Delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Holy Land

An official delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, led by Metropolitan Kirill, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, came to the Holy Land on November 21, 2005, for the enthronement of His Beatitude Theophilus III as Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine.

The delegation, which included Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, DECR secretary for inter-Orthodox relations, and Deacons Sergiy Govorun and Sergiy Ulanov of the DECR staff, was met at the airport by Metropolitan Timotheos of Bostra, Russian Ambassador to Israel G. Tarasov and the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Yelisey (Ganaba).

From the airport the delegation went to the Cathedral of the Trinity at the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission. Metropolitan Kirill conducted a thanksgiving to the Archangel Michael and addressed the congregation.

After that the delegation visited Bethlehem to venerate the place of the Nativity of Christ and inspect the pilgrims hotel built through the efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the city, they were welcomed, among other persons, by Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarti.

Then the delegation visited the Gornensky Convent. Metropolitan Kirill greeted those who assembled in the convent’s Church of Our Lady of Kazan. He also inspected the construction site of the Church of All the Saints Who Shone Forth in the Russian Land and the repair work at the convent’s buildings.

After their visit to the convent, the delegation went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and venerated its shrines.

In the evening of November 21, Metropolitan Kirill and his delegation were received by His Beatitude Theophilus. Participating in the meeting were also Metropolitan Timotheos, Archbishops Theophanis of Gerasa and Dorotheos of Abila, Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, as well as Archimandrite Yelisey and Hegumen Tikhon (Zaitsev) of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission.

Metropolitan Kirill conveyed to His Beatitude Theophilus good wishes from Patriarch Alexy and expressed joy over the end of disorders experienced by the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. ‘The unanimous election of Your Beatitude to the Patriarchal throne gives hope that under your wise guidance the cause of God in the Holy Land will be strengthen and relations between the Patriarchates of Moscow and Jerusalem will be cordial and fraternal. We would like to express to you our love and assure you of our support’, he said.

Patriarch Theophilus in his response said that in recent years the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem went through a period of trials, which affected her relations with the Russian Orthodox Church. But now the patriarch hopes for the Church’s return to normal life and restoration of good relations, which have always existed between the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Moscow. He made a special mention of the role the Russian Orthodox Church played in overcoming the crisis in the Church of Jerusalem.

Speaking about his stay in Russia as representative of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem at the Patriarchate of Moscow, His Beatitude Theophilus underlined that His Holiness Patriarch Alexy treated him with love. He found many friends in Moscow and had an opportunity to come to a better knowledge of Russian cultural and spiritual traditions. ‘I am convinced that all the misunderstandings which darkened relations between the Orthodox Churches of Jerusalem and Russia in recent times are now in the past. We can assure Your Eminence and His Holiness Patriarch Alexy that from now on the fraternal relations between our Churches will grow stronger’, His Beatitude Theophilus said in the conclusion of the talk.

Metropolitan Kirill presented Patriarch Theophilus with an Icon of Our Lady of Iveron, a gift from Patriarch Alexy, and with a patriarchal staff from himself.

On November 22, the Russian church delegation attended the enthronement of His Beatitude Theophilus as Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem.