Russian Orthodox Patriarch Visits Holy Land

Patriarch Cyril (Gundyayev) of Moscow has undertaken a visit to the Holy Land, meeting with Patriarch Theophilus III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem as well as with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Missions in Jerusalem of both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). More here and here.

Russian President Visits Holy Places in Jerusalem, Bethlehem

As part of his recent state visit to Israel Russian President Vladimir V. Putin has made a pilgrimage to the holy places of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, stopping at the Church of the Resurrection (the "Holy Sepulchre") in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. In Jerusalem the president was welcomed by Patriarch Theophilus III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem and representatives of the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. More here.

ROCOR Metropolitan Visits Holy Land

Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) has made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, during his time there meeting with Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem and concelebrating the services with the heads and clergy of both the patriarchal and synodal Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Missions in Jerusalem. More here and here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Visits the Holy Land

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk has begun a visit to the Holy Land. As part of his stay in the Holy Land Metropolitan Hilarion met with Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem to discuss issues concerning relations between the Jerusalemite and Russian Orthodox Churches as well as the Local Orthodox Churches generally. After his stop at the Jerusalem Patriarchate Metropolitan Hilarion went on to visit the seat of the patriarchal Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem at the Holy City's Cathedral of the Trinity, where he met with Archbishop Aris (Shirvanian), who serves as director of ecumenical and foreign relations for the autonomous Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. More here, here, and here.

Hierarchs of Middle Eastern Orthodox Churches Meet in Amman

Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem and the Holy Land; Archbishop Chrysostomos II (Demetriou) of the Cypriot Orthodox Church; Metropolitan Nikolaos of Hermopolis of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church; Metropolitans Aristarchos (Peristeris) of Constantina, Venediktos (Tsekouras) of Philadelphia, and Dorotheos (Leovaris) of Avila of the Jerusalemite Orthodox Church; and a clergyman representing the Antiochian Orthodox Church have met in Amman, Jordan, to discuss the current state of the Local Orthodox Churches based in the Middle East, inter-Orthodox issues in the Middle East and abroad, and ongoing political developments in the Middle East. More (in Greek) here.

Jerusalem Patriarch Interviewed on Issues in the Holy Land

In an interview Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem has said that his largely Arabic-speaking Palestinian Orthodox flock should "refer back to [its] roots" in side-stepping a question about ethnic Greeks' dominance of the Orthodox hierarchy in the Holy Land (which consists of seventeen ethnic Greeks and one ethnic Arab despite the largely Arab and Russian composition of the laity), also saying that one "cannot disregard the Byzantine presence that was here [in the Holy Land]."

In the same interview the patriarch strongly reaffirmed the Church of Jerusalem's involvement in the World Council of Churches and answered questions about the political and religious tensions in the Holy Land. The full interview can be found here.

Jordanian Orthodox Protest Greek-Dominated, Pro-Israeli Hierarchy

In a protest Sunday evening faithful of Jordan's Metropolis of Philadelphia based in Amman called for the Arabization of the hierarchy of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem and the resignation of Patriarch Theofilos III (Giannopoulos) in favor of a Palestinian or Jordanian Arab native to the Holy Land. The protests were organized after Patriarch Theofilos renewed land use agreements with the Israeli government that he had indicated he would cancel when he replaced deposed Patriarch Irenaios (Skopelitis) in 2005. More here.

Patriarchs of Jerusalem Meet After Pascha

Patriarch Theofilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem and the head of the autonomous Armenian Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, Patriarch Torkom II (Manoogian), have met together following the celebration of the Lord's Pascha in the Holy City.

In his address to the Armenian Orthodox delegation Patriarch Theofilos asked God to "renew in us faith, hope, and love, so that our mission here in the Holy Land...may be a beacon of the hope of resurrection." Speaking for the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Archbishop Nourhan (Manougian) expressed the Armenian Orthodox Church's gladness that the previous "unhealthy atmosphere of distrust" in Jerusalem is being replaced by a spirit of collaboration, revealing the Jerusalemite and Armenian Orthodox in the Holy Land as "one Body and one entity."

More on the meeting of the two Patriarchs of Jerusalem and their delegations can be found here and here.

Metropolitan Volodymyr Concludes Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kiev has returned from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During the course of his pilgrimage he met with Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem in the Holy City, concelebrated the festal services for the Annunciation in Nazareth, and celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the Tomb of the Lord in Jerusalem's Church of the Resurrection.

Metropolitan Volodymyr was accompanied on his pilgrimage by Archbishops Filipp (Osadchenko) of Poltava and Alexander (Drabinko) of Pereslavl and Bishop Feodor (Mamasuyev) of Mukachevo and Uzhhorod, all hierarchs of the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church. More on his travels can be found here.

Patriarch Theophilos Celebrates Annunciation in Nazareth

On yesterday's feast of the Annunciation Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem celebrated the festal Divine Liturgy in Nazareth's Church of the Archangel Gabriel. Reflecting the mixture of peoples present, the services were celebrated in a mixture of Arabic, Greek, Romanian, and Slavonic. More here.

Update (10/4/2011): Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kiev was present in Nazareth on the Annunciation as part of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land and concelebrated the festal services with Patriarch Theophilos. More on his visit can be found here.

Patriarch Theophilus Comments on Divisions in Ukrainian Orthodoxy

During his visit to Ukraine, Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem has stated that he does not believe that the Ukrainian Orthodox who reject the authority of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church should appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the resolution of their canonical status, saying that they should instead first "find a common language and a willingness to participate in the dialogue" amongst themselves. More here.

Photo of the Day: Plans for Kiev's New Cathedral

Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem with Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kiev examining the model of the Cathedral of the Resurrection currently under construction in Kiev.

Patriarch Theophilos Visiting Ukraine

Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem is on a visit to the Ukraine. Over the weekend he met with hierarchs of the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church and then on Sunday visited the Kiev Caves Lavra.

Ukrainian PM in Jerusalem

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has begun his visit to the Holy Land with a meeting with Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem. More here.

Former Jerusalem Patriarch Not Imprisoned, Refuses to Leave Patriarchate

Claims that the deposed Patriarch Irinaios I (Skopelitis) of Jerusalem is imprisoned at the Patriarchate have proved to be untrue. He instead remains at the Patriarchate because he believes that once he leaves he will not be permitted to return. Irinaios continues to believe that he is the legitimate Patriarch of Jerusalem despite his deposition and defrocking and the universal recognition of his successor, Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos). More here.

Patriarch Theophilos Visits Jordan

Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem has visited Jordan despite the recent unrest there to attend an interfaith meeting led by a member of the Jordanian royal family and to visit the newly established Monastery of St. John the Baptist. More here.

Theophilus III Calls for Peace Between Orthodox Churches of Jerusalem

At a gathering today of hierarchs and clergy of the Church of Jerusalem and the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilus III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem called for both churches to "work to be examples of peace, non-violence, reconciliation and true symbiosis."

Patriarch Theophilus' words are a breath of fresh air as the Holy Land is the site of regular clashes between the clergy (and even the monks) of the Jerusalemite, Coptic, Armenian, and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in Israel and Palestine and also between them and the Roman Catholic Church in the area.

The full text of Patriarch Theophilus' speech can be found here.

New Year's Speech of Theophilus III

The speech of Patriarch Theophilus III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem before the President of Israel on the occasion of the New Year can be found here.

Beit Jala Parish Protests Visit of Theophilus III to Bethlehem

During the visit of Patriarch Theophilus III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem to the Bethlehem area this past Sunday for St. Nicholas' day the parishioners of the Palestinian Orthodox parish in Beit Jala, a suburb of the holy city, refused to meet with the patriarch and instead protested his visit because of revelations that the Patriarchate has continued to sell lands owned by the Palestinian Orthodox Church in the occupied West Bank to Israeli citizens for development as Jewish settlements.

The predecessor of Theophilus III, Patriarch Irenaeus I (Skopelitis), was removed from the Patriarchate for selling land to Israelis, so the failure of the new patriarch to stand up for the interests of his flock and to serve instead the interests of the predominantly Greek Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher (which administers the Patriarchate and the holy sites of Palestine) has come as a great disappointment to the Palestinian Orthodox faithful. In addition to his mishandling of church property in the Holy Lands Patriarch Theophilus also recently abandoned the Jerusalemite Orthodox faithful in North America under pressure from the Phanar, transferring them to the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

More on the Beit Jala protests can be found here.