Patriarch Theophilos III thanked Kirill and Putin for supporting the Church in the Holy Land
This is stated in the congratulatory letter on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Patriarch Kirill, which he celebrated on November 20. The letter was distributed on the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church on November 24.
"We want to thank you for the firmness and consistency with which you support our Patriarchate and Christian presence in the Holy Land, especially at the present time, as we confront the increasing pressures and difficulties caused by the pandemic, as well as the rise of extremist groups that are trying to change the identity and face of this multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious region," the statement reads.
Theophilus III noted that the Jerusalem Patriarchate will be happy to receive Patriarch Kirill when he can go on a pilgrimage next time.
He also expressed gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting the Church in the Holy Land, especially in the restoration and restoration of the Church of the Nativity. "He provided us with very important and generous assistance, demonstrating to the international community his firm position aimed at protecting the Christian presence in the Holy Land," Theophilus stressed.
Russia seeks to use the Patriarch of Jerusalem as a tool to counter the Ecumenical Patriarchate. As part of these attempts, in early 2020, the Russian Orthodox Church, under the guise of Patriarch Theophilusi' initiative, organized a meeting in Amman, where it was planned to condemn granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church by Patriarch Bartholomew. The meeting turned out to be a failure and despite a large number of conversations about the second meeting, this did not happen.
Russia and the Russian Church have their own interests in the canonical territory of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located, and certain means of influencing its Primate. Moscow is trying to use the authority of the Patriarch of Jerusalem to a certain extent to split Orthodoxy into two parts.
Religiyna Pravda has reported that envoys from the FSB have audiences with Patriarch Theophilus, and in Jerusalem, there is a structure headed by the ex-director of the FSB of the Russian Federation Sergey Stepashin - the so-called Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society.
Russia has long been seeking to obtain ownership of the Alexander Metochion. If relations with the Jerusalem Patriarchate deteriorate due to its possible recognition of the OCU, the Russians can dig up a tunnel to Kuvuklia under the St Alexander Metochion to get the holy fire for Easter.
