Sunday, April 15/28, 2024, was celebrated as the Feast of Palms in the Patriarchate.

On this feast, the Church remembers that our Lord Jesus Christ, after the Resurrection of Lazarus, which He performed “confirming the general Resurrection”, entered Jerusalem in triumph, sitting on an ass, while the children of the Jews were following and welcomed Him by rolling the clothes of them, holding palm branches and chanting “hosanna the Son of David, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”.

This feast was celebrated with Vespers on Saturday afternoon, presided over by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, with the co-prayer of High Priests and the co-celebration of the Holy Sepulchre Hieromonks. The chanting was delivered by Hierodeacon Simeon, Fr Ioannis Antoniou and Mr Eustathios Tsoumanis, in the presence of pilgrims.

On Sunday morning the Holy Sepulchre Fathers went from the Patriarchate to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, holding palm tree branches. The Divine Liturgy was officiated by His Beatitude, our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos with the co-celebration of their Eminences, Metropolitan Isychios of Capitolias, the Archbishops, Theophanes of Gerash, Dorotheos of Avela, Aristarchos of Constantina, Methodios of Tabor, Theodosios of Sebasteia, Dimitrios of Lydda, Hagiotaphite Hieromonks, Archimandrite Vassianos from the Moscow Patriarchate, Archimandrite Ioannis from the Romanian Patriarchate. The chanting was delivered by Hierodeacon Simeon and Mr Tsoumanis on the right and Fr Ioannis Antoniou on the left. The service was attended by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Dimitrios Angelosopoulos, the Consul Mrs Anna Mantika and many pilgrims despite the ongoing war.

A procession around the Sacred Edicule and the shrines followed the Liturgy, under the chanting of the hymns of the feast.

The celebration concluded with the return to the Patriarchate Reception Hall, with the honorary escort of the Body of Scouts. There, His Beatitude expressed His wishes for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who entered Jerusalem sitting on an ass, for the celebration of the Holy Week and Easter.

From Secretariat-General