On Saturday, 27 June 2026, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the feast of the holy Prophet Elisha at the Monastery dedicated to his name in Jericho, where the sycamore tree of Zacchaeus is also situated.
On this day of the Prophet Elisha’s commemoration, the Church recalls that the Prophet Elisha was the son of Shaphat, from the town of Abel-meholah in the land of Manasseh, and a farmer by occupation.
Around 909 BC, the Prophet Elijah, having received a command from God, anointed Elisha to succeed him as prophet while he was ploughing the land with twelve yoke of oxen. Elisha slaughtered the oxen and gave them as food to the people; then, leaving his parents behind, he followed the Prophet Elijah until his Ascension in the fiery chariot.
From that chariot, Elijah cast his mantle upon him; with it, Elisha walked across the River Jordan and received a double portion of his master’s grace. His wondrous deeds are recorded in the Fourth Book of the Kingdoms of the Old Testament. He departed this life, full of days, around 830 BC, and was buried in Samaria.
In his honour, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem presided over the Divine Liturgy at the above-mentioned Holy Monastery, concelebrating with Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Holy Sepulchre Hieromonks, Priests from the neighbouring districts, and the visiting Archimandrite Panteleimon from the Holy Metropolis of Poland. The hymns were chanted in Greek on the right by Dr Yakoub and Mr George Barakla, and in Arabic on the left by the Monastery’s chanter.
Before the Holy Communion, His Beatitude delivered the following sermon in Greek:
“Elias was covered with a whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit: whilst he lived, he was not moved with the presence of any prince, neither could any bring him into subjection. No word could overcome him; and after his death his body prophesied. He did wonders in his life, and at his death were his works marvellous”(Sirach 48:12–14).
Beloved brethren in Christ,
Pious Christians and pilgrims,The grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us all together today in the Holy Monastery dedicated to the Prophet Elisha, in the most ancient and biblical city of Jericho, lying near the streams of the Jordan, that we may festively honour the memory of the most radiant luminary of the inhabited world and illustrious among the Prophets, the glorious Elisha.
The Prophet Elisha was the son of the wealthy farmer Shaphat, who laboured in the Valley of the Jordan. By the command of God he was anointed a prophet by Elijah the Thesbite, becoming his successor, as the Book of the Kingdoms bears witness: “And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus… and Elisha the son of Shaphat shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room”(1 Kings 19:15–16, KJV).
The Prophet Elijah found Elisha ploughing his field and called him to follow him, casting his mantle upon him, as the Scripture again testifies: “And he cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee” (1 Kings 19:19–20, KJV). This event signified Elisha’s calling to the prophetic office and his reception, through that office, of spiritual power and divine authority.
By means of Elijah’s mantle, Elisha divided the waters of the Jordan on either side and crossed over. From this miracle, the “sons of the prophets” recognised in Elisha the spirit of their master Elijah and bowed themselves before him to the ground, as the Scripture declares: “He took also the mantle of Elijah… and smote the waters, and they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over” (4 Kings 2:13–14, KJV).
It is noteworthy that the God-inspired Elisha lived for approximately fifty years (c. 850–800 BC). His ministry as a prophet was distinguished by extraordinary acts and many miracles. He made the brackish waters of a spring at Jericho fit to drink (4 Kings 2:19–22); he pronounced judgement upon the mocking youths, who were torn by two she-bears (4 Kings 2:23–25); he multiplied the oil of a poor widow in order to free her from grievous debt; he raised to life the son of the wealthy Shunammite woman who had shown him hospitality (4 Kings 4:18–37); he healed Naaman, the Aramean commander, of his leprosy (4 Kings 5:1–14); and he punished with that same disease his wicked and covetous servant Gehazi (4 Kings 5:20–27). Moreover, even after his repose, he continued to work wonders, restoring to life a dead man who had been cast into his tomb and had come into contact with his bones (4 Kings 13:21).
From these wondrous acts of the Prophet Elisha, his spiritual greatness is most clearly revealed, namely, the gift of the divine charisms which he received from God through his renowned teacher, the Prophet Elijah. Therefore, the hymnographer exclaims with wonder: “Who can recount thy practical virtues? Who, O Prophet, is able to declare the ascents of the Spirit? Having found an abyss of the gifts of God, O Elisha, thou didst pour forth unto those who came unto thee divine prophecies and healings of soul and body. The abundant grace of the Holy Spirit found its resting place and dwelt within thee, O all-praised Elisha.”
The foremost of the Apostles, Peter, pronounces blessed those who have become vessels of the Holy Spirit, saying: “Happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you” (1 Peter 4:14). It is this same Holy Spirit—the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified—that also spoke through the Prophet Elisha, as the hymnographer proclaims: “Rejoice, O Elisha, who upon earth didst manifest a life equal to that of the angels, and whilst yet in the flesh didst live in perfect excellence.” And again: “Keeping the eye of thy soul, O Prophet, free from material things, thou wast counted worthy, by the radiance of the Spirit, to behold beforehand the things to come.”
This gift of foreseeing things to come is likewise confirmed by Sirach, who writes: “And in his life he did wonders, and in his death were his works marvellous” (Sirach 48:14). Among Elisha’s marvellous deeds, Sirach especially highlights the fact that: “No word could overcome him; and after his death his body prophesied” (Sirach 48:13). Simply put, none of Elisha’s words ever exceeded his deeds, and even after his repose, through his lifeless body, a prophecy was fulfilled. Sirach is here alluding to the miracle of the resurrection that took place at Elisha’s tomb (cf. 2 Kings 13:21): “And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they espied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet” (4 Kings 13:21). This remarkable event occurred when the Israelites were preparing to bury a dead man. Seeing raiders approaching from a distance, they fled in fear, hastily casting the body into the open tomb of the Prophet Elisha. As soon as the dead man touched the holy relics of the Prophet, he came back to life and stood upon his feet.
Furthermore, this event bears witness to the reverence shown by the faithful of the Church towards the relics of the saints and confirms the pious teaching of our Orthodox Church concerning them. This is likewise testified by the Apostle and Evangelist Luke in the Acts of the Apostles: “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19:11–12).
From all that has been said, my beloved brethren, it becomes abundantly clear that He Who was conceived in the womb of the pure Virgin, of Whom the Prophet Isaiah bore witness as the “Angel of great counsel” (cf. Isaiah 9:6), that is to say, Christ, the Son and Word of God the Father, together with His Holy Spirit, is He Who works and reveals the saving truth, both through the holy Prophets of the Old Testament and through the holy Apostles of the New Testament.
Wherefore, as we celebrate the sacred memory of the holy Prophet Elisha, let us also say with the hymnographer: “Rejoice, O all-wise Elisha; for having cleansed thy mind from the pleasures of the flesh, thou didst worthily receive, O glorious one, the rays of the Holy Spirit. These thou didst impart unto all who came after thee, and thou wast wholly made resplendent with divine light. Therefore thou hast made thy dwelling in the Light that knoweth no evening, ever praying on behalf of those who honour thee.”
Into that same unwaning Light have also entered the Saints commemorated today, together with the God-inspired Prophet Elisha: Saint Methodios, Archbishop of Constantinople, and the Holy Hieromartyr Cyril, Bishop of Gortyna in Crete.
Many blessed and peaceful returns! Amen.”
Thereafter, His Beatitude read the Prayer for the First Fruits, marking the beginning of the summer season.
Following the Dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, the diligent Hegumen, Archimandrite Dositheos, offered refreshments and an abundant festive Lenten reception at the monastery’s guest house, and at midday hosted a meal at a restaurant in the city.
