H ΠΑΡΑΜΟΝΗ ΤΩΝ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΕΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ Ο ΑΓΙΑΣΜΟΣ ΣΤΟΝ ΙΟΡΔΑΝΗ ΠΟΤΑΜΟ - Eve of Epiphany at the Jordan River - His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine

Η ΠΑΡΑΜΟΝΗ ΤΩΝ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΩΝ ΣΤΗ ΒΗΘΛΕΕΜ - Christmas Eve in Bethlehem - 6 January 2022 - His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine

Archbishop Elpidophoros Arrives in Washington for State Department Event

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America has arrived in Washington,D.C. to participate in the U.S. Department of State's Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.The forum runs from 16-18 July 2019.Archbishop Elpidophoros,who is based at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America's headquarters in New York,was invited to the Ministerial by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.Also attending will be His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine.*
His Eminence will speak at the Breakout Session on Atrocity Prevention-Protecting Vulnerable Religious Minorities in Conflict and Crisis Settings,which is being held at the State Department's Burns Auditorium on 17 July from 1:15-2:45 pm.Moderating the session will be Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Denise Natali.*
U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence will address the Ministerial on the closing day.

Ceremony Reaffirms Enduring Ties Between Jerusalem and Constantinople

Despite the recent belligerence of Moscow,the bonds between the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Constantinople were unequivocally reaffirmed as the Ecumenical Patriarchate's foremost lay associate,Mr.Panteleimon Vigkas,was honoured by the Jerusalem Patriarchate at an evening ceremony on 22 October 2018 in its Metochion,or ecclesiastical embassy,on the Bosporus in Istanbul,Turkey.At the Metochion's Church of St.George Neochori,His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople invested Mr.Vigkas,who holds the title Archon Chartophilakas of the Great Church of Christ,with the honour Crusader of the Panaghian Tomb,rewarding Mr.Vigkas for his Merit of Mercy to the Holy Sepulchre on behalf of His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine.*
Representing the Jerusalem Patriarchate was His Eminence Archbishop Nektarios of Anthidona,Greece,Commissioner of the Holy Sepulchre.Patriarch Bartholomew also presided at the Vespers of St.James the Brother of God,First Bishop of Jerusalem,at the Metochion Church that evening.*
Mr.Vigkas is seldom far from Patriarch Bartholomew's side.He serves as President of the Imvros Educational and Cultural Association,which celebrates the heritage of Imvros,Patriarch Bartholomew's  home island,now known as Gokceada,Turkey.

Metropolitan Ignatios of Larissa,Greece Departs This Life in Miami - chaired committee on heresy

Word has been received of the passing of His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatios (Lappas) of Larissa and Tyrnavos,Greece .He died of a heart attack during liver transplant surgery on 26 June 2018 in Miami,Florida.He was 72.
Born in Salamina,Greece on the island of Salamis,the largest of the Saronic Islands,just 16 kilometers west of Athens,he was fatherless from an early age and endured crushing poverty;yet he rose from distressing origins to a high position within the Church of Greece.It was,as the title of his autobiography put it,"Like a Fairy Tale."*
Educated at the University of Athens,he began his studies as a student of law,then transferred to Theology.Meteorically,Metropolitan Ignatios was tonsured a monk on 17 January 1976;ordained a deacon on 22 January,and then a priest on 25 January of the same year.From 1976-94,he served in his hometown of Salamina and edited the youth magazine "The Talent."
His Eminence was consecrated to the episcopacy on 28 May 1994 and enthroned as Metropolitan of Larissa,capital of the Thessaly region,on 28 July of that year.*
On 6 June 2014 he was awarded the honourary title of Grand Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine for his genuine love and support of the Jerusalem Patriarchate,which he expressed by his pilgrimages to the Holy Places accompanied by priests and laity from his Metropolis.*
In October of 2016,Metropolitan Ignatios,who was chairman of the Holy Synod's committee on heresy,chaired the 28th Pan-Orthodox Conference on Heresies and Para-Religions in Agrinio,Greece,which was entitled "Heretical and Occult Ideas of the Human Being and Human Rights."The conference was attended by more than a hundred representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches,including the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Moscow Patriarchate.It focused on false beliefs of such groups as the Mormons,Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Scientists,especially distorted anthropology.The final document concluded that:
Anthropological deviations from the Orthodox teaching in many occult and heretical movements lead to negative consequences for individuals who profess them and for whole groups of people.

