Patriarch Theophilos addresses believers with words of support ahead of Pascha

Patriarch Theophilos. Photo: a screenshot from the Jerusalem Patriarchate video

Patriarch Theophilos III on the eve of the Pascha Feast addressed the faithful with words of support from the Holy City, noting the severe trials that the Holy Land is experiencing. According to him, today sufferings affect many regions – "from the streets of Gaza to Tiberias," and the Jerusalem land itself lives under constant threat.

The Jerusalem Patriarch emphasized that this year the services of Holy Week will be conducted in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre without the usual presence of numerous pilgrims and faithful. "This week we shall perform our sacred and historic rights within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre bearing witness to the unbroken continuity of Christian presence in the Holy Land since the time of our Lord Jesus Savior, Jesus Christ. Yet we do so under grievous circumstances and without the physical presence of the many faithfuls who would customarily share these holy moments with us," he noted.

Patriarch Theophilos stressed that the current trials are not God's abandonment of man: "We are consoled by the assurance that our Lord hears our cries and shares in our suffering." He pointed to the Gospel events – Christ's tears at Lazarus' tomb and His sufferings on the Cross – as testimony that God remains with man even in sorrow.

At the same time, the Primate of the Jerusalem Church called upon the faithful not to lose hope, emphasizing that Holy Week ends not with suffering but with Resurrection.

"In this holy season, we shall once more bear witness to the miracle of the Resurrection and the Holy Fire shall emerge from the tomb of Christ. No darkness can conceal his light and no force can extinguish the hope granted to us in His Resurrection," he said.

The Patriarch also noted that despite the restrictions, Christians throughout the world remain united in spirit and support one another in prayer, and at the empty tomb of the risen Lord prayers are offered "for the entire Church and for the whole world."

As the UOJ wrote, the heads of Jerusalem Churches called for peace in their Paschal message.

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