The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem stated that Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, all Palestine, and Jordan, concluded his official visit to Athens with a renewed appeal for the protection of Christians in the Holy Land and the wider Middle East, and for the safeguarding of Christian and Muslim holy sites in the Holy Land under the historic ‘Status Quo’ arrangements and the Hashemite custodianship.
During meetings with Constantine An. Tassoulas, President of the Hellenic Republic, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, and Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports Sofia Zacharaki, Patriarch Theophilos, affirmed the Patriarchate’s historic responsibility for the Holy Places and its pastoral duty toward the faithful of the holy land.
The Patriarchate welcomed the honors conferred by President Tassoulas upon His Eminence Archbishop Alexios of Tiberias, Patriarchal Commissioner in Gaza, and Archimandrite Silas, Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Porphyrios in Gaza, in recognition of their steadfast ministry among Gaza’s suffering people. Their witness, the Patriarchate said, reflects the apostolic command to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Patriarch Theophilos also signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Greek Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture for the preservation, restoration, documentation, and protection of the Patriarchate’s manuscripts, relics, sacred objects, and historic properties.
The Patriarchate said the same mission guides its wider efforts to keep channels of spiritual dialogue open, including toward Moscow, in support of peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Patriarch Theophilos also recalled the recent inauguration, with King Abdullah II of Jordan, of the Baptism Site International Orthodox University at Al-Maghtas, affirming its role in Christian education, interreligious understanding, and service to future generations in the land of revelation.
Source: Patriarchate of Jerusalem
