JERUSALEM – [Photos: Patriarchate of Jerusalem]
His Beatitude Theophilos III, together with the Heads of the Churches of the Status Quo communities, the Custos of the Holy Land, and the representative of the Armenian Patriarchate, received His Excellency the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, and his wife, Usha Vance, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on October 23.
His Beatitude personally guided the Vice President and Vance through the sacred sites in the Church, recounting its profound significance to all Christendom as the place of the Lord’s Crucifixion and Resurrection.
During the visit, His Beatitude conveyed his respectful greetings to President Donald J. Trump and expressed his heartfelt appreciation for the efforts of the United States administration, under President Trump’s leadership, to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and to alleviate the suffering of the innocent.
In his remarks, His Beatitude reflected upon the words of our Lord, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9), affirming the Church’s enduring prayer that peace may be restored to the Holy Land through wisdom, compassion, and divine grace.
