.

From Secretariat-General

 Baptism Site, Friday, January 26, 2024

On the morning of Friday, January 26, 2024, the Greek Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem performed the annual pilgrimage ceremony to the place of baptism of Jesus Christ – Al-Maghtas in the presence of all the parishes of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the East Bank.

The prayer was officiated by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all of Palestine and Jordan, with the participation of the Patriarchal Representative of Amman His Eminence Archbishop Christophoros of Kyriakopolis, the Patriarchal Representative in Bethlehem and Hegoumen of the Theophany Monastery His Eminence Metropolitan Benedictos, and many distinguished Bishops coming from Greece with a group of Priests and Deacons, in the presence of ministers, diplomats, officials and public figures, amid the active participation of Orthodox Scout Groups and members of the Orthodox youth and believers from various regions of Jordan and abroad.

At the end of the prayer, His Beatitude delivered a spiritual and patriotic speech to the faithful, in which He said: From this holy place the Christian faith began and was transferred to all parts of the world, from the holy land we are called children of God, to walk in His name, we are called to remove from us the eternal darkness and pass into the light and become children of the Kingdom of heaven. From the waters of the Jordan, all nature is sanctified, because our holy land accepted God and became a paradise in Him, was blessed by Him and blessed the whole world. His Beatitude invited our children from all over the world to come to the Holy Land for pilgrimages to receive the blessings of the Holy Land.  

His Beatitude called for peace in Palestine, especially for our people in the Gaza Strip, appealing from the Holy Land to stop the war and for a just solution to the Palestinian issue with the establishment of its state with East Jerusalem as its capital. His Holiness together with the faithful also prayed for the country’s leader, His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein, for whom Jordan is celebrating this year the twenty-fifth anniversary of his accession to the throne of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the assumption of his constitutional powers.

His Beatitude first thanked Prince Ghazi bin Mohammed, the King’s personal envoy and adviser on religious and cultural affairs, for his great efforts with the Baptistery Authority, which he chairs, as this year they celebrate the silver jubilee of restoration and establishment of this Place, and the Tourism Promotion Authority, the Jordanian Arab Army, the security services, and all local and international news stations and websites and the clergy, youth and scouting bodies participating in the organization of this blessed day.

In the end, white doves were released into the sky as a symbol of the Holy Spirit Who appeared above Christ’s head in the form of a dove during His baptism in the waters of the Jordan River, and then His Beatitude came with the Bishops and Priests to the river bank, blessing, as usual, the waters of the Jordan River with the Holy Cross.

On Wednesday, January 11th/24th, 2024, the Patriarchate celebrated the commemoration of our holy Father Theodosius the Coenobiarch in the Holy Monastery founded by him and bears his name in the desert of Judea a few kilometres from Bethlehem and the Monastery of Saint Savvas.

During this feast, the whole Church, especially that of Jerusalem, remembers that the Holy Theodosius came from his native Mogarissa in Cappadocia to the Holy Land in the year 451.

Also, initially, he practised in the vicinity of Jerusalem’s Holy Monastery of Ikelia and later he practised in extreme solitude in the desert, in the cave where the Magi spent the night, “returning by another way to their homeland”. Then, through prayer and humility, he received the enlightenment from the Holy Spirit, so that he guided a multitude of monks to the life in Christ, who begged him to found this Monastery as a Coenobion, that is, as a Monastery, in which novice monks dwell in patience and common life and obedience until they prove themselves worthy for a solitary life in Lavra.

In this Monastery, the monks practised manual labour through which they met the needs of the poor and needy. The condition of entry into the Monastery is “no one lazy shall enter”. There were about 400 monks in this monastery and Saint Sophronios and Saint Modestos, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, also practiced there. Saint Theodosius was appointed as exarch of the Coenobitic life, while Saint Savvas was appointed as the head of the Laureotic life.

With Saint Savvas, his compatriot, they emerged as supporters of the decisions of the Fourth Ecumenical Council of 451, that Christ God is of one essence and two natures.

