Orthodox Church of Jerusalem - Definition and Overview

The Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, properly called the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, sees itself as the mother church of all of Christendom, because it was in Jerusalem that the Church was established on the day of Pentecost with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus Christ. From Jerusalem the gospel of Christ was spread to the world. This church is part of Eastern Orthodoxy.

As Christianity spread, and the persecutions of the Jews by Roman authorities in their homeland increased, causing the dispersion of many of the Christians from Jerusalem, the import of this church and its impact on the ongoing life of the whole Church diminished. As other churches gained ascendency, namely the Churches of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, the church of Jerusalem was accorded a place of honor with them among the five original Christian patriachates of the Christian world.

The Church of Jerusalem remains the custodian of many of the holy sites in Jerusalem and environs, sometimes jointly with Roman Catholic or Coptic or Armenian Orthodox Christians.

Lately there has been some criticism of the church leadership by Palestinian faithful, who accuse the Greek-speaking and largely Greek-born leadership of squandering their money and treating their Arabic-speaking members as second-class faithful.

See also

• Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem

External links

• Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem (http://www.jerusalem-patriarchate.org/en/home/homefr.htm)
• Greek version of Patriachate page (http://www.jerusalem-patriarchate.org/)