On Sunday, the 26th of March 2023, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, of Saint John of the Ladder, the feast of the Adoration of the Cross was celebrated by transference in the Holy Monastery of the Holy Cross, located in West Jerusalem near the Jewish Knesset.
This feast of the adoration of the Holy Cross was celebrated here again, as per tradition, because in the territory of this Monastery, under Lot, at the command of his uncle, Patriarch Abraham, the three-composite wood of pine, cypress, and cedar was planted, which after many years was used for the construction of the Cross, on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified.
In honor of the Cross, the wood of which was planted here, Vespers was celebrated in the evening and Divine Liturgy in the morning, presided over by Archbishop Theodosios of Sebasteia, with the co-celebration of the Archimandrites Klaudios, Kallistos, Ieronymos and Amfilohios, Dometianos, Ioannis, and others. The chanting was delivered by the Byzantine choir from Greece under the leadership of the President of Byzantine choir singers in Greece, Mr. Naoum, as the service was attended by a large congregation of faithful Christians, in the presence of the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr. Evangelos Vlioras and the Ambassador of Georgia Mr. Lhasa.
During the Divine Liturgy, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem visited the Monastery for veneration.
After the Divine Liturgy, the Hegoumen of the Monastery, Elder Dragoman received the Episcopal Entourage and the Delegation from Greece, consisting of Mr. Naum and his associates, for the presentation of the book conservation project under the conservator Mr. Stavros Andreou of the Library of the famous Theological School of the Cross (1804-1909) and the infrastructure works of the Centre for Biblical Studies, which the Patriarchate has undertaken and established.
Source: Patriarchate of Jerusalem