In this monastery, where the tomb of the Saint lies, an All-night Vigil was held by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, with concelebrants their Eminences, the Archbishops Aristarchos of Constantina and Theodosios of Sebasteia, Metropolitan Joachim of Helenoupolis, the Spiritual Father of Saint Sabba’s Monastery Archimandrite Eudokimos, the Archimandrites, Ignatios, Nectarios and Christodoulos, Archimandrite Chrysostom from the Metropolis of Megara of the Church of Greece, Priests from Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour. The chanting was delivered by Hierodeacon Simeon in Greek and Mr Elias from the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem in Arabic. The Vigil was attended by only a few faithful Christians due to the ongoing war.

Before the Holy Communion His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon:

“Lifting high to God thy most divine hands, thou wast shown to be a radiant pillar made to shine with the rays of thine earnest prayers. For since thy mind soared to Heaven, O righteous one, and thou partookest of things whereof none may speak, thou didst wholly flash like lightning and now dost pray Christ God that his great mercy may be granted unto us” (Matins, Kathisma 3), the hymnographer of the Church proclaims.

Beloved brethren in Christ,

Reverend Christians

Christ, Who appeared to us in the Jordan has gathered us all in this holy place, where Saint Theodosius founded this marvellous Monastery and lived in this cave, to celebrate his holy commemoration in Eucharist.

Abba Theodosius founded a great Coenobion, inhabited by many people which excelled above all in Palestine, a work that was done by the good pleasing of God the Father with Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, according to the biographer of the Saint, Elder Cyril of Skythopolis.

Coming from the town Mogarissa of Cappadocia, Saint Theodosius came to the Holy Land and became the great beauty of Palestine and the boast of the desert and the monastic schema, the support of right doctrines, the general and defender, and guide and protector of the coenobitic rule, according to his biographer.

The above are confirmed by his hymnographer too, who writes: “Ministering unto the Virgin and Mother of Christ God, thou didst receive the invincible grace of the Spirit, O Father Theodosius, and didst cast down invisible enemies” (Matins, Ode 4, Troparion 2).

Indeed, Saint Theodosius “reached a steadfast tower of virtues” and “received the invincible grace of the Spirit” because he knew that “our conversation is in heaven” (c.f. Hebrews 10,34). The way and the manner of our Father Theodosius to reach “our conversation in heaven” was his humility and obedience according to the prototype of the Only Begotten Son and Word of God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, who “being the Son” learned obedience through His sufferings, and having completed His mission, became the cause of eternal salvation to those who obey Him (Hebrews, 5,8-9), Saint Paul preaches. A characteristic of Christ’s obedience is His willingness to obey. “Our inclination is not sufficient unless we apply the works; for the work is the proof of the inclination” Saint Gregory the Theologian says.

The actions of obedience are indeed the proof of the inclination, because obedience is distinguished into slavery of the sin leading to death and righteousness in Christ, which leads to the Kingdom of God, Saint Fotios says, interpreting the words of Saint Paul: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6,16).

Our Holy Father Theodosius became a genuine worker and servant of Christ’s righteousness through the introduction of the coenobitic manner of monastics. And this was so because our Holy Father did not seek only his own deification, but also of those who retreated into the monastery he founded. “God made us in this manner, to become communicants of the divine nature and partakers of His eternity and thus we may be similar to Him through deification by grace” Saint Maximus the Confessor says.

And the “deification by grace” is no other than the gift or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as Saint Cyril of Alexandria says, regarding Christ’s words, “Come; for all things are now ready” (Luke 14,17). “The God and Father of Christ prepared for those on earth the goods given to the world by Him, the forgiveness of sins, the intoxication of the Holy Spirit, the splendour of adoption, the kingdom of heaven”. These spiritual goods, which God prepared for those on earth, i.e. for us humans, were achieved by Saint Theodosius. These goods are asked and can be acquired by every person who loves God with all his heart and with all his mind.

It is noteworthy that the one who truly loves God is the one who has reached the highest degree of spiritual perfection, as Saint Paul preaches, saying: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (I Cor. 2, 7-9). That is why the psalmist also begs God saying: “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles” (Ps. 43,3).

This light, that is, the Holy Spirit, did God the Father send to His Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the form of a dove in the Jordan River during His baptism by Saint John the Baptist, for the salvation of our souls. “The redeeming grace of God for all people was revealed”, Saint Paul says. And the hymnographer: “Today Christ is come to be baptized in the Jordan; today John toucheth the head of the Master” (Matins, Praises, Both now).

