The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem

On Saturday, 2/15 February 2025, the Patriarchate celebrated the Great Feast Day of the Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple:

• In the Central Monastic Church of the Holy Constantine and Helen, with a Divine Liturgy led by the ministering priest of the Church, Archimandrite Kallistos, with His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem presiding, who also chanted during the Matins the most poetic and theological Katavasiae of the Meeting of the Lord by Cosmas the Monk, with the surviving ancient melody of the hymn, namely: “The sun once shone on dry land that was begotten of the abyss; for the water became as hard as a wall on either side for the people that crossed the sea by foot, and sang in God-pleasing manner: Let us sing to the Lord; for gloriously He is glorified.”
• In the Holy Monastery of Panagia Sayda Naya, located in the centre of the Old City of Jerusalem, near the Patriarchate.

On this feast, the Church, based on the Gospel of Luke (2:22-38), the rich and reverent hymnology of the Church, and the writings of the Fathers of the Church, especially the words of Hesychios the Presbyter of Jerusalem, remember that the Lord, being forty days old, was presented as an infant in the Temple by His parents and was received by the righteous Simeon, who, according to Hesychios the Presbyter, was revealed as “the chariot and throne of the Deity,” and exclaimed: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation” that is, Christ, whom You have revealed, “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

In honour of this feast, Vespers were held in the aforementioned Holy Monastery in the evening, and a Divine Liturgy in the morning, with His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, presiding. He was assisted by Archimandrites Christodoulos and Alexios, Fr Stephanos, and the priests of the Cathedral of St. James the Brother of the Lord, Fr Georgios Baramki and Fr Charalambos Bantour, as well as Hierodeacon Dositheos. During the Divine Liturgy, the Archimandrites Christodoulos and Ignatios, the priests of St. James, and other Orthodox clergy were present, along with Hierodeacons Evlogios and Dositheos.

The chanting was led by the chief cantor, Deacon Efstathios, with the students of the Patriarchal School of Zion and others chanting in Greek on the right, and the choir of St James Cathedral, conducted by Mr Rimón Kamar, chanting in Arabic on the left. Monks, nuns, and faithful pilgrims prayed together, with the presence of a delegation from the Greek General Consulate in Jerusalem and the Ambassador of Sweden to Israel, along with a large congregation of monks, nuns, and many pilgrims from Greece and other Orthodox Christian countries.

Before Holy Communion, His Eminence delivered a sermon in both Greek and Arabic (see video).

During the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem visited the Holy Monastery for veneration.

After the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, the monastery’s dedicated and meticulous caretaker, the Reverend Abbess Nun Seraphima, who maintains this sacred Church as a pilgrimage centre, warmly received the Patriarchal and Episcopal entourage at the monastery’s residence and all the pilgrims in the courtyard of the Holy Church.

From the Secretariat-General

Source: Patriarchate of Jerusalem