Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem ( el, Πατριάρχης Ιεροσολύμων Θεόφιλος Γ'; ar, غبطة بطريرك المدينة المقدسة اورشليم وسائر أعمال فلسطين كيريوس كيريوس ثيوفيلوس الثالث; he, הפטריארך תאופילוס השלישי מירושלים; born 4 April 1952) is the current Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. He is

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

d "

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

of the Holy City of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and all Palestine and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

." Theophilos (also spelled ''Theofilos'' or ''Theophilus'') was elected unanimously on 22 August 2005 by the

Holy Synod of Jerusalem The Holy Synod of Jerusalem is the senior ruling body of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher. The Synod consists of 18 members nominated by the Patriarch in a session of the Holy Synod itself. It ...

as the 141st

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter including ...

of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem to succeed the deposed Irenaios. His election was confirmed by the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, and was endorsed by

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

on 24 September 2005, and subsequently by the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

, two of the governments ruling lands over his religious jurisdiction. He was enthroned on 22 November 2005, despite initial

i objection to the ousting of Irenaios. The Israeli government officially recognised Theophilos' election on 16 December 2007. Prior to becoming Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos was the Eastern Orthodox Archbishop of

Tabor Tabor may refer to: Places Czech Republic * Tábor, a town in the South Bohemian Region ** Tábor District, the surrounding district * Tábor, a village and part of Velké Heraltice in the Moravian-Silesian Region Israel * Mount Tabor, Galilee ...

Biography

Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem Senate of Poland 02

Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and President Bush

Theophilos was born Ilias Giannopoulos (, ) in

Gargalianoi Gargalianoi ( el, Γαργαλιάνοι) is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Trifylia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit ha ...

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

on 4 April 1952 to parents Panagiotes and Triseugenia. In 1964, Ilias moved to Jerusalem. He served as archdeacon for then-patriarch

Benedict I of Jerusalem Patriarch Benedict of Jerusalem, also Benediktos I of Jerusalem, born Vasileios Papadopoulos ( grc-gre, Βασίλειος Παπαδόπουλος, 1892 – December 10, 1980) was the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusa ...

. From 1991 to 1996, he was a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Kafr Kanna Kafr Kanna ( ar, كفر كنا, ''Kafr Kanā''; he, כַּפְר כַּנָּא) is an Arab town in the Galilee, part of the Northern District of Israel. It is associated by Christians with the New Testament village of Cana, where Jesus tur ...

in Galilee, which had a predominantly Israeli Arab Christian community, there he also formed a society called "''Nour al Masih''" ("Light of Christ"), to spread the Orthodox Christian faith throughout the region. Theophilos studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

. He went on to complete an MA from Durham University, graduating in 1984 as a member of Castle. He has also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Besides his native

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, he also speaks

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. In 1996, he was one of the first Christian

clergymen Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

in centuries to go work in the closed

Wahhabi Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, an ...

Islamic society of

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

, where many

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

migrant workers live today, a considerable number of them Orthodox Christians. He subsequently served as Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in

. From 2000 to 2003, he was church envoy to the

Patriarchate of Moscow , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. In February 2005, he was consecrated Archbishop of

. He was officially enthroned as Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine on November 22, 2005. Delegates from all of the Orthodox Churches as well as high secular dignitaries were in attendance, including the

President of Greece The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...

, and senior officials representing the governments of

and

, as well as diplomats and military officials. Upon his election, Theophilos said: "In the last few months, we have had a lot of problems, but with the help of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

we will overcome them."

References

External links

The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

OrthodoxWiki article

Athens News profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theophilos 03 Of Jerusalem, Patriarch 1952 births 21st-century Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Greek expatriates in Israel Living people National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Alumni of University College, Durham People from Gargalianoi Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class

Biography

See also

References

External links