Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem said during a press conference held at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem on Saturday night that “the Patriarchate has been up against a hate campaign in the past few weeks that questioned its credibility.”

Patriarch Theophilos added that “we were forced to hold this press conference because of an Israeli court’s unfair verdict that ignored our historical right at Jaffa Gate, which is proof that the court’s decision was made based on political bias.”

The Patriarch stressed that the court’s verdict “not only has a negative impact on the Patriarchate, but on Christian society in Jerusalem.”

He also said that the Patriarchate will be appealing the court’s verdict at the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Patriarch Theophilos pointed out that 40 members of the Israeli Knesset agreed on a draft resolution restricting the churches and their freedom and the confiscation of their lands, which will deprive the church of its rights and freedom of worship.

The Patriarch called for an urgent meeting of the churches to discuss the issue of Christian endowments and the draft resolution adopted by the Knesset.

“Christians must rest assured that we shall remain loyal to Jesus’ grave and will continue to root our Christian presence. We invite Trump, Putin, King Abdullah II, Abbas, Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and the international community to urgently interfere in the current situation against the church,” the Patriarch said.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Amman said that this press conference is the first of its kind, which shows the importance and urgency of the Patriarch’s concerns.

They added that “choosing Amman to hold the press conference is due to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's custodianship of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.