Jerusalem Patriarch meets with believers of the Zhytomyr Eparchy

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III received the pilgrims of the UOC. Photo: Zhytomyr Eparchy

From December 10 to 17, 2019, with the blessing of the Metropolitan Nikodim of Zhytomyr and Novograd-Volynsky, a group of Orthodox believers of the Zhytomyr Eparchy visited the Holy Land. The climax of the pilgrimage trip was the meeting of the faithful of the UOC with His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine, reports the eparchy’s press service.

During the trip, believers, accompanied by a clergyman of the Transfiguration Cathedral of Zhytomyr, Archpriest Roman Tsukalo, venerated the great Christian shrines in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Cana of Galilee, Jericho and other places.

The laity visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where they prayed at the night liturgy and communed, the Churches of the Annunciation of the Virgin and the Nativity of Christ, and holy springs. The believers also visited the cave temple of the 40-day fasting of Christ and the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified, bowed to the relics of the saints and walked the thorny path of Christ to Calvary, plunged into the waters of the Holy Jordan River and climbed the mountain of the Ascension of Jesus Christ.

At the end of the trip, Ukrainian pilgrims met with the Primate of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, Patriarch Theophilos III, which was a pleasant surprise for the believers. The eparchy noted that His Beatitude warmly received the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and gave them his blessing.

We recall that earlier Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem invited Primates of Local Churches to discuss the issue of the OCU.

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