By George N. Papathanasopoulos
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem is going through another serious one test of his 2000-year presence in the Holy Land. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mr. Theofilos, received at his headquarters on November 1 the Minister of State of the United Kingdom, Lord Tariq Ahmad. He was accompanied by the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, Husham Naum. He discussed with the Patriarch the situation of Christians in the Holy Land, particularly during the conflict in the region. Mr. Theofilos replied that the difficulties existed even before the present war. As he said, extreme radical Israeli groups are oppressing the Christians of the Holy Land, seeking to expel them from their ancestral homes.
His Beatitude emphasized to the British minister the importance of preserving the holy Christian places of pilgrimage not only as buildings but as living communities that welcome members of various religions. This fact contributes to their peaceful coexistence. Therefore, as he noted, the Orthodox Christians actively take care of maintaining peace in the Holy Land under the agreement, which took place in the 7th century between Patriarch Sophronius and Caliph Omar and is a historical event for the peaceful coexistence of Christians and Muslims of Palestine.
Christians in the Holy Land are not many, but they represent 2,246,000,000 of their co-religionists throughout the World. The center and head of all the Christians of the Holy Land is the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the only autochthonous and indigenous Church. The remaining Christian denominations and communities represent their non-Palestine administrations. The Greek Orthodox Holy Sepulcher Brotherhood has the most incredible honor and the enormous responsibility of safeguarding the pan-Christian scope of Christian Pilgrimage Holy Places. Her flock is mainly Arabic-speaking, and especially during this period it is undergoing a severe trial, which increases her feelings of flight.
The sad thing is that most of us Greeks are unaware of the value of the presence of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in the Holy Land, a value that the orthodox Russians and the heterodox of the Vatican duly appreciate and certainly wish for them to take over the responsibility of the Holy Land.
The ignorance reaches even the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, who, in a previous crisis passed by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the competent and well-trained ambassador exposed to him the serious situation and the dangers for the presence of the Patriarchate in the Holy Land. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece told him in a totally unacceptable manner that “it would be better for Greece to leave the Patriarchate to his luck, so to have a little less headaches”….Of course the ambassador almost fainted, but continued to speak to the Minister as if giving him a lesson, until he persuaded him that the Greek Foreign Ministry has to act. It is positive that in this ordeal, the Prime Minister has collaborators knowledgeable about Palestine and worthy consular authorities in Jerusalem, who succeeded in rescuing trapped Greek Orthodox from the horrors of Gaza and transporting them with security in Greece.-
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