Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem Πατριαρχεῖον Ἱεροσολύμων بطريركية الروم الأرثوذكس في القدس
Classification	Eastern Orthodox
Orientation	Greek Orthodoxy
Scripture	Septuagint, New Testament
Theology	Eastern Orthodox theology
Polity	Episcopal polity
Primate	Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine, Israel, Syria, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee and Holy Zion, Theophilos III.
Language	Greek, Arabic, English
Headquarters	Church of the Holy Sepulchre, East Jerusalem
Territory	Israel, Palestine, Jordan
Founder	The Apostles
Independence	451 AD from the Metropolis of Caesarea
Members	Estimated 500,000 people
Official website	www.jerusalem-patriarchate.info

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem,^{[note 1]} also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, is an autocephalous church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Established in the mid-fifth century as one of the oldest patriarchates in Christendom,^[1] it is headquartered in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and led by the patriarch of Jerusalem, currently Theophilos III. The patriarchate's ecclesiastical jurisdiction includes roughly 200,000 to 500,000 Orthodox Christians across the Holy Land in Palestine, Jordan and Israel.^[2][3]

The church traces its foundation in Jerusalem to the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit, according to Christian beliefs, descended on the disciples of Jesus Christ and ushered the spread of the Gospel.^[4] The church celebrates its liturgy in the ancient Byzantine Rite – whose sacred language, Koine Greek, is the original language of the New Testament – and follows its own liturgical year under the Julian calendar.^{[note 2]}

The majority of Orthodox Christians under the patriarchate are Palestinians and Jordanians, with minorities of Russians, Romanians, and Georgians. However, the church's hierarchy has been dominated by Greek clergy since its creation, which has been a source of recurring tension and dispute. A movement to Arabize the church, known as the Arab Orthodox Movement, began in the 19th century. The church serves as custodian of several holy places in Christianity, including the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem, where Jesus is said to have been born, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which includes the traditional site of Jesus' crucifixion and the empty tomb from which he is believed to have resurrected.

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