The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem will meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, Cardinal Vincent Nichols and British politicians, on a visit to the UK from October 31 to November 3, Christian Today has learned.
Theophilus III, widely seen as the most senior church figure in the Holy Land, is likely to raise pressing issues in the Israeli parliament relating to the 'Status Quo' arrangement whereby Christians can live alongside people of other faiths in Jerusalem and its Old City.
The Patriarch yesterday met at the Vatican with Pope Francis, who said: 'The Holy City, whose Status Quo must be defended and preserved, ought to be a place where all can live together peaceably; otherwise, the endless spiral of suffering will continue for all.'
The visit comes after 40 members of the Israeli Knesset, or parliament, signed a proposed bill in July that, the Church argues, would restrict the rights of the churches to deal freely and independently with their lands and would threaten their confiscation. The bill proposes to allow the state to confiscate lands of the churches that have been leased to third parties.
In response, the Patriarch and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem released a joint statement condemning the bill at the time. The statement said: 'We cannot stress strongly enough the very serious situation that this recent systematic assault on the Status Quo has had on the integrity of Jerusalem and on the well-being of the Christian communities of the Holy Land, as well as on the stability of our society.
'We therefore, as those to whom Divine Providence has entrusted the care of both the Holy Sites and the pastoral oversight of the living, indigenous Christian communities of the Holy Land, call upon our fellow Church leaders and faithful around the world, as well as the heads of governments, and all people of good will, to support us in order to ensure that no further attempts are made from any quarter to change the historical Status Quo and its provisions and spirit.'
Intriguingly, the Patriarch's visit to the UK appears likely to coincide with that of the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is set to visit from November 1 to November 5 in a trip hosted by the Prime Minister, Theresa May to 'celebrate' the 100<sup>th anniversary of the Balfour agreement, according to the Jerusalem Post.
May initially invited Netanyahu to mark the anniversary with a visit back in February.
The anniversary marks Arthur Balfour's famous letter to Lord Rothschild announcing that 'His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people'.
May has rejected Palestinian calls for a British apology over the 'broken promise' in the 1917 declaration, which also held that a national Jewish home should not prejudice the rights of 'existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine'.