World Council of Churches Takes Part in Orthodox Service-plus Patriarch Bartholomew's special inclusive prayer

The World Council of Churches joined the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem for the services of Pentecost,plus a special ecumenical prayer service,in Jerusalem from 4-5 June 2017.WCC General Secretary Rev.Dr.Olav Fyske Tveit was welcomed by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine.At the Pentecost Divine Liturgy on 4 June,Rev.Dr.Tveit was joined by the concelebrants their Eminences Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias;Archbishop Theodosios (Hanna) of Sebastia;Archbishop Demetrios of Lydda;and Metropolitan Joachim of Helenoupolis,as well as other members of the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood (Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre),local parishoners and pilgrims.After the Divine Liturgy,representatives of the WCC joined in the Orthodox kneeling prayers of Pentecost.Archbishop Theodosios (Hanna) of Sebastia is a Palestinian Arab.Educated in Greece,he worked his way up the ranks of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.He has recently been included in several high profile services with His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III.*
On 5 June,the Monday of the Holy Spirit,a special ecumenical prayer service was held at the Dormition Abbey,Jerusalem,and centered on the theme of prayer for worldwide justice and peace.For this service,His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople composed the following inclusive prayer:
A Prayer For Pentecost
Almighty Father,who created all things out of love and fashioned all people in your image,who sent your only Son for the life of the world,to bring light to those dwelling in darkness:look down from the heavens and hear our prayer for unity and peace.
Lord Jesus,Word of God,who spoke through the prophets and judges,who is revealed through the least of your brothers and sisters,who desires that all should be saved and that your disciples should be one:reconcile the scattered parts of your body.
Heavenly King,Comforter,the Spirit of Truth,present everywhere and filling all things,the treasury of goodness and giver of life:come and dwell within us and among us,by cleansing us from the stain of division and healing us from the pain of suffering.
From this Upper Room and Holy Land,we stretch out our hands in prayer and open up our hearts in compassion,so the world may believe you are the living God and that "God is love."

Synodical Act of Canonisation of St.John the New Chozebite - the historical background and life of Orthodoxy's newest saint

In a singularly resplendent and moving Orthros and Divine Liturgy,the canonisation of St.John the New Chozebite was celebrated by His Beatitude Theophilos III,Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine,as well as other hierarchs and lesser clergy both from the Patriarchate and the Romanian Orthodox Church,as well as other autocephalous Orthodox Churches,at the Monastery of St.George Chozeba,Palestine,before the sacred relics and icon of the new saint on 31 January,2016.*
The area of the Cherith brook and the Monastery of St.George Chozebite within it,the place where we hold this Joint Patriarchal Liturgy,have proven to be sites of revelation of God's miracles for the salvation of man since the days of the Old Testament,His Beatitude said in his Canonisation decree for St.John the New Chozebite.This is where,to escape the wrath of King Ahab,Prophet Elias sought refuge,called by God.His Beatitude went on to mention that Joachim and Anna prayed there and became ancestors of God as by divine intervention they were liberated from the shame of childlessness and bore a child,Maria the ever virgin,through whom the Only Begotten Son and Logos of God,Jesus Christ,became incarnate by the Holy Spirit.
During the first years of the monastic angelic community,shown to us by our Lord Jesus Christ,this area was inhabited by the five holy fathers of the Monastery of Chozeba:Promos,Elias,Yannaios,Aian and Zenon,who led a holy life to sanctification.After them,in the fifth century AD,St.John,Bishop of Caesarea,Palestine,an opponent of the heresy of Monophysitism,expanded this first skete into a large monastic centre.Then,men,churches and cells were lost to the Persian rage in 614 AD.From the ruins and the ashes of destruction,St.George the Chozebite,hailing from Cyprus,went on to restore the Monastery and turn it once more into a pole of attraction and a monastic centre for hundreds of monks.
In the mid-twentieth century,God blessed the Monastery par excellence through the presence of His chosen vessel,St.John the New Chozebite.Leaving behind his earthly homeland of Romania,relatives and friends,he arrived in the Holy Land as a pilgrim and received the monastic schema at the Monastery of St.Savvas the Sanctified,where he would live a monk's life for a decade.He then went on to lead an ascetic life at this monastery of Chozeba,hence why he has been called "the Chozebite."He also lived in the desert of the Jordan River,emulating the example of the Baptist and subjecting himself to asceticism,fasting,vigilance and prayer...Those who have known St.John attest to this day the holy life and the help he offered through prayer and spiritual guidance.Others attest that after his dormition they were cured of their illnesses by his mediation.
For these reasons,and for the strengthening of the faithful of the Mother of Churches and those pilgrims who have come to the Monastery of Chozeba from across the world,and to the glory of the Triadic God,the Holy and Sacred Synod has decided to sanctify St.John the New Chozebite and place him in the Canon of Saints of the Church of Jerusalem,his memory to be observed on the 28th of July of each year,the day of the translation of his holy relics.
In the Holy City of Jerusalem,22 December 2015
THEOPHILOS III,Patriarch of Jerusalem
KYRIAKOS,Metropolitan of Nazareth
Here are affixed the signatures of the rest of the Holy and Sacred Synod.

