The Baptism of the Lord was celebrated on Monday, according to the unrevised calendar, within the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Archbishop Teodosie of Tomis concelebrated alongside Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem.
From the Holy Land, further details were provided for Basilica.ro by Archimandrite Ioan Meiu, representative of the Romanian Patriarchate at the Holy Places and Superior of the Romanian Settlements in Jerusalem, Jericho, and at the Jordan.
“On Sunday, on the eve of the feast, a procession took place at the River Jordan led by Patriarch Theophilos together with a synod of hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, hierarchs from Greece, and His Eminence Archbishop Teodosie of Tomis, representing the Romanian Patriarchate,” Archimandrite Ioan Meiu related.
“From the River Jordan, we Romanians, the groups of pilgrims, led by His Eminence Teodosie, went on to celebrate the service of the Great Blessing of Water at the Romanian Settlement in Jericho.”
On Monday, the feast day of the Baptism of the Lord, the service of the Great Blessing of the Water was celebrated in the Katholikon of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
The concelebrating synaxis included hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and of the Church of Greece, joined by Archbishop Teodosie of Tomis and a large number of priests from Romania.
After the service, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre.
On Saturday morning, Archbishop Teodosie officiated at the Romanian Settlement in Jerusalem. “From there we went to an audience with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, where 300 pilgrims from across Romania and from the diaspora were also received,” Archimandrite Ioan Meiu specified.
“During this period, numerous Romanian pilgrims are present in the Holy Land—the largest number of pilgrims from an Orthodox country,” Archimandrite Ioan Meiu conveyed.
“We pray to the good God that there may be peace over the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land, so that pilgrims may come to venerate the places touched by the footsteps of our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
On the night from Saturday to Sunday, Archbishop Teodosie and Archimandrite Ioan Meiu concelebrated at the Sunday Divine Liturgy at the Holy Sepulchre.
On Tuesday, when the Patriarchate of Jerusalem commemorates the Synaxis of Saint John the Baptist, His Eminence Archbishop Teodosie officiates at the Greek Monastery of Saint John the Baptist on the River Jordan.
Photo source: Representation of the Romanian Patriarchate at the Holy Places
