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The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III, next to President Donald Trump, on Thursday at the White House.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III, next to President Donald Trump, on Thursday at the White House.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III, met on Thursday with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House during a private meeting that focused on the challenges facing Christian communities across the Middle East.
During the meeting, the Patriarch raised concerns about the challenges facing Christian communities throughout the region amid ongoing instability and security pressures affecting Christians in Lebanon, Syria and Israel.
“Christian communities in the Middle East have in recent years faced a difficult reality of instability, growing threats and increasing pressure,” he said. “We are seeing ancient communities asking for something very basic: to continue living in safety, to preserve their faith and to maintain freedom of worship.”
Referring to Trump as “someone who understands the importance of protecting Christian communities and the holy places,” the patriarch added that preserving freedom of religion and open access to the holy places “is a condition for stability, coexistence and peace across the entire region.”
The patriarch presented President Trump with the Great Bearer of the Cross of the Order of Cross-Bearers of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the highest distinctions awarded by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Patriarch Theophilos III, who has led the Patriarchate since 2005, is regarded as one of the most influential figures in global Orthodoxy and has played a prominent role in numerous religious and international events. Among them was the consecration of the coronation oil for King Charles III, prepared in Jerusalem and consecrated at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.