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His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will visit the Patriarchate of Jerusalem onNovember 9-14, 2012, at the invitation of His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III ofJerusalemand the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem.

The focal point of the visit will be pilgrimage to the greatest holy sites of the Christian world. Patriarch Kirill is expected to concelebrate with Patriarch Theophilos III at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and walk along the Via Dolorosa.

Also planned are visits to the Basilica of the Nativity of Christ inBethlehem, toNazareth,Gethsemane,MountTabor, Tiberias and other places linked with the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill will consecrate the cathedral in the Gorny Convent and conduct the Great Blessing of the Waters in theJordan Riverat the site of the baptism of the Saviour.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill is to meet with the leaders ofIsrael, the Palestinian National Authority and theKingdomofJordan.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill’s book “Freedom and Responsibility” in the Hebrew language will be presented.  The Primate of theRussianChurchwill visit the Yad Vashem Memorial.

Accompanying His Holiness will be the choir of the Sretensky stavropegic monastery. The choir will sing at the divine services and give concerts of the Russian religious music.

The visit of His Holiness will serve to the strengthening of brotherly bonds that have united the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem and the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries.

By the Orthodox tradition, all Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches visit their brothers in other Local Churches after election. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill visited theChurchofConstantinoplein 2009, theChurchofAlexandriain 2012, theChurchofAntiochin 2011, and theOrthodoxChurchesofBulgaria,CyprusandPolandin 2012.