Newest Orthodox Saint To Be Canonised in Palestine Sunday (Revised) - St.John the New Chozebite

John the hermit,a twentieth century Romanian-born monk,will be canonised tomorrow as St.John the New Chozebite by His Beatitude Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine.Thousands of pilgrims from Romania and a delegation from the Romanian Orthodox Church are expected to attend the Divine Liturgy at the St.George Chozeba Monastery in the austere Wadi Qelt setting.*
John the hermit was born in 1913.In 1937,he journeyed to Palestine,first living in the ancient Mar Saba monastery near Jerusalem,before retreating to a cave near the Wadi Qelt monastery.He died in 1960.Several miracles of healing have been attributed to him.His relics are enshrined in the St.George Chozeba Monastery.John the Hermit's body is well-preserved to this day.*
The name Wadi Qelt refers to a valley with a stream that has its source near Jerusalem and is a tributary of the Jordan River.The St.George Chozeba Monastery,which is under the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem,is built along a sheer rock face amid striking geology.It is a well regarded,if somewhat rugged,hiking destination.

Chania,Crete To Host Pan-Orthodox Council

It has been decided by the preparatory meeting of the Primates and Delegations of the 14 autocephalous Orthodox Churches in Chambesy,Switzerland that the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Chania will be the site of the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church from 16-27 June 2016.The Orthodox Academy is a conference center with tasteful modern architecture and only a short walk from the sea.It is next to the 17th century Gonia Monastery and a ten minute walk from the fishing village of Kolympari.
Chania,the second largest city on the Greek island of Crete,is the capital of Chania prefecture and 39 kilometers from an international airport.*
On Pentecost Sunday,19 June,the Panegyrical Divine Liturgy will be concelebrated by His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew and the Primates in the Cathedral Church of St.Menas in Herakleion.*
In his address to the meeting,His Beatitude Theophilos III,Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine,said in Greek that the purpose of Our Synaxis is truly holy and sacred,the completion of the work that was commenced a long time ago by Our Fathers,namely the study,review and resolution of vital issues and problems facing Our Flocks and Our fellow human beings across the world.
Therefore,Our Synaxis provides testament to Our unity in Christ "through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4,30) and consolation to Christians,persecuted in the Middle East and other parts of the world,as well as moral strengthening for contemporary man,tested and tortured by political disunity and divisions,by the economic and moral crisis and by arbitrary and unprecedented hideous crimes against innocent souls.
Therefore,placing Our trust in the education,construction and salvation of the souls of Our rational flocks,we have by the Lord Himself the authority,in the upcoming Great Pan-Orthodox Synaxis,arranged by the Synaxis of the Primates in Constantinople in March 2014,to rule on the issues that have been unanimously agreed upon and on those on which unanimity has not been reached,and assign them for further study and resolution,His Beatitude noted.