Jerusalem patriarch asks Trump to protect Holy Land Christians, access to holy sites

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem met with President Donald Trump at the White House on June 4 and urged protection for Christian and Muslim communities and access to holy sites in the Holy Land amid concerns over instability, restrictions on worship, and pressure on ancient Christian communities across the Middle East. 

“Christian communities in the Middle East have faced a difficult reality of growing instability, threats and pressure,” Patriarch Theophilos said, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. “We are seeing ancient communities asking for something very basic: to continue living in safety, to preserve their faith and to maintain freedom of worship.”

Haaretz reported that Patriarch Theophilos, who has led the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem since 2005, stressed during the roughly 40-minute meeting that preserving religious freedom and open access to the region’s holy sites is “a condition for stability, coexistence, and peace across the entire region.” 

According to a statement from the Patriarchate, Patriarch Theophilos also emphasized that freedom of worship in Jerusalem is “inextricably linked” to maintaining the historic “Status Quo,” the longstanding arrangement governing the city’s major holy sites. He said the framework remains essential to preserving religious balance and protecting both the Christian and Islamic presence in Jerusalem. 

The Patriarchate said the meeting highlighted recent restrictions and closures imposed by Israeli authorities in Jerusalem that affected both the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Al-Aqsa Mosque during religious holidays.

In March, Israeli police stopped Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Franciscan Fr. Francesco Ielpo, the Custos of the Holy Land, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to offer Palm Sunday Mass, citing security concerns related to the Iran war. The Christian Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem said in a joint statement that the decision was “manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate” and an “extreme departure” from respect for religious freedom and the Status Quo. 

Cardinal Pizzaballa and Fr. Francesco Ielpo said a day later that they had reached an arrangement with the Israeli police allowing the Churches’ representatives to celebrate Holy Week and Easter at the Holy Sepulchre. 

During the White House meeting, Patriarch Theophilos presented Trump with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the highest honors granted by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He also invited Trump to visit Jordan and the site where Christ was baptized. 

The meeting came amid broader concern over Christian communities in the Holy Land, which have faced increasing Jewish settler violence and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. 

As Zeale News previously reported, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced June 3 that officials had approved more than 2,000 new housing units in West Bank settlements, including 1,006 near Jerusalem, 922 near Nablus, and 234 near Hebron. Smotrich said in a statement that he hopes the settlement expansion plan will “help us bring one million settlers and kill the idea of a Palestinian state.” 

Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, and Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly affirmed Vatican support for a two-state solution and said Palestinians have a right to live peacefully in their own land.