The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, is set to meet US President Donald Trump on Thursday in Washington. During the meeting, the Patriarch will present the president with the Patriarchate's senior honorary decoration – the Great Bearer of the Cross of the Order of Cross-Bearers of the Holy Sepulchre.
The decoration is one of the most significant honors conferred by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and is linked to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City – the site identified in Christian tradition as the place of Jesus's burial and resurrection.
This is not the first meeting between the two. In 2017, the Patriarch and President Trump met during the latter's visit to Israel. The Patriarch himself had previously been invited to the White House.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem is considered one of the oldest Christian institutions in the world. It holds a central standing in the Holy Land and is entrusted with the administration and custodianship of sites sacred to Christianity, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, alongside broad activity among Christian communities across the Middle East and the Orthodox world.
The current Washington visit is part of an ongoing tour by the Patriarch, who is expected to travel afterward to Greece, a central country in the Orthodox Christian world, ahead of a planned visit at the end of the week.
Theophilos III, who has held the position since 2005, is considered a central and influential figure in the international religious arena. Among other things, he was involved in events of broad significance, including the consecration of the anointing oil used at the coronation of British King Charles III, which was prepared in Jerusalem and blessed at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