This marvellous and paradoxical mystery was also preached and confessed by Saint Theodosius, as his hymnographer writes: “He Who cleanseth the world, is baptized, even God, Who is become a mortal as I am for my sake. Him didst thou proclaim in two natures, O blessed Theodosius” (Matins, Ode 6, Troparion 2). Also, “Calling thy teachings to remembrance, Theodosius, we proclaim Christ in two essences, acknowledging the two natural wills and energies and authorities in God Who was baptized in the flesh” (Matins, Ode 9, Troparion 3).

As for us, my beloved brothers, let us beseech our Holy Father Theodosius with the Most Blessed Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, that they may intercede with our Lord for our souls and peace in the Holy Land and a cessation of fire in the Gaza Strip. After Saint Paul let us say: ” For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2, 11-13). Amen! Many and peaceful returns”.

After the Divine Liturgy, the active and diligent, benevolent renovator of the Monastery Archimandrite Ierotheos hosted a reception for the Patriarchal Entourage.

His Beatitude blessed him, wishing him a long life, to continue his heroic ministry in the Monastery, in which he has been ministering for over forty years.

From Secretariat-General

On the morning of Monday, January 9/22, 2024, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with members of the Pilgrimage Committee and other Holy Sepulchre Fathers, High Priests, Hieromonks and monks.

There His Beatitude blessed the ongoing conservation work of the agreement of the three Major Communities and the technical supervision of the Sapientia University of Rome on the floor around the Deposition, the entrance and the Gate of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and gave the necessary instructions for its better technical success for the structural strengthening of the floor of the Church, along with the preservation of the Status Quo.

From Secretariat-General

On Sunday, January 8/21, 2024, the feast of the Holy Monastery of Hozeva in Wadi Qelt was celebrated. The Monastery is located in the desert of Brook Chorath, which leads to Jericho and the Dead Sea.

On this feast the Church honours the distinguished in this Monastery as its founders, John Metropolitan of Caesarea of Palestine, who left the pastoral care of his Metropolis and came to live in monastic striving in this Monastery. It also honours Bishop George, who came from Cyprus and renovated the Monastery after its destruction by the Persian raid in AD 614.

The Church of Jerusalem also commemorates on this day John the New Hozevite, who came from Romania and lived in monastic striving in the Monastery and was canonized as a Saint by the Patriarchate in 2015, to be celebrated separately on July 28. Along with them, we also commemorate the former Hegoumen Antonios, who slept in the Lord while renovating the Narthex of the Monastery in 1993. We also remember the Hegoumen Germanos who was unjustly murdered in 2001.

For this feast, our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos came, and was welcomed by the Hegoumen Archimandrite Constantine with the following address:

“Your Beatitude Father and Master with Your Holy Entourage,

We gathered together for another time, as we celebrate the annual memory of the Founders of the historic Hoseva Lavra, Saints John and George.

We gathered in the midst of wars and turmoil, amid uncertainty, sorrow and pain. Pain, which even Saint George the Hosevite experienced to the maximum degree during the invasion of the Persians in the Holy Land in 614 AD.

As far as we know during his lifetime, having envisioned and foreseen the invasion and the massacre that followed, the Saint mourned, lamented and wept eloquently “for the vulgarity of the people or rather the ignorance and disrespect”. Coming out of his cell, he sat on a stone under the sun (due to the great weakness of his flesh) and begged God, saying: “Lord God of compassion and Lord of mercy, Who wants all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, pick up your rod and teach this people, for they walk in ignorance”…

Your Beatitude Father and Master,

As all of us are praying in fervent prayer of life-giving hope to the Messiah and Redeemer Lord Jesus and invoke the strong intercession of the Holy Hosevites, let us commence the feast…”

His Beatitude officiated the All-Night Vigil with the co-celebration of their Eminences, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina and Metropolitan Joachim of Helenoupolis, the Archimandrites, Constantine, Chrysogonos and Christodoulos, Archdeacon Mark and Hierodeacons Simeon and Dositheos. The chanting was delivered by the lead Byzantine singer of the Holy Church of Saint Paraskevi Mr Stavros Christou, the lead Byzantine singer of the Holy Church of Saint Dimitrios of Tripolis Mr Stavros Petrou, the left Byzantine singer of the Holy Church of the Meeting of the Lord in Kalamata, Mr Nikolaos Theotokatos, the left Byzantine singer of the Holy Church of the Holy Church of the Prophet Elijah in the Municipality of Saint Paraskevi, and the lead Byzantine singer of the Chapel of the Holy Apostles in the parish of Saint Paraskevi. The Vigil was attended by only a few monks and laity due to the ongoing hostilities in the State.

