The Hagiotaphite Brotherhood announces, after sorrow, not the Lord’s sorrow, the departure into heaven of its member and former His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem, blessed Mr Irenaios.

The departed to the Lord breathed his last after a long illness in the “Errikos Dunan” Hospital in Athens on the morning of December 28, 2022 / January 10, 2023.

For the repose of his soul in the land of the living, a Trisayon was held on the morning of Thursday 10 January 2023 at the Horrendous Golgotha and the memorial services established for its members will be held by the Brotherhood

May his remembrance be ever-lasting.

On Monday, December 27, 2022/January 9, 2023, the visits of the Christian Churches of Jerusalem took place on the occasion of the Christmas Feast.

First, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem was visited by the Fraternity of the Franciscans under its Abbot Custos, Father Francisco Paton, who congratulated His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, on the Christmas Feast and thanked for the joint cooperation to overcome problems that Christians face, such as at the Gate of David, at Siloam, at the Anglican and Protestant Cemetery on the hill of Holy Zion and also thanked Him for His letter of condolence on the deceased former Pope Benedict XVI.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem published a video entitled “BETHLEHEM: A baby in the house of bread - Holy Scripture Holy Places”, produced by the Christian Media Center in the Holy Land. It is the first episode of a series of five episodes about the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Places, in which Fr. David Neuhaus underlines how the Holy Land and its treasures constitute a Fifth Gospel, deepening our understanding of who Jesus is.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, recently received a phone call from His Excellency Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

During the call, the President reassured the health of His Holiness the Pope, who reassured His Excellency and thanked him for his interest and good feelings.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, conducted a number of medical examinations today, due to the state exertion that His Holiness experienced during the Nativity Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in the New Administrative Capital, last evening.

The results of the tests and diagnosis of the doctors following up with His Holiness Pope Tawadros II showed that H.H. is in good health and the state of exertion H.H. experienced by His Holiness was a result of the efforts he made during the past days, through the continuous receptions of guests to congratulate H.H. on Christmas along with the pastoral work that he carried out recently.

On Saturday, January 7th, the Ge'ez Rite Chaplaincy of Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem attended a Christmas morning Mass in the Saint Francis Church of Bethlehem, located below the Church of Saint Catherine. The Mass was presided over by Fr. Ghebriel Okubu Zerezghi, general chaplain, and concelebrated by Fr. Nikodemus Schnabel, osb, Patriarchal Vicar for Migrants and Asylum Seekers.

Although Catholic, this chaplaincy, which includes both Ethiopians and Eritreans (all asylum seekers), follows, just like its mother churches, the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian one (according to which Christmas is on December 25th). With the Ukrainians, they are the only Christian Catholics in the Holy Land celebrating Christmas in January instead of December.

On Saturday December 7, at St Mark’s Cathedral in Abbaseya, Egypt, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received a number of Bishops, priests, members of Church committees and his children to congratulate His Holiness on Christmas.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II spoke with them congratulating them on Christmas, and was keen to greet them all.

His Holiness also had an interview with “Good Morning, Egypt” program on Egyptian TV, during which His Holiness congratulated all Egyptians on the Feast.

On January 6, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, inaugurated a Charity Bazaar organized by Emanuel Family of the brotherhood of “Faith and Light” (Iman w Noor) at the Patriarchate in Bab Touma, Damascus.

Their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Cyril Babi, Patriarchal Vicar for the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus, and Mor Joseph Bali, Patriarchal Secretary and Media Office Director, were also present.

“I feel the concern of the Egyptians and I call on them not to be afraid because our God is there and will not leave us”

On Friday December 6 2023, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in the new Administrative Capital, in Egypt, to congratulate His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, and Christians on Christmas, and this was during the Nativity Liturgy.

His Excellency was met with great applause, and His Excellency was keen to shake hands with a large number of attendees, congratulating them on Christmas, in an atmosphere filled with love, appreciation and hospitality on their part.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

May the Lord give you peace!

