Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem visits Gaza

Photo: Patriarch Theophilos in Gaza. Source: Facebook / Saint Porphyrios Orthodox Church

On July 18, 2025, Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem made a pastoral and humanitarian visit to the Gaza Strip, accompanied by a high-ranking Christian delegation. The visit was reported by the Greek church news agency Romfea.

Among those taking part in the visit was also Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Roman Catholic Church.

The main purpose of the visit was to personally assess the situation of the Christian flock, who have been living for more than 21 months under conditions of an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe. The Patriarch also came to observe the work of Churches providing aid to those affected – people left without shelter, security, or access to medical care.

“This visit is a living embodiment of the unity of the Church in the face of the growing human suffering in the Gaza Strip,” the statement reads.

The visit comes after a series of attacks on Christian sites in Gaza:
– the bombing of the Baptist Hospital on October 17, 2023;
– the assault on the Church of Saint Porphyrios on October 19, 2023;
– an armed attack on believers in the Church of the Holy Family on December 16, 2023;
– and an Israeli airstrike on the same church on July 16, 2025, which claimed the lives of three people and injured nine others.

It is noted that the latest attack occurred less than 48 hours after Patriarch Theophilos III and a delegation of Church leaders from Jerusalem visited the Christian town of Taybeh.

Patriarch Theophilos called for an immediate, comprehensive, and lasting ceasefire. He strongly urged the international community to take moral and humanitarian responsibility for the innocent civilians who are losing their lives in this war.

His Beatitude reaffirmed that the Orthodox Church remains unwavering in its sacred mission of spiritual and humanitarian presence during wartime.

“Where there is pain, our responsibility grows. We are not distant observers; we belong to this land, which bears its sorrows – to these people and to their resilience. The Church is here to accompany, to heal, and to restore hope in hearts crushed by the grief and burden of this ongoing, devastating tragedy,” His Beatitude declared.

As previously reported by the UOJ, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned the attack on the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza.

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