, first Bishop of Jerusalem In the
Apostolic Age, the
early centers of Christianity consisted of an indefinite number of local churches that initially looked to Jerusalem as its main centre and point of reference. Some found their way to Antioch, where they undertook
evangelical efforts, and to whom the term "Christians" was first used. Nevertheless,
Jerusalem was consistently central to Christianity. Before the outbreak of the
First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD) and the destruction of
Herod's Temple in 70 by
Titus, Christians led by
Simeon fled to
Pella in
Decapolis (
Jordan), where they remained until 135. The Jews of Judea again revolted against Rome in the
Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136). By or during that time, the Christians had returned to Jerusalem. However, to punish the Jews for their revolt and to prevent further unrest, Jerusalem was made a
Roman colony and renamed
Aelia Capitolina by
Hadrian. In 135, the
Metropolitan of
Caesarea appointed
Marcus as the first bishop of the renamed Church of
Aelia Capitolina. He was the first gentile bishop of the Church of Jerusalem (or Aelia Capitolina), all the previous ones having been Jewish. The persecution of Jews by Roman authorities in
Judea increased, with most of the Jewish and Christian population of Judea being enslaved and dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. The importance and place of Jerusalem in the life of the Christian Church diminished, though a Jewish and Christian remnant always remained in the city and the land. Despite the strife, persecutions and meager population, bishops continued to be elected or named.
Eusebius of Caesarea provides the names of an unbroken succession of thirty-six Bishops of Jerusalem up to the year 324. The first sixteen of these bishops were Jewish—from
James the Just to
Judas († 135)—and the remainder were Gentiles. The most deadly persecution occurred during the time of the Fatamid
Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (1007–1009), named the "
Nero of Egypt" for his merciless acts. He persecuted ferociously both Christians and Jews, ordering that in public Jews were to wear masks representing the head of an ox and bells around their necks; Christians were to wear mourning apparel and crosses one yard in length. Al-Hakim is particularly notorious for ordering the
destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other holy sites to Christians and Jews. In the eleventh century, the Caliph
Ali az-Zahir, under a treaty with Byzantium, permitted the reconstruction of the shrines. In the
Great Schism of 1054, the
patriarch of Jerusalem joined those of
Antioch,
Constantinople and
Alexandria as the
Eastern Orthodox Church. All Christians in the Holy Land came under the jurisdiction of the
Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1099, the
crusaders captured
Jerusalem, setting up the
Kingdom of Jerusalem and establishing a Latin hierarchy under a
Latin patriarch, and expelling the Orthodox patriarch. The Latin patriarch resided in Jerusalem from 1099 to 1187, while Greek patriarchs continued to be appointed, but resided in
Constantinople. In 1187, the Crusaders were forced to flee Jerusalem, and the Orthodox patriarch returned to Jerusalem. The
Catholic Church continued to appoint Latin patriarchs, though the office holder resided in Rome until 1847, when they were permitted to return to the Middle East by the Ottoman authorities. During the 19th century, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem occupied a sensitive geopolitical position within the
Ottoman Empire. As part of the
millet system, the patriarch acted both as ecclesiastical head and as political representative of the Orthodox community before the state, which enabled the Church to accumulate extensive landholdings through a combination of private and religious endowment titles.
Russian imperial patronage, particularly after the
Crimean War, significantly enhanced the patriarchate's influence: Russian donations and the growing numbers of pilgrims supported land acquisitions, ecclesiastical construction, and agricultural estates across Palestine. These activities allowed the patriarchate to assert itself against rival Catholic and Protestant missions while also engaging in competition with local actors, including
Zionist colonization initiatives in the
Late Ottoman and
British Mandate periods. Scholars note that the patriarchate’s territorial strategies, such as the establishment of estates at sites like
Caesarea, reflected an effort to restore its former prominence while navigating the shifting balance of power among the Ottomans, European states, and emerging nationalist movements. The
Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, which is closely linked to the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, remains the custodian of many of the Christian
Holy places in the
Holy Land, sometimes jointly with the
Roman Catholic Church and the
Oriental Churches (
Egyptian,
Syrian,
Ethiopian and
Armenian Orthodox Christians). at the Holy Monastery of Martha and Mary in Bethany, West Bank +
Phi) representing the word "taphos" (tomb or sepulchre)
Recent political controversies Theophilos III became patriarch of the church at a very difficult time in its history. The politics of the Middle East and the delicacy of the relations with the
Palestinian Authority, Israel and
Jordan continues to make the role and place of the patriarch and the patriarchate very challenging. In 2005, a crisis occurred in the church when
Irenaios was deposed as patriarch by the
Holy Synod of Jerusalem after having sold church property in East Jerusalem to Israeli investors. On August 22, 2005, the Holy Synod of the Church of Jerusalem unanimously elected Archbishop Theophilos of
Tabor as the 141st patriarch of Jerusalem. For some time the Israeli Government withheld recognition of Theophilos as the new patriarch, and continued to only recognize Irenaios as patriarch. This position has been criticised as defying the unanimous decision by representatives of all Eastern Orthodox churches meeting at the
Phanar at the call of the
ecumenical patriarch withdrawing communion from Irineos and recognizing Theophilos's canonical election. Israel's refusal to recognise the patriarch's temporal role inhibited the patriarch's ability to take the Israeli government to court, and froze patriarchal bank accounts. This in turn threatened the maintenance of the Holy Places and the patriarchate school system with 40,000 students. It has been alleged that the origins of the dispute are part of a forty-year attempt by Israeli settler organizations and politicians to open up the patriarchate's extensive land holdings worth estimated hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2006, Israel refused to renew
visas of many of the Greek clergy, which threatened to create to a serious crisis within the church, as most of the monks are Greek citizens. Patriarch Theophilos applied to the Israeli Supreme Court. A decision was due in mid-2006 and then in January 2007, but the Israeli government repeatedly requested further delays in the case. The Israeli newspaper
Haaretz reported on 11 February 2007 that the Israeli government offered to recognize Theophilos if he would give up control of several valuable properties and sell church property only to Israelis. In May 2007, the government of Jordan revoked its previous recognition of Theophilos III, but on 12 June 2007 the Jordanian cabinet reversed its decision and announced that it had once again officially recognised Theophilos as patriarch.
Archbishop Theodosios (Hanna) of
Sebastia has also called for a boycott of Theophilos. In September 2017, hundreds of Palestinian Christians protested in
Jerusalem calling for the removal of Theophilos III, accusing him of approving controversial land sales in East Jerusalem to Israeli settler organizations such as
Ateret Cohanim. The patriarch denied wrongdoing and stated that the sales were made under legal pressure and did not compromise church property rights. In December 2022, the patriarchate publicly condemned what it described as the illegal seizure of church land in the
Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem by Israeli settler groups, warning that such actions threatened the Christian presence in the Holy Land. In August 2025, the patriarchate faced another financial and political crisis when Israeli authorities froze all its bank accounts over a disputed Arnona (property tax) bill. Officials claimed the church owed taxes on several income-generating properties, while the patriarchate argued that historic agreements exempted its holdings from such payments. The freeze disrupted salaries for clergy and staff and drew condemnation from the
Palestinian Authority,
Jordan, and other Christian institutions, which viewed the move as a violation of the traditional status quo protecting church property in Jerusalem. ==Land holdings==