Jerusalem, June 16, 2022
Photo: jerusalem-patriarchate.info
On Monday, June 13, 2022, His Holiness Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem celebrated the Liturgy for the feast of the Holy Spirit at the Church of the Holy Trinity of the Russian Mission of the Moscow Patriarchate, which is located in the New City of Jerusalem not far from New Gate, reports the website of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.
Concelebrating with His Holiness Theophilos were their Eminences, Archbishop of Constantina Aristarchos, Metropolitan Joachim of Helenoupolis, Head of the Russian Mission Archimandrite Alexander, Elder of Kamarasis Archimandrite Nectarios, and Archdeacon Mark. The nuns who serve at the Mission church sang the service attended by a congregation of Russian and Arab-speaking Orthodox Christians.
At the meal following the service, His Holiness gave a word to the clergy, monastics, and Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov with members of the Diplomatic Corps:
“Today we have been blessed to celebrate once again the Divine Liturgy on the Monday of the Holy Spirit in this great church dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
“As we have sung joyfully today:
“When the Most High came down and confounded tongues of men, He divined the nations. When he dispensed the tongues of fire, he called all to unity, and with one voice we glorify the Most Holy Spirit (Kontakion of the Feast).
“So, we rejoice in the unity to which we have been called in our beloved Orthodox Church.
“We come to this feast today with the words of the Psalmist in our hearts: Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew and right spirit within me (Ps. 50:10).
“We are commanded to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, precisely because there is one body and one Spirit (cf. Eph. 4:30).
“As we gather here, we do so in the full realization of the challenges that we face in our world and in our Church. These challenges should come as no surprise to us because even in the scriptures we are given warnings.
“In the Gospel of Saint Luke, we read that there will be on the earth distress among nations, violence, fear and distress of every kind (cf. Luke 20:20-28). Nor is the Church safe from such dangers, as Saint Paul warns that there should be no divisions (the Greek word is “schisms”) within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another (1 Cor. 12:25).
“We know full well the truth also of what St. Paul goes on to say: If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together (1 Cor. 12:26).
“But on this joyous celebration of the Holy Spirit, we are reminded of the freedom that is the gift of the Holy Spirit in the Church: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17). This is the freedom that is the guarantee of our peace and our unity, a freedom that is not just for the Church, but for all mankind. As the hymnographer reminds us at Pentecost the Most High called all into unity.
“In our world today, people of religious faith, and especially Christians, are in many places under pressure. Globalization threatens the uniqueness of cultures, societies, and religious traditions. The Church of Jerusalem, as the Mother of all the Churches, gives her life for the unity of the Church, and down the ages, the Patriarchate has been the guardian and the guarantee of the Christian values of the Scriptures and the Holy Tradition. Just as our Lord Jesus Christ longed to gather the children of Jerusalem together as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings, so the Church of Jerusalem has gathered her children for protection and succor (cf. Matt. 23:37).
“At the first Pentecost, the people heard the disciples speak to them of the great deeds of God (Acts 2:11). This is the role of the mission of the Church of Jerusalem, to be a witness of the great deeds of God, and to embody in our life the freedom and the unity that are God’s gifts to the Church and to the human family.
“May God grant us all the Heavenly Comforter, the Spirit of truth, the treasury blessings which fill all things, so that we may reflect more clearly the freedom and unity to which we are called.”
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
