Early Life: His Eminence Archbishop Christophoros (Hanna Kamal Atallah) was born in 1970 in Jerusalem to a family hailing from Jifna, in the Ramallah district of Palestine; he grew up in a home filled with piety and devotion. Education: He completed his primary education at the Friends Boys School and his secondary education at the Zion Ecclesiastical School of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, graduating with distinction in 1989. He subsequently enrolled in the Sociology program at the University of Jordan, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1996.
He was tonsured a monk on December 12, 1988, in Jerusalem by the late Beatitude Patriarch Diodoros I, and ordained a deacon that same year at Golgotha in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—Jerusalem—by the late Metropolitan Basilios of Caesarea. He was subsequently ordained a priest at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Amman by the late Metropolitan Constantine in 1991.
He served in various capacities in Amman until 1997, when he was appointed Spiritual Head of the city of Jerash. He also held several administrative positions in Jordan, serving with complete integrity. Furthermore, he was appointed Deputy to the Metropolitan of Philadelphia and All Jordan (2000–2004), Patriarchal Vicar for Northern Jordan (2004–2013), and served as a member and later Deputy President of the Ecclesiastical Court in Jordan (2005–2009).
In 2017, he was appointed a member of the Holy Synod by the Holy Synod of Jerusalem.
“There is no spiritual life without monasteries”—this was his famous motto and his great dream, which he realized by the grace of the Lord God. He is the founder and spiritual father of the Monastery of the Virgin Mary, “Source of Life,” in Dibbin; the foundation stone was laid in 1999, and the monastic life there—an angelic calling—began in 2002. The monastery stands as a haven of comfort, blessing, and salvation for the souls of many visitors.
He distinguished himself through his gift for preaching and teaching; his pastoral journey produced a rich body of sermons, as well as spiritual and exegetical lectures, that touched many hearts and reached various parts of the Kingdom. He also taught courses on the spiritual life and the history of the Church of Jerusalem within the theology program in Jordan.
Beyond his internal church activities, he maintained a significant presence in the wider Christian—and specifically Orthodox—world. For several years, he represented the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem at international Orthodox conferences dedicated to addressing contemporary heresies and unorthodox movements, and he accompanied His Beatitude to the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Crete in 2016.
He took a deep interest in the youth, viewing them as the backbone of the Church. He was known for his closeness to them, his embrace of their presence, and his efforts to channel their energy into service for the Church, the nation, and society. He is a spiritual father to many parishioners and young people. Recognizing their needs and requirements, and drawing upon his wisdom in administrative and institutional management, he took the initiative to establish the Orthodox Center—the foundation stone of which was laid in 2017 by His Beatitude Theophilos III and His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad.
On May 15, 2018, the Holy Synod of Jerusalem elected him Archbishop of the Holy City of Cyriacopolis and Patriarchal Vicar for Amman and its dependencies. He was consecrated by His Beatitude Theophilos III in Jerusalem on May 19, 2018, and assumed his pastoral duties in Amman in June 2018.
