His Beatitude Patriarch Kyrios Kyrios Theophilos III Celebrates the Feast of Saint James the brother of God

This news is shared from the website of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

On Tuesday, October 23 / November 5, 2024, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of jerusalem celebrated the feast of Saint James the Brother of God. On this feast, the whole Church, especially that of Jerusalem, remembers that Saint James was the son of Joseph, born of a woman Joseph had married before he was betrothed to the Theotokos. That is why James was also called her son and brother of the Lord and son of Joseph (Matthew 13:55). He was also called “the Just” because of his extreme honesty and justice.

The Lord appointed him as the first Hierarch of the Church of Jerusalem. He presided over the First Apostolic Synod of Jerusalem in the year 49. He contributed the most to the decision of this Synod so that the Church would open its gates to the nations and not only to the Jews.

He wrote his Catholic Epistle in the New Testament, addressed to the twelve tribes of Israel in the diaspora. He confessed Jesus as sitting at the right hand of the power of God and coming on the clouds of heaven. On his testimony, he was pushed down from the wing of the Temple of Solomon and was stoned to death by order of Annanus the High Priest, in the year 62.

In honour of his memory and his work, solemn Vespers was held in the Holy Cathedral in his name, located between the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, presided over by our Father and the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, the Holy Sepulchre Hieromonks co-ministering with Him, with first in rank first the Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nektarios and the priests of the Church.

On the morning of the feast, the Divine Liturgy was officiated by His Beatitude Patriarch Kyrios Kyrios Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, with con-celebrants their Eminences, Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth, the Archbishops Aristarchos of Constantina, Theodosios of Sebastia, and Aristovoulos of Madaba, Holy Sepulchre Hieromonks, the Ministering Priests of the Cathedral, Archimandrite Vassianos from MISSIA with his Hierodeacon, Archdeacon Mark and Hierodeacons Eulogios and Dositheos. The chanting was delivered by Hierodeacon Simeon and Mr. Eustathios Tsoumanis in Greek and by the Cathedral Byzantine Choir under Mr Rimon Kamar in Arabic, as the service was attended by the parish members and others from Jerusalem, with the honorary presence of Mrs Constantina Gyftou from the Greek Consulate General of Jerusalem.

Before the Holy Communion, His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon:

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1, 12), Saint James the Brother of God says.

Dear brethren in Christ,

Reverend Christians and pilgrims

The illumined by of the Holy Spirit’s fiery power, Saint James the Brother of God, has gathered us all in the Cathedral dedicated to him, next to the Holy Sepulchre of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ, to celebrate his commemoration in the mystical blessing.…

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This news was originally published on the website of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Please click here to read the full text.