Jerusalem, August 26, 2025
At the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, together with the leaders of the Armenian, Franciscan, Latin, and Anglican Churches, received United States Senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley for a solemn deliberation on the grave tribulations confronting Christians in the land sanctified by the life, crucifixion, and glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
His Beatitude conveyed to those present his heartfelt gratitude for their commitment to realizing freedom of worship in Jerusalem and throughout the Holy Land and beyond. He affirmed that every defense of the sanctity of worship strengthens the living witness of the Gospel in the very city where the Word was first proclaimed and from which it went forth to the nations.
The church leaders placed before their guests the repeated assaults on the churches in Gaza and on the Ahli Arab Hospital, the grave threat posed by the Israeli ‘Arnona’ taxation to the ancient patrimony of the Churches and the mounting perils facing Christian families in Taybeh and across the West Bank. Yet their deepest anguish was reserved for Gaza, where deliberately starved children cry out for bread, the innocent fall in unceasing suffering, and the looming specter of mass displacement hangs heavy over families already brought to the edge of despair.
Patriarch Theophilos III affirmed: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). We raise this appeal that life may be preserved and dignity upheld.”
The Senators pledged to bring these urgent concerns before the United States State Department and Embassy.
