Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem attended a reception at the Russian Embassy in Israel

Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine attended an official reception organized by the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Israel on the occasion of Diplomatic Worker’s Day. The event took place on Tuesday, February 10, in Herzliya, where the Primate of the Jerusalem Church attended at the invitation of Russian Ambassador A. Victorov. Viktorov. The reception touched upon Russia’s historical role in the Holy Land and the contribution of diplomacy to supporting the development of the region. This is reported by ORTHODOXIANEWSAGENCY.GR.

It is reported that His Beatitude was accompanied by the Secretary General of the Holy and Holy Synod, His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchus of Constantine. Among those present were also members of the Russian Theological Mission in Jerusalem, headed by Archimandrite Vassian (Zmeyev).

At the reception dedicated to the professional holiday, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation A. Victorov congratulated those gathered. Viktorov congratulated those gathered, noting the special qualities of Russian diplomats. He emphasized that «from generation to generation Russian diplomats are distinguished by their devotion to duty, professionalism and ability to defend the positions of their country in the interests of its people in the most difficult conditions».

Mr. Viktorov also highlighted Russia’s historical role in the Holy Land. According to him, Russia «has never considered the Holy Land as an object of military-political or egoistic ambitions.» He emphasized the significant contribution of Russian compatriots to the development of the region, which manifested itself in financing the construction of dozens of churches, monasteries, agricultural land, hotels, as well as a wide network of schools and hospitals.

Among other high-ranking guests at the reception were the ambassadors of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Serbia, Angola and Ethiopia, representatives of political and business circles of Israel, as well as members of the local community and other officials.

Earlier, the hierarch of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Archbishop Theodosius of Sebastia, announced the readiness of the Jerusalem Patriarchate to provide a venue for a church-wide council dedicated to resolving the crisis around the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the problems in world Orthodoxy. The hierarch stressed that the leaders of the churches should meet to overcome the schism and restore unity, while recognizing exclusively the canonical UOC headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry.