Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilos blesses Jordan waters

Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilos consecrates the waters of the Jordan. Photo: JerusalemPatriarchate

Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem on January 18, 2026 led the services for the Forefeast of Theophany in Jerusalem and on the River Jordan, the Jerusalem Patriarchate reported.

At the monastic church of Saints Constantine and Helen of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher, the head of the Church of Jerusalem celebrated the Liturgy and the rite of the Lesser Blessing of Water. After that, the procession went to the Patriarchate residence, and from there to the Jordan Valley, traveling along the road through Jericho and past the monasteries of the holy Prophet Elisha and St. John the Forerunner.

From there, the procession moved toward the River Jordan, where, on a specially prepared site, the Patriarch of Jerusalem served Vespers and performed the rite of the Lesser Blessing of the waters.

“Finally, His Beatitude, despite the dense crowd, descended to the edge of the bank of the River Jordan and immersed in the waters the Precious Cross, sanctified by the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ who was baptised there, amid the chanting of, 'When Thou, O Lord, wast baptised in the Jordan…,'” the statement said.

On the eastern bank, opposite the place of the service, Archbishop Christophoros of Kiryakoupolis performed a similar rite with pilgrims from Jordan.

As the UOJ previously reported, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem served the Nativity service in Bethlehem.

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