On January 22nd, during the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, we will celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God. On the Solemnity of the Queen of Palestine (October 30th, 2022), I recalled what a wonderful experience it had been last year, when many parish communities and families stopped for a day to read and pray with the Bible.

Pope Francis’ initiative and the positive response from many give us hope that January 23rd will be another opportunity to develop our relationship with the Word of God and particularly with the New Testament, which is the witness to the words and gestures of Jesus and the first disciples.

On January 6, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, celebrated the Holy Qurobo on the occasion of Denho or Epiphany, at St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral in Bab Touma, Damascus, Syria.

During the Holy Qurobo, His Holiness was assisted by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Cyril Babi, Patriarchal Vicar for the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus, and Mor Joseph Bali, Patriarchal Secretary and Media Office Director.

In his condolence letter, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, praises the lifelong dedication of the late His Holiness Emeritus Pope Benedictus XVI and mentions his contribution as one the greatest theologians of the Catholic Church who has played a key role in the formation and development of the theological approaches of the Catholic Church with his clear views and deep analyses in the ecumenical and interreligious fields, as well as in church-society interactions.

His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was not only a fine theologian, but also a skilled communicator throughout his life, employing courage and creativity to engage the challenge of social media and continuing to communicate effectively in his retirement through silence and Prayer.

By Alessandro Gisotti

His reputation as a great theologian is unanimously acknowledged, but the late Joseph Ratzinger was also a remarkable communicator, with his own notable status, whose legacy will undoubtedly surpass the temporal limit of his earthly existence.

The fact that Benedict XVI was not a communicator for the masses—however much he attracted the attention of millions of young people during the World Youth Days—in no way detracts from the value of his style of communication.

On Wednesday 4 January 2023, at the Papal Residence in Cairo, Egypt, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received His Eminence Metropolitan Samy Fawzy, the Archbishop of the Alexandria region of the Episcopal Church, accompanied by a delegation from the Episcopal Church in Egypt. This was to congratulate His Holiness on Christmas.

On Wednesday 4 January 2023, at the Papal Residence in Cairo, Egypt, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received Dr. Shawki Allam, Mufti of Egypt, accompanied by a delegation from the Egypt’s Dar Al Ifta, and this is to congratulate on Christmas.

On Wednesday 4 January 2022, at the Papal Residence in Cairo, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al Sharif, Dr Ahmed El Tayeb and president of Al-Azhar University, accompanied by a delegation from Al Azhar, and Dr Ali Gomaa, Former Mufti of Egypt,where they expressed their congratulations to His Holiness on Christmas.

Following the recent vandalism and desecration of the Protestant Cemetery on Mt. Zion, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem headed by His Eminence Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church, Diocese of Jerusalem, issued a statement, on Wednesday 4 January 2023, in which it condemns these acts of desecration and calls the relevant authorities to search for, apprehend, and prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes.

You can find the full text of the statement.

CYPRUS – On January 3rd, 2023, His Beatitude Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Fr. Bruno Varriano, ofm, Patriarchal Vicar of Cyprus, met with His Beatitude Georgios I, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus, to congratulate him on his election as new Archbishop of Cyprus on behalf of the Church of Jerusalem and the Latin Patriarchate.

His Beatitude Mgr Pizzaballa notably expressed his gratitude for the openness and evident cooperation between the Orthodox church of Cyprus and the Latin community living on the island. He also assured His Beatitude Mgr Georgios of the continuous collaboration between the church in Jerusalem and Cyprus.

The Holy See Press Office releases details of the Requiem Mass which His Holiness Pope Francis will preside over on Thursday for the repose of the soul of the late His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

By Devin Watkins

The Vatican has published the rite for the Requiem Mass for His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, which will be celebrated on Thursday at 9:30 AM Rome time.

The booklet for the Mass is based largely on the Rite of Christian Burial of a Supreme Pontiff with several modifications.

His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, extends condolences on the passing of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, in a letter sent to His Holiness Pope Francis.