The Service of the Lamentations of the Dormition of the Theotokos at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem

On the morning of Thursday, 27 August 2026, the Service of the Lamentations of the Dormition of the Theotokos was observed at the Church of the Dormition in Gethsemane.

For this service, the Patriarchal Entourage, under Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem departed from the Patriarchate at 7:30 a.m. and proceeded on foot along the Via Dolorosa, continuing to Gethsemane and to the rectory, where they waited until the arrangements for the reception had been completed.

Following the reception in the courtyard of the Church, the Patriarchal Entourage went down into the Church, accompanied by the chanting of hymns of the Dormition. They then venerated the Tomb of the Theotokos.

Upon Patriarch Theophilos’s vesting, together with the Hierarchs, Hieromonks and priests, the moving service commenced around the beautifully prepared Holy Epitaph, with the chanting of the Lamentations in three Stasis. During the First Stasis, the Patriarch censed, while during the Second and Third Stasis, the Hierarchs censed. This was followed by the festive homily on the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, delivered in Greek by the Elder Chief Secretary, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, as…