In 1997, he was appointed a member of the Courts Committee, and in the same year, he was sent to Qatar. On September 27, 2000, he was appointed a member of the Holy Synod.
In September 2001, he was appointed Patriarchal Representative in Moscow. In July 2003, he was appointed Patriarchal Representative in Qatar.
On June 8, 2004, he was appointed a member of the Patriarchate’s Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance in Jerusalem, and in September of the same year, he was appointed Grand Skevophylax of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. On February 14, 2005, he was elected and ordained Archbishop of Mount Tabor.
On August 9/22, 2005, the Holy Synod unanimously elected him Patriarch of the Holy Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
On November 9/22, 2005, his enthronement ceremony took place in the Katholikon of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, attended by representatives of all Orthodox Churches, as well as the Jordanian government and the Palestinian Authority. The ceremony was also attended by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias, and the representative of His Highness the Emir of Qatar. Following his enthronement as Patriarch, His Beatitude—alongside his active efforts to restore the stability and progress of the Patriarchate’s operations, foster the spiritual life of the Greek Orthodox flock, and safeguard the Holy Places—focused on enhancing the Church of Jerusalem’s participation in Orthodox gatherings. He sought to uphold ecclesiastical order in accordance with the Holy Canons and to strengthen the rights and international role of the Church of Jerusalem.
To this end, he participated in the expanded synod held in Geneva in May 2006 to elect a new primate for the Church of Cyprus; that same month, he paid a fraternal visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. He also personally oversaw the restoration of the Church of Jerusalem’s active participation in the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches.
In October 2007, at the invitation of the United States government, he participated in the “Conference on Religious Institutions in the Holy Land” in Washington, D.C., aiming to advance the political peace process in the region. He also oversaw the completion of historical studies and translations regarding the history of the Church of Jerusalem and participated, by invitation, in numerous academic conferences in Jerusalem and Greece.
In September 2008, at the invitation of the European Parliament, His Beatitude traveled to Brussels, where he presented the expectations and challenges facing the Church in the Holy Land to parliamentary leaders and European committees. In October of the same year, he participated in the Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
In 2009, he participated in the “C-1 World Dialogue” conference in London, where he was appointed Vice-Chairman.
On June 10, 2013, His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein awarded His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III—Patriarch of the Holy City and all Palestine and Jordan—the Order of the Renaissance (First Class) in recognition of his virtuous qualities and his efforts in interfaith dialogue.
In 2014, during a friendly visit to Romania, he was awarded the state’s highest honor by the President of Romania and was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bucharest.
In September of the same year, His Beatitude participated in the meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, held in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
On the Feast of Pentecost in 2016, His Beatitude—accompanied by hierarchs who are members of the Patriarchate’s Holy Synod, as well as other clergy and lay advisors—participated in the proceedings of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, held on the island of Crete, Greece. In August of the same year, His Beatitude the Patriarch invited and hosted the member churches of the Middle East Council of Churches; he presided over the proceedings of the conference held in Amman, Jordan, in his capacity as the representative of the Orthodox churches.
On September 12, 2016, His Beatitude presided over the consecration service of the Church of Saint John Vladimir in Montenegro, with the participation of Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, and representatives from other Orthodox churches.
On March 9, 2017, His Beatitude the Patriarch presided over the ceremony held at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to mark the completion of restoration and repair work on the Holy Edicule. This project was undertaken at the initiative of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, in agreement with the Franciscan Brotherhood and the Armenian Patriarchate, and was carried out by a team of lecturers and researchers from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), led by researcher and lecturer Ms. Antonia Moropoulou, with the assistance of Dr. Theodosios Mitropoulos, the architect of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
In 2017, following an unjust ruling by the Israeli Central Court in Jerusalem—which authorized settler groups to seize Patriarchate properties at Jaffa Gate (properties that had been leased illegally, in violation of all applicable laws and without the approval of the Holy Synod)—His Beatitude the Patriarch launched a campaign to preserve the *status quo* and peaceful coexistence in the Holy City. Among the meetings he held were those with King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein; Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas; Israeli President Reuven Rivlin; Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew; Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias; Pope Francis; President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades; Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus; and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. His Beatitude also raised this issue at the Conference of European Churches held in Cyprus and during a meeting of the World Council of Churches’ Executive Committee in Amman.
On May 9, 2017, His Beatitude the Patriarch welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump, who visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In July of the same year, His Beatitude participated in a UNAOC meeting titled “The Role of Religious Leaders in Peacebuilding in the Middle East,” held at the United Nations offices in New York. In September, acting as the Head of the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, he hosted representatives of the National Council of Churches of the USA in Jerusalem. In October, he participated in the “Second International Conference on Religious and Cultural Pluralism and Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East,” organized by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens.
On June 15, 2018, His Beatitude the Patriarch welcomed His Royal Highness Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In October of the same year, His Beatitude participated in the 50th-anniversary celebration of the Orthodox Academy of Crete and the third meeting of the Academy’s partners. That same month, he participated in the “Sixth Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions” in Astana, Kazakhstan.
In November 2019, His Beatitude traveled to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the presence of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow; during this visit, the International Public Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Peoples awarded him the “Patriarch Alexy II” Prize.
In February 2020, His Beatitude Theophilos III invited sister Orthodox Churches to a conference held in Amman, Jordan, under the theme of unity among sister Orthodox Churches.