His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon before the Holy Communion:

“My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42,2) the psalmist proclaims.

Beloved Fathers and Brethren,

Reverend Christians

The divine grace of the One surrounded by the clouds in the heavens and by the waters of the Jordan River, of the One who took upon Himself the sin of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, has gathered us all in this neighbouring to the Jordan River Holy Monastery of Hozeva, to honour the sacred commemoration of our Holy Father among the Saints George, the so-called Hozevite.

Our blessed Father George left his hometown, Leukara of Cyprus and came to venerate the Holy Tomb of our Lord at the beginning of the 7^th century, before he retreated to this Lavra of Hozeva, which was founded by the blessed John of Egypt.

Like another deer, the blessed George ran towards the springs of water (c.f. Psalm 42,2), that is the spring of life which is Christ, to see the face of God the Father, Who is the unapproachable light, as the psalmist says: “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light” (Psalm 36,9). This is also confirmed by our Lord Jesus Christ with the words, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness” (John 12,46).

Interpreting these words of the Lord, Saint Cyril of Alexandria says, “By confessing that He is the Light, Christ proves that He is God by nature since it is befitting only to the God by nature to be called thus”. And Saint Chrysostom says, “Because God is called by that name in the Old and the New Testament, He uses this name [light]. For this reason, Paul calls Christ ‘refulgence’, radiance, as he preaches “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1,1-3).

This divine light, that is our salvation in Christ, did the soul of George seek, so that the word of the Gospel would be imprinted on it, according to the advice of Saint James the Brother of God: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1,21). The way of salvation is achieved through the knowledge of the scriptures, and that knowledge is the food of faith as Saint Paul tells his disciple Timothy: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3,15). Moreover, faith should be fruitful with good deeds, as Saint James says, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” (James 2,14).

Again, Saint Paul urges us: “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2,12-13). Thus Saint Goerge chooses the place of the desert on the one hand, and the monastic life on the other, which predisposes the unceasing ascesis of the virtues of salvation. “Let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation” (1 Thess. 5,8), Saint Paul preaches. This is also phrased by the hymnographer of the Church, “The Monastery of Hozeva hath found in thee a rule and most exact example for the pursuit of every form of virtuous works, O wise George, boast of the righteous. Therefore, those who have passed their lives in godliness leap for joy with thee unto the ages” (Minaion, Jan. 8, Matins, Ode 8, Troparion 3).

Indeed, Saint George was a rule and exact example for the pursuit of the virtues – according to Saint Theodore of Edessa – “to the extreme state of deification”, the ascend to the unwaning light as George’s hymnographer says, “Delivered from darkness, thou hast been taken up to the unwaning light, O glorious Father, and thou standest before the Almighty and Three-Sun Light with the orders on high, O blessed man, and thou delightest in the splendour that issueth thence and shinest like a fiery beacon upon us who hymn thee” (Matins, Ode 9, Troparion 3). It is noteworthy that according to the psalmist, God is covered in magnificent garments of light; “Thou, Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment” (Psalm 104,2), while according to Saint Paul, God is the only one “Who hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Tim. 6,16). That is why the hymnographer of our Holy Father George says, “and thou delightest in the splendour that issueth thence”.

In his synaxarist, Saint Nicodemus of Mount Athos says: “Having reached the utmost apathy, the thrice-blessed George appeared full of the grace of the Most Holy Spirit. He departed to God Whom he desired, to enjoy along with the Angels more clearly and precisely the radiance and blessedness that is projected from the Holy Trinity. This radiance is no other than the energy of the uncreated light, which anyone who has been baptized can enjoy, the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, Who appeared in the form of a dove in the Jordan River. “Now there is brought to pass a great and awful mystery: to purify us mortals, the Master of creation is baptized by a servant’s hand” (Matins, Aposticha of Praises, Troparion 1).

