Exclusive: Patriarch Theophilos comments on reopening of Holy Sepulchre Church

His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine. Photo: UOJ

Speaking with a UOJ correspondent after the reopening of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem described the day as a great one and gave thanks to God for the opportunity to celebrate the services without restrictions.

“Great indeed is this present day, and we give thanks to God, who has counted us worthy – amid the calamities of war, amid trials, sirens, and panic that have gripped the whole Holy Land – to celebrate this great event of the utter humility of our Savior Christ: the rite of the Washing of the Feet of the disciples,” said the Primate of the Jerusalem Church.

Patriarch Theophilos stressed that today’s celebration carries particular significance because it is the first day on which all restrictions have officially been lifted since February 2026, when the latest escalation of the Middle East conflict began. Coverage published on April 9 likewise says the Church of the Holy Sepulchre reopened after about 40 days of war-related restrictions.

“The peace of Christ is that peace which calms all, and this peace is inseparably bound to hope. We pray that this hope may be fulfilled, so that the whole world may once again find its way – in peace and in soundness,” the Patriarch added.

Speaking about Great and Holy Saturday and the forthcoming ceremony of the Holy Fire, the hierarch said that the details are still being clarified, since it is not yet fully clear how prepared the police and the Security Council are. According to him, meetings with representatives of the authorities are planned, though the Primate remains optimistic. Separate reporting on this year’s Holy Fire arrangements also says that the ceremony is expected to proceed under special security conditions and that details have remained under discussion.

“All the faithful are in need of the divine services and of prayer. People have suffered immensely from this military crisis, above all from the trials that have befallen them,” Patriarch Theophilos emphasized.

“We have all confronted the danger of war, and we have all come to understand how unjust war is, and that peace is something for which there is no substitute. How deeply we long for the peace of Christ!” the Primate of the Jerusalem Church concluded, wishing everyone many years and a blessed Pascha.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that on Great and Holy Thursday the Israeli authorities reopened the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for prayer. That reopening and the resumption of Holy Thursday observances at the church are also reflected in contemporaneous coverage from Jerusalem.

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