Jerusalem, December 10, 2021
Photo: jerusalem-patriarchate.info
Headed by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos, a delegation of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, accompanied by the heads of other churches in Jerusalem, held an event yesterday to raise awareness about the plight of Christians in the Holy Land.
During the event at the Imperial Hotel at the Jaffa Gate in the Holy City, His Beatitude called for protection of the Christian Quarter in Old City Jerusalem and spoke about the Church’s resolve to resist the threats of radicals, the Patriarchate reports.
Archimandrite Alexander (Elisov) and other members of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem attended the event in support of the Patriarchate and the Christian presence in the Holy Land.
Christians have been driven out of the Holy Land by a number of factors. Whereas they represented 12% of the population a century ago, their number has dwindled to 1% today.
The Patriarchate reports:
During his speech, the Patriarch of the Holy City pointed out that holding this ceremony at the Imperial Hotel aims to send a clear message to the world that the Patriarchate will not waive or retreat from practicing God’s given right to defend its properties; to show that the battle to defend the Jaffa Gate properties is an existential issue for the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem; and that all the Churches of the Holy Land support the Jerusalem Patriarchate in this battle.
The Patriarchate has been waging a legal battle to defend its property from being sold to a right-wing Jewish NGO for nearly two decades now.
His Beatitude continued:
Radicals are the real threat, for at their hands, the Christian community in Jerusalem suffers hate crimes as well as underhanded tactics, intimidation, and systematic attempts to diminish the ability of Christians to remain in their historic homes and neighborhoods.
Our enduring efforts on behalf of the well-being of all our peoples without distinction makes the rise of challenges to, and threats against, the Christian community, all the more serious and concerning. Not only is the Christian community threatened by such activity, but so is the stability and health of our whole society.
OrthoChristian reported earlier this year on the repeated attacks against the Romanian Orthodox monastery in the Musrara neighborhood by Jewish radicals.
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