Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem

Infobox Patriarch
honorific-prefix =
name = Theophilus III
patriarch_of = Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine, Syria, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Holy Zion
honorific-suffix =

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church = Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
see = Jerusalem
birthname = Ilias Giannopoulos
enthroned = November 22, 2005
ended = Incumbent
predecessor = Irenaios
successor =
birth_date = 1952
birth_place = flagicon|Greece Messinia, Greece
death_date =
death_place =
buried =
nationality =
religion =
residence =
parents =
spouse =
children =
ocupation =
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alma_mater =

Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem (Greek: "Η Α. Μακαριότης ο Πατριάρχης Ιεροσολύμων Θεόφιλος Γ' ", born: Ilias Giannopoulos, "Ηλίας Γιαννόπουλος") (born 1952) is the current Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem.

Theophilus (also spelled "Theofilos" and "Theophilos") was elected the 141st primate of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem on August 22, 2005. Formerly the Archbishop of Tabor, Theophilus was elected unanimously by Jerusalem's Holy Synod to succeed the deposed, Irenaios I. He is styled "Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine, Syria, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Holy Zion."

Theophilus is regarded as having been more favorable to his deposed predecessor, which may assist him in bringing stability to the troubled patriarchate as Irenaios's supporters may thus unite around him and make peace with the synod. Upon his election, Theophilus said, "In the last few months we have had a lot of problems but with the help of God we will overcome them." [http://www.cjp.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=161070]

Biography

Theophilos is originally from Messinia, Greece. In 1964, he went to Jerusalem, and served as archdeacon for then-patriarch Benediktos (Benedict I). From 1991 to 1996, he was a priest in Cana in Galilee, which had a predominantly Israeli Arab flock, there he also formed a society called "Nour al Masih" ("Light of Christ"), which spreads the Orthodox Christian faith throughout the region.

Before becoming patriarch, Theophilus served for a short time as the Archbishop of Tabor, consecrated to the episcopacy by Irenaios in February 2005.

Theophilus studied theology at the University of Athens and went on to complete a master's degree in London. He has studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Besides his native Greek, he also speaks English and Arabic and Hebrew.

In 1996, he was one of the first Christian clergymen in centuries to make an opening into the closed Wahhabi Islamic society of Qatar, an area historically under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem where many Palestinian migrant workers live today, a considerable number of them Orthodox Christians. He subsequently served as Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in Qatar.

From 2000 to 2003, he was church envoy to the Patriarchate of Moscow but mostly steered clear of Moscow, where the Patriarchate has an established metochion.

He was officially enthroned as Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine on November 22, 2005. Delegates from all of the Orthodox Churches as well as high secular dignitaries were in attendance, including the President of Greece, and senior officials representing the governments of Jordan, Qatar and the Palestinian Authority, as well as diplomats and military officials.

Other Patriarchs of Jerusalem bearing the same name are Theofilos I, Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1012 to 1020, and Theofilos II, Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1417 to 1424.

Political and religious controversies

Theophilos's critics claim that he was favored by Israel owing to his ties with key US officials, such as former CIA chief George Tenet, whom he reportedly met through the Greek lobby in the United States. They note that, remarkably, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a meeting with Theophilus at her request during a recent trip to Israel. It is also reported that he, as then Superior of the Holy Sepulcher, merely showed Secretary Rice the holy sites, as he did for President Vladimir Putin of Russia and other dignitaries visiting the Holy Land.

Patriarch Theophilos takes the leadership of the Church of Jerusalem at a very difficult time in her history. The politics of the Middle East and the delicacy of the relations with the Palestinian Authority, the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan make the role and place of the Patriarch and the Patriarchate very challenging. The current Israeli Government has withheld recognition of the new Patriarch and continues to insist that only recognizes the deposed Patriarch Irineos. This position defies the unanimous decision by representatives of all Orthodox Churches meeting at the Phanar at the call of the Ecumenical Patriarch withdrawing communion from Irineos and recognizing Theophilos canonical election. The Israeli press reports that the senior officials of the Israeli Government may have been involved in a fraudulent real estate transaction with the deposed Patriarch Irineos and are afraid of the consequences of court action. The State of Israel has refused recognition of the Patriarch's temporal role which inhibits the Patriarch's ability to take the Government to court and frozen Patriarchal bank accounts. This in turn threatens the maintenance of the Holy Places and the Patriarchates school system with 40,000 students. The origins of the dispute are part of a forty year attempt by Israeli settler organizations and politicians to seize the Patriarchate's extensive land holdings worth estimated hundreds of millions of dollars. The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported on February 4, 2007 that two Ministers in the Israeli Government offered to recognize Theophilos if he would give up control of several valuable properties.

In 2006 the State of Israel refused to renew the visas of many of the Greek clergy, which could lead to a serious crisis within the Brotherhood, as most of the monks are Greek citizens. Patriarch Theophilos's efforts to gain civil recognition have led him to make a lawsuit in the Israeli judicial system. The Israeli Supreme Court was due to give a decision in the Summer of 2006, but has delayed giving a decision twice since then. The a decision was due in January 2007. In January the Israeli Government again requested a further delay in the Court Case. In December 2007, the Israeli Cabinet finally granted Patriarch Theophilos full recognition. Former Patriarch Irenaios appealed this decision to the Israeli Supreme Court but that court ruled in favor of Theophilos.

Titles

Infobox Patriarchstyles
name = Patriarch Theophilus III

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dipstyle = His Most Godly Beatitude
offstyle = Your Beatitude
relstyle = Patriarch
deathstyle = NA

The official title of the Patriarch of Jerusalem is:

His Most Godly Beatitude, the Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine, Syria, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Holy Zion, Theophilus III;

in Greek:

Η Αυτού Θειοτάτη Μακαριότης, ο Πατριάρχης της Αγίας Πόλεως Ιερουσαλήμ και πάσης Παλαιστίνης, Συρίας, Αραβίας, Πέραν του Ιορδάνου, Κανά της Γαλιλαίας και Αγίας Σιών, Θεόφιλος Γ'

External links

* [http://jerusalempatriarchate.org The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem]
* [http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Theophilus_III_(Yiannopoulos)_of_Jerusalem Theophilus III of Jerusalem] , OrthodoxWiki article
* [http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13142&m=A08&aa=1&eidos=A Athens News profile]