page_title: Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem / Biography
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Patriarcha Jerozolimy Teofil III w Senacie RPEnglish: Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem in the Polish Senate
context_page_description: Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem is the current Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. He is styled "Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine and Israel."
  Theophilos was elected unanimously on 22 August 2005 by the Holy Synod of Jerusalem as the 141st primate of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem to succeed the deposed Irenaios I. His election was confirmed by the Eastern Orthodox synod of Constantinople, and was endorsed by Jordan on 24 September 2005, as one of the three governments whose endorsement is required. He was enthroned on 22 November 2005, despite Israeli objection. Theophilos had previously petitioned the Israeli government for recognition of the election. The Israeli government officially recognised his election on 16 December 2007.
  Theophilos is regarded as having been more favorable to his deposed predecessor, which may assist him in bringing stability to the troubled patriarchate as Irenaios's supporters may thus unite around him and make peace with the synod. Upon his election, Theophilos said, "In the last few months we have had a lot of problems but with the help of God we will overcome them."
context_section_description: Theophilos was born Ilias Giannopoulos in Gargalianoi, Messenia, Greece on 4 April 1952 to parents Panagiotes and Triseugenia. In 1964, Ilias moved to Jerusalem.
  He served as archdeacon for then-patriarch Benedict I of Jerusalem. From 1991 to 1996, he was a priest in Kafr Kanna in Galilee, which had a predominantly Israeli Arab Christian community, there he also formed a society called "Nour al Masih" ("Light of Christ") to spread the Orthodox Christian faith throughout the region.
  Theophilos studied theology at the University of Athens. He went on to complete an MA from Durham University, graduating in 1984 as a member of Castle. He has studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Besides his native Greek, he also speaks English, Arabic and Hebrew.
  In 1996, he was one of the first Christian clergymen in centuries to make an opening into the closed Wahhabi Islamic society of Qatar, an area historically under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem where many Palestinian Arab migrant workers live today, a considerable number of them Orthodox Christians. He subsequently served as Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in Qatar.
  From 2000 to 2003, he was church envoy to the Patriarchate of Moscow but mostly steered clear of Moscow, where the Patriarchate has an established metochion.
  Before becoming patriarch, Theophilos served for a short time as the Archbishop of Tabor, consecrated to the episcopacy by Irenaios in February 2005.
  He was officially enthroned as Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine on November 22, 2005. Delegates from all of the Orthodox Churches as well as high secular dignitaries were in attendance, including the President of Greece, and senior officials representing the governments of Palestinian National Authority, Jordan and Qatar, as well as diplomats and military officials.
caption: Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem in the Senate of the Republic of Poland (2010).
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