The President of Russia awarded the Order of Friendship to Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem

By his decree of November 17, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin conferred state awards on prominent religious figures. In particular, the Order of Friendship was awarded to the Primate of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III.

According to the Official Website of the Moscow Patriarchate, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine was awarded “for his great contribution to strengthening friendship, cooperation and spiritual ties with the Russian Federation”. Information about this was published on the official Internet portal of legal information.

Recall, Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilus III made a program statement, in which he proclaimed the Jerusalem Church “the natural guarantor of the unity of Orthodoxy”. This statement was made during the celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Russian monastery of the Holy Trinity in Hebron in the presence of high-ranking representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian diplomats, which gives his words special significance in the context of current inter-Orthodox relations.