On Friday, November 22, 2024, at 10.00 am, a Doxology was held at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the 19th enthronement anniversary of Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem.
The Doxology was presided over by His Beatitude and with Him their Eminences the High Priests of the Throne, Holy Sepulchre Hieromonks, and Deacons, and Priests from the various parishes of the Patriarchate. The chanting was delivered by Hierodeacon Simeon, as the service was attended by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Dimitrios Anengelosopoulos, Mrs Anna Mantika and faithful from Jerusalem.
After the Doxology, led by the Patriarch, all present went to the Patriarchate Reception Hall.
There, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina and Chief Secretary, addressed His Beatitude as follows:
“Your Beatitude Father and Master,
The Church of Jerusalem, the Mother of the Churches and the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood of old, celebrate today the 19th Anniversary of the Enthronement of Your Holy Beatitude to the glorious Throne of Saint James the Brother of God. This event is of particular importance in the history and life of the Church of Jerusalem, but also of the Church as a whole, since it took place in a time of crisis and upheaval, which upheaval, however, did not lead to the collapse of the Church of Jerusalem. The Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood, waking up on the morning of March 2005, found its valuable property in the Old City of Jerusalem, not far from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, depopulated and stored in a corruption-serving agreement of corrupt interests. The Brotherhood, rising to the occasion, reacted immediately. It condemned these agreements as invalid and denounced their initiators. Subsequently, the Synod of the Patriarchate, following the rules of the Church, was referred to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which convened a Pan-Orthodox Synod, through the decision of which the way for a Patriarchal election was opened. These elections were conducted per the rules of the Church and the Jordanian Law of the Patriarchate and ended in the holy Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on August 9/22, 2005, electing Your Holy Beatitude as the 141st Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem. The seal of these elections was the event, which the Church of Jerusalem joyfully celebrates today, the Enthronement of Your Holy Beatitude in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on November 9 / 22, 2005, with the participation of Representatives of all the Orthodox Churches, the Representatives of the governments of Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, the President of the Republic of Greece, Mr Karolos Papoulias and the Representative of the Emir of Qatar.
Under such conditions, the Inter-Orthodox, Inter-Christian and international recognition of Your Beatitude in charge of the Church of Jerusalem, was directly involved in civil and judicial disputes on the payment of huge sums of money for the annulment of the illegal agreements and therefore, the preservation of the property rights of the Patriarchate, the Status Quo of the Holy Places of the Old City of Jerusalem and the rights of the Christian Community in the Holy Land, the cradle of all Christianity.
At the same time, Your Beatitude attached great importance to the unity in Christ of the Orthodox Churches in the bond of peace through a true Christian witness to the world. To this end, You made a peaceful visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Moscow, the Patriarchate of Romania and the Churches of Poland, Finland and Albania, to convey to them, too, the fabulous and hopeful message of the Resurrection, which emanates incessantly from the life-giving Tomb of the Lord. In this spirit, Your Beatitude also participated in the Inter-Orthodox Synod held in Chambesy in Switzerland, for the succession to the Throne of the Church of Cyprus. Also, the contribution of Your Beatitude, either through Your representatives or in person, was very active in the work of preparation and convening of the Great Synod of Orthodoxy in Crete, and very strong was the reiteration of Your position regarding the resumption of an Inter-Orthodox dialogue for the return to the Orthodox society and unity that has existed from the beginning.
The relations of the Patriarchate with the other Christian Churches were determined by Your Beatitude by redefining Your participation in the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches and by strengthening the institution of the Council of Heads of Local Churches, convened to the current Patriarchate under the auspices of Your Beatitude to study and deal with problems of the Christian Churches of the Holy Land, such as the granting of residence permits (visas), imposition of unacceptable municipal taxes, incidents of violence at the expense of pilgrims and affected Christians from the violence of the previous year and now the raging and endless war in Israel, in the territory of the Palestinian Authority and in the Monastery of Saint Porphyrios of Gaza. For this work of Yours of preserving the peaceful cooperation of the Christian Churches of the Holy Land, Your Beatitude was praised by the recently visiting our Patriarchate, His Eminence the Archbishop of Canterbury, Mr Justin Welby. For Your interfaith pacifying work, You were recently awarded the first peace medal from the Republic of Kazakhstan. Your Holy Beatitude often invited government agents and diplomatic representatives of many countries to the Patriarchate, always giving the necessary priority to our motherland and explaining to them the multifaceted Pastoral and pacifying work the Patriarchate conducts.
Your Beatitude’s concern was unwavering for the observance of the rights of the present Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood in the Holy Places, such as in the Grotto of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the renovation of which is already underway. Also, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with the participation of the Brotherhood in the ongoing strengthening and conservation project, by expert professors and technicians from the Sapientia University of Rome, the subsoil and the floor of the area around the Rotunda, around the Deposition Slate, under the Seven Arches and in the Entrance of the Church with the cooperation of the Three Major Christian Communities. These works contribute greatly to the decency of the precious habitation of the Lord’s glory, the pan-Orthodox and pan-Christian monument of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This decency was greatly enhanced by the adornment of the chandeliers of the Catholicon of the Church, our private space, and by the maintenance of the one hundred canticles of the large Russian-made dome of the 19th century.
The renovation work carried out by Your Beatitude continued without interruption under the expert conservator of icons and manuscripts from Cyprus, Mr Stavros Andreou, in the buildings of the Archives and the library. Moreover, in the house of the blessed Patriarch of Jerusalem Diodorus, the construction of a Museum, where old icons and other valuable ecclesiastical objects testifying to the cultural legacy of the present Patriarchate to the Holy Land will be exhibited. Likewise, there is an ongoing project for a Theological Research centre in the historic Monastery of the Holy Cross and for the utilization of the surrounding agricultural area, preserved by the blessed Patriarch of Jerusalem Benedictus.
The above-mentioned, are only a few words, extracted from the rich spiritual legacy of the Pastoral and Administrative activity of Your Beatitude, not for boasting, since according to the Apostle Paul, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal. 6,14) but for the strengthening of us the Holy Sepulchre Fathers, so that in fraternal solidarity we cooperate with each other, bearing fruit, and increasing in good works and in obedience, and we support Your Beatitude in the precious and God-pleasing Patriarchal work.
Raising the glass, Your Beatitude, in the name of the Holy Synod and of the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood, I wish You many returns, healthy, peaceful, happy, stable, full of governmental support from above, so that You may continue to lead the ship of the Church of Jerusalem to salvation, for the praise of our blessed nation and the glory of our Triune God. So be it.”
Source: Patriachate of Jerusalem
