Statement by His Beatitude Theophilos III on the Election of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV

12 May 2025

We wish to express our congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on his election, and we hold prayer for his this new important spiritual mission. This is a significant event not just in the life of the Roman Catholic Church, but for the world.

We affirm the words that His Holiness spoke in his speech after the election that emphasise bridge-building, dialogue, and encounter as the avenues to peace. In a world so torn by division, violence, distrust, and despair, we know that the way of peace can be built only by such means. We look forward to the important engagement of Pope Leo in this urgent work, to which we, as the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, together with our fellow Heads of the Churches in the Holy Land, have long been committed.

We also look forward to the ongoing Orthodox-Roman Catholic international theological dialogue, which has been so constructive, and to which our Patriarchate, as a member of the Orthodox family, remains committed. We pray for this to be the pathway that we may walk together to unity and to full communion in the common Chalice.

We hope very much to welcome Pope Leo as a pilgrim to the Holy Land, as we welcomed his predecessors, and we are confident in His Holiness continuing their long standing and honoured tradition of supporting and encouraging the Christian presence in the Holy Land and our broader region, in the face of growing pressure and challenge.

May the risen Lord enlighten Pope Leo’s heart and mind as he enters into the new responsibility that Divine Providence has placed upon him.

His Beatitude Theophilos III

Patriarch of Jerusalem

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This Statement was originally published on the website of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.