Patriarch Theophilos III celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman at “St Photini” Church built at Jacob’s Well.
His Beatitude was joined by Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth, Archbishops Aristarchos of Constantina and Philoumenos of Pela, and by Hagiotaphite Hieromonks. The chanting was delivered by Archimandrite Leontios in Greek and the Community Choir in Arabic. The service was attended by faithful of the Jerusalem Patriarchate and pilgrims from other Orthodox Churches.
St Photini was not a learned woman, but her zeal in understanding the doctrine preached by the Lord has determined Him to disclose two important facts, said the Patriarch of Jerusalem: that God is Spirit and that He was the long-awaited Messiah.
According to St Theophilactos, the fact that the woman left her waterpot and ran into the city to tell the others about the Lord shows that “she preferred immediately Christ’s water to that of Jacob’s spring,” continued the patriarch.
“The Samaritan woman, who was called Photini, became a vessel of the Holy Spirit and a preacher and Apostle of the Gospel of Christ and sealed her mission with her martyrdom during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero, as her Synaxarist mentions,” His Beatitude said.
“We (…) are called to imitate the simplicity of her faith in our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. And we say this, because the Samaritan woman preferred God’s wisdom to the earthly water”, added Patriarch Theophilos.
The Divine Liturgy was followed by a procession around the church. After the ceremonies, Archimandrite Ioustinos Mamalos hosted a meal and offered Patriarch Theophilos III a blessing cross similar to the one installed on the Holy Sepulchre Edicule after its restoration.
The Church of St Photini, built at Jacob’s Well in the Holy Land, was founded by Archimandrite Ioustinos Mamalos, the current hegoumen of the holy place. The complex includes a chapel dedicated to St Philoumenos, a Hagiotaphite monk martyred on the spot in 1979 and canonized in 2009 by the Jerusalem Patriarchate. Inside the church are the Samaritan woman’s waterpot and a fragment of her skull.
Photo credit: Facebook / Jerusalem Patriarchate
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