On the Feast of the Holy Glorious Myrrh-bearer Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Marcella of Chios, on Tuesday, 4 August 2026, Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem visited the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) Monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane.
He was accompanied by Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Archimandrite Christodoulos, and Archdeacon Mark.
The Patriarch bestowed his blessing upon the Abbess, Mother Elizabeth, the nuns of the Holy Convent, and the faithful gathered there in prayer. He was welcomed by Metropolitan Mark of Berlin, his auxiliary, Bishop Job of Stuttgart, and Archimandrite Roman, Superior of both the Monastery on the Mount of Olives and the Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene.
Following the Divine Liturgy, Patriarch Theophilos took part in the festal procession, which was also attended by Archimandrite Bassian, Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission (MISSIA), and the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Israel, Mr Anatoly Viktorov.
Patriarch Theophilos then addressed Metropolitan Mark of Berlin, the sisterhood of the convent, and Archimandrite Roman with the following greeting, delivered in English:
“Greetings to the Community of the Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene on their Patronal Feast
The Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
4 August 2026
Dear Archimandrite Roman,
Dear Mother Abbess Elizabeth,
Your Eminences,
Your Graces,
Beloved Members of this Sisterhood,
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We congratulate you on this holy feast, and as we gather once again to honour your blessed patron, Saint Mary Magdalene the Holy Myrrh-Bearer and Equal-to-the Apostles with joy of soul and fervent love, we sing with the hymnographer:
O glorious Mary,
you were filled with true knowledge and much wisdom,
keeping company with your own Creator;
for this cause you preached to all men of his saving sufferings
and awesome condescension,
and your praise is sung throughout the world.
As we the faithful delight today in her feast, we recall the power of her faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who had changed the entire direction of her life, and we celebrate her commitment to him right up to the very end. Nothing, not even the apparent catastrophe of the crucifixion and burial, could keep her from him: When he died, [she] did not abandon him, but went forth and brought him myrrh with tears.
It is precisely because of her faithfulness that Saint Mary Magdalene was granted parrhesia—true boldness—as we hear in the hymn:
He gave to you the divine power of the Spirit
and revealed to you that he would ascend to his unbegotten Father;
and he sent you to proclaim the divine good news of his resurrection
to his fainthearted initiates.
Therefore, since you have boldness with him,
pray fervently for all the world.
Because she preferred nothing on earth to the love of Christ, she was made glorious, made Godlike, delighting in the torrent of grace, and receiving the rewards of her labours. In her single-minded and undivided devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ, not only has she become our champion; she is our great example. Like her, we too are summoned to understand the way of Love, to take away the stone from our paltry existence, to emulate Mary Magdalene, and to offer him the gifts of a pure heart and a renewed mind.
As the Church of Jerusalem and all the peoples of our region continue to live in this season of deepening challenges and difficulties, Saint Mary Magdalene remains for us a powerful example and advocate. She understood what it meant to confront the power of loss and death face to face, and she knew the cost of faith in her divine Lord. Yet she preferred nothing on earth to the love of Christ and continued to follow in his footsteps even when it seemed that all was lost. And so it was that she was the first to behold the divine Resurrection of him who is the first cause of every good.
May God bless you on this great feast, and may Saint Mary Magdalene, your patron, pray for us that we may attain to the splendor of the saints and to everlasting glory.
Thank you”.
Source: Patriarchate of Jerusalem
