On Thursday, 4th December 2025, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem solemnly celebrated the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary into the Temple of Solomon, through which the divine Grace of the Spirit of Truth was brought into the Temple of God and into humanity.
On this feast, the Church, especially that of Jerusalem, recalls that the parents of the Theotokos, the holy ancestors of God Joachim and Anna, fulfilling their vow, dedicated her, three years old, to the Temple of Solomon, where she remained in the Holy of Holies, nourished by an angel and prepared for the divinely appointed work of the Divine Providence, namely the incarnation of the Son and Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.
In honour of this feast, at the women’s Holy Monastery of the Entry of the Theotokos – “Megali Panagia,” attached to the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood, a Great Hierarchical Vespers was celebrated in the evening, followed by the Divine Liturgy in the morning, presided over by Hthe Archbishop Aristovoulos of Qatar, concelebrated by the ministering Priest of the Monastery, Archimandrite Makarios, the Archimandrites Christodoulos, first in rank, Amphilochios, Dositheos, and the deacon Eustathios. The chanting was delivered by the Greek Literature teacher Mr Ioannis Karanikolas, with the assistance of students from the Patriarchal School of Zion. The services were attended by nuns of the Monastery, nuns from other Monasteries, and faithful Christians from the city of Jerusalem, in the presence of Ms Athanasia Malliou, the representative of the Greek Consulate General in Jerusalem.
During the Divine Liturgy, Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos, visited the Holy Monastery for veneration, together with the Holy Sepulchre Fathers.
The Patriarchal and Hierarchical entourages, and the devout congregation were received by the most pious Abbess Melani, who has restored the Monastery Church and conserved its icons.
The Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos was also celebrated in the Monastic and Patriarchal Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, under the lead of Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos, who chanted with the Hierarchs the Katavasiae of Christmas.
Source: Patriarchate of Jerusalem