The glorious George became a preacher, an Evangelist and an Apostle of this great and awful mystery of reverence. Therefore, along with the hymnographer let us say: “In His ineffable mercy, He that is simple in His divine nature truly became twofold from thee, O Mother of God, uniting to His Divinity the flesh which He received from thy blood. Therefore, knowing thee to be the Theotokos, we praise thee with hymns unto all the ages” (Matins, Ode 8, Theotokion), entreating your intercessions, along with the prayers of our Holy Father George. Amen. Many happy and peaceful returns!”

After the service, the renovator of the Monastery Archimandrite Constantine Peramatzis hosted a meal.

From Secretariat-General

On Saturday morning, January 20, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III led a delegation from the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate to the Armenian Patriarchate, to exchange Christmas greetings. His Beatitude’s speech was as follow:

 

 

Your Beatitude, dear Archbishop Nourhan,
Your Eminences,
Your Graces,
Beloved Members of our Respective Brotherhoods,
Dear Fathers,

Christ is born!
Glorify him!

We greet you warmly, Your Beatitude, and the members of your Brotherhood, as you celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Divine Logos in the Church of the Nativity. This is a time of deep joy, and we recall the words of the hymnographer:

O Bethlehem, receive the Mother of God:
for she has come to you to give birth to the Light that never sets.
Let everything that has breath praise the Maker of all.
(From Mattins of the Forefeast of the Nativity)

As we keep the Christmas feast of joy, hope, and light in this time of darkness in our region and in our world, we must not refrain from appropriate rejoicing. For the Light that the darkness can never overcome has come into the world (cf. Jn 1:5), and this great feast renews our faith and trust in the God who comes to share our humanity in all its fullness.

Our spiritual mission that has been entrusted to us by Divine providence is to remain focussed always on this message of hope, especially when hope seems elusive. There is no doubt that at this present time in human history the human family is facing some of its greatest challenges, and our region is no exception. For we are under particular pressure here in the Holy Land, where so many innocent victims suffer and where so many are displaced from their homes and their lands. As we are fully aware, the Christian community is also confronted by the impact of the conflict, and there has never been a time when our shared commitment to our spiritual mission here has been more urgent.

Just as we are keeping the Christmas feast, which is the feast of God’s solidarity with us, we wish to take this opportunity to express our solidarity as well with you and your community in the face of the pressures you are bearing. The situation that you face is not simply an issue for the Armenian community alone; indeed it is an issue for the whole Christian community. We recall the words of Saint Paul, If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it (1 Cor. 12:26). We are committed to remain united in our resolve to defend the integrity of the Christian character of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

We assure you, Your Beatitude, of our firm support in your endeavours to protect the patrimony of the Armenian patriarchate. As Saint Paul encourages us, we are to bear one another’s burdens, and in this way…fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). We are deeply concerned at the ongoing harassment that the Armenian community is experiencing in the matter of the Cow’s Garden, and we pray for a swift resolution to these problems and the restoration of normal life for the Armenian community.

On this occasion we would like to offer our congratulations for your newly ordained bishops, and we also wish to express once again our condolences at the recent passing away of the late Archbishop Aris, who was a faithful servant of the Armenian Church and of the Christian community of the Holy Land. May his memory be eternal.

In this difficult season for the world and for our region, we must renew our resolve not to let anything distract us from our pastoral and spiritual mission to guard and protect the Holy Places and to serve and support the Christian presence here. Nothing is more important than this. We are to be vigilant for those who cause divisions among us and put obstacles in our way that are contrary to the Gospel (cf. Rom. 16:17). Let this be our special care so that we may always join our efforts and maintain our united front against those who wish to rend the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious fabric of our society.

In this blessed season of the Prince of Peace, we renew our appeal for peace and for a humanitarian ceasefire so that the innocent victims of the present conflict may receive the essential help and care that they so desperately need. And we encourage the authorities of our region and of the world to do all in their power to bring a swift end to this conflict, prevent any escalation, and engage in a process of dialogue that will lead to lasting and robust peace and security for all our peoples.

As we keep this holy season, Your Beatitude, we pray that the Light that shines from the Holy Grotto of Bethlehem will illumine the darkness of this present time, and enlighten the hearts and minds of all to seek peace and pursue it (Ps. 34:14).

Christ is born!
Glorify him!

 

On Tuesday, the 3rd / 16th of January 2024, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos received on the occasion of  Christmas and New Year’s Day:

1. Bishop Christopher Chessun Bishop of Southwark of the Anglican Church and member of the British House of Lords, accompanied by the Deputy Secretary of the Council of the Heads of the Local Churches of Jerusalem Fr Donald.
2. Afterwards, His Beatitude received the Hegoumen of Ramallah, Archimandrite Galaktion and his assistant, Father Isaiah Haddad, to whom His Beatitude conferred the ofikion of Steward. The Hegoumen Archimandrite Galaktion was accompanied by the Holy Priests of the Communities of the surrounding areas, the Jifna Community Fr Georgios Awad, the Taybe Community Fr Daoud, the Birzet Community Fr Stavros Aranki and the Aboud Community, Fr Emmanuel.
3. He also accepted the young man from Jifna, Mr Ibrahim Saetz, who applied for a scholarship in Theology in Greece.
4. His Beatitude also received the conservators of chandeliers and icons from the team of Mr Stavros Andreou upon their departure, thanked them and blessed them.
5. Finally, His Beatitude received the Head of the Jerusalem Foundation Mr Azam Khatib and the Sheikh of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

From Secretariat-General

At 5:00 p.m. on December 31, 2023/January 13, 2024, the last day of the year 2023 (Old Calendar), the traditional ceremony of cutting the Vasilopita, the cake which tradition associates with the charitable action of Saint Basil the Great, took place in the hall of the Patriarchate.

Invited to this ceremony were the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem, Mr Dimitrios Angelosopoulos, the Consul, Ms Mantika Anna, and their collaborators, Holy Fathers and members of the Greek Parish and our Arabic-speaking flock.

In the beginning, His Beatitude spoke through His following address:

“And he [the Lord] said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power” (Acts 1,7).

Your Excellency Consul General of Greece Mr Dimitrios Angelosopoulos

Reverend Holy Fathers and Brothers,

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

He who with unspeakable wisdom made all things, God the Word, and from non-being to being produced, brought us all to this holy place of the venerable Patriarchate of Jerusalem to thank God the Word for the beginning of the New Year of His goodness, and to honour the commemoration of our Father among the Saints Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia, through the established cutting of the New Year Cake under his name, “Vasilopita”.

The determination of the concept of historical time and its alternation in past and future, in outgoing and incoming, old and new, on the part of the human intellect of national pagans and philosophers in general, remains incomplete if not completely impossible.

On the contrary, the determination of historical time is made possible through the presence in the world of the incarnate God the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, from the pure flesh of the Ever-Virgin Mary, during the reign of Caesar Augustus and the Governor of Cyrene of Syria, in the city of David called Bethlehem according to the testimony of the Evangelist Luke (cf. Luke 2, 1-5).

The established Father of the Church, Saint Cyril of Alexandria, commenting on the Lord’s words to His disciples: “And he [the Lord] said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power” (Acts 1,7), says, “it is not necessary to be curious about the classified and hidden in God, which the Lord was teaching”.

Indeed, the consideration of time as past, present and future is an uninterpretable and incomprehensible fact, undisclosed and hidden in God. And this is because according to John of Damascus, “God from non-being into being produces and creates everything, invisible and visible, and man from the visible and invisible.” And according to Saint Paul, “God, …Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds” (Hebrews 1,1-2).

Commenting on these words of Saint Paul, Theodoritos Kyrou says: “Aeon is not a substance but an inherent thing, which accompanies the beings that have a created nature…Aeon is the space, which is connected with the created nature. The Scripture says the Son (of God) is the creator of the ages. He is eternal, teaching us that He has always been above all temporal systems.

According to Saint Basil the Great, time is interconnected with the world’s creation. “And when now the time came to introduce this world into the beings…then the foundation of the world was built, inherent in the world…a stream that constantly hastens and runs sideways towards them, and nowhere ends its course. Or is not time something of which the past has disappeared, and the future has not yet appeared, and the present, before it is well perceived, immediately escapes the grasp of sense?”

Following Saint Basil the Great, Saint John of Damascus says that aion is that which was extended along with the eternal beings like a movement of time or like a space in time; and for this reason eternal, as God is called eternal, but also pre-eternal…I say, God, that is, the Father and His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit, our one God.

This God of our Lord Jesus Christ put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of all things in all things completed (c.f. Eph. 1,22-23), Saint Paul preaches. This means that the Church, being the body of Christ is not from this world (John 8,23), but since it exists in this historical time, it celebrates the change of the year, not in a worldly manner, but spiritually, showing that it exists in the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Therefore, in the Church and through the Church of Christ, time is interpreted as a new creation by the Apostle Paul. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5,17-18). We become communicants of this newness in Christ when we participate in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, where Christ dwells in our hearts (c.f. Eph. 3,17). “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (John 6,56).

Moreover, time becomes the time of life eternal during baptism, where we receive the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and put on Christ. “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3,27), Saint Paul preaches. This time of the gift of the seal of the Holy Spirit was granted to us by God the Father, so that we may cleanse ourselves from any defilement and become pleasant to God, just like the Apostle Barnabas says, “we should avoid the present situations and examine the times, flee completely from all the works of iniquity, lest the works of iniquity overtake us; and let us hate the deceit of the present time, that in the future we may be loved.”

It becomes clear that the alternation of the Ecclesiastical year, i.e. the time, does not concern the distinction of hours, day and night, but to the “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20,21) according to the Evangelist Luke. About this, Saint Paul says, “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6,2).

At the time of the change of the year, where apostasy and iniquity abound, and humanity is tested by wars, strife and “every evil thing” (cf. James 3:16), we too should reflect on our transgressions, and in fear and terror work out our salvation (cf. Philippians 2:12).

As we celebrate the dawn of the new year, in Christ, God the Word, the Incarnate by the pure flesh of the most blessed Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, let us entreat Saint Basil the Great Hierarch of Cappadocia, to intercede for our souls, the peace of the whole world, especially for the tested Gaza strip and the wider region of the Middle East, as well as for every kind of schism and the healing of the torn unity of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church.

And let us say along with the Hymnographer: “Thou Who hast framed all things by Thine ineffable wisdom, O Christ God the Word, and hast established times and seasons for our sakes: bless the works of Thy hands.” (Minaion Sept. 1^st, Matins, praises, both now). Thou Who art full of goodness, bless this year and protect in peace and unity Thine Church, our Venerable Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood, our reverend Christian flock, the Holy City of Jerusalem, and our pious nation of the Rum Orthodox. Amen. Blessed and peaceful New Year, 2024. Many Happy Returns!”

Afterwards, the apolytykion of the Circumcision was chanted and of Basil the Great. Then His Beatitude cut the cake, wishing a happy, blessed and peaceful New Year 2024 and distributed it to those present.

Finally, the students of the Patriarchal School of Zion sang the carols, “we are the New Generation of the Holy Sepulchre” in the Patriarchate, in the homes of the Holy Sepulchre Fathers and the homes of members of the Greek Parish.

From Secretariat-General

On Friday, December 30, 2023 / January 12, 2024, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos received a ten-member delegation of the “Churches for the Middle East peace” organization, in the presence of Mr Ode Kawas, and His Beatitude spoke to them about the pastoral, educational, cultural and ecclesiastical work of the Patriarchate.

On the same day, His Beatitude also received a delegation from the Yaffo School, in the presence of the inspector Mr Ode Kawas,

A delegation of the “myrrh-bearing women” association – hamilat dib – of Saint James Cathedral,

and the Hegoumen of the Monastery of Haifa Archimandrite Artemios, the Priest Dimitrios with his wife and the ministering Priest of Haifa, Fr Michael from Moldavia, to whom His Beatitude bestowed the medal of the Cross bearer for the continuation of his fruitful ministry.

From Secretariat-General

Russia’s ambassador to Israel, Mr Anatoli Victor, and his collaborates with the representative of the Moscow Patriarchate in Jerusalem Archimandrite Vassianos and Archimandrite Nikon, visited the Patriarchate and exchanged greetings and wishes with His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, for the Christmas Feast and the New Year.

From Secretariat-General