Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in the context of "Liturgical year"

A Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, romanized: Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía, IPA: [elinorˈθoðoksi ekliˈsia]) is any of three classes of Christian churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Roman Empire:

• The broader meaning refers to "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also called 'Eastern Orthodox', 'Greek Catholic', or generally 'the Greek Church'".
• A second, narrower meaning refers to "any of several independent churches within the worldwide communion of [Eastern] Orthodox Christianity that retain the use of the Greek language in formal ecclesiastical settings". In this sense, the Greek Orthodox Churches are the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and its dependencies, the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, the Church of Greece and the Church of Cyprus.
• The third meaning refers to the Church of Greece, an Eastern Orthodox Church operating within the modern borders of Greece.

Patriarchate (/ˈpeɪtriɑːrkɪt, -keɪt/, UK also /ˈpætri-/; Ancient Greek: πατριαρχεῖον, patriarcheîon) is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, referring to the office and jurisdiction of a patriarch.

According to Christian tradition, three patriarchates—Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria—were established by the apostles as apostolic sees in the 1st century. These were officially recognized by the First Council of Nicaea. The Patriarchate of Constantinople was added in the 4th century, and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem followed in the 5th century. These five sees were later recognized collectively as the pentarchy by the Council of Chalcedon in 451.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is simultaneously the seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Catholic Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is the holiest site in Christianity and it has been an important pilgrimage site for Christians since the fourth century.

According to traditions dating to the fourth century, the church contains both the site where Jesus was crucified at Calvary, or Golgotha, and the location of Jesus's empty tomb, where he was buried and, resurrected. Both locations are considered immensely holy sites by most Christians. The church and rotunda was built under Constantine the Great in the 4th century and destroyed by al-Hakim in 1009. Al-Hakim's son allowed Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos to reconstruct the church, which was completed in 1048. After it was captured by the crusaders in 1099, it continued to undergo modifications, resulting in a significant departure from the original structure. Several renovations and restorations were made under the Ottomans. The tomb itself is enclosed by a 19th-century shrine called the Aedicule.

The Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem or Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, officially Patriarch of Jerusalem (Greek: Πατριάρχης Ιεροσολύμων; Arabic: بطريرك القدس; Hebrew: פטריארך ירושלים), is the head bishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since 2005, the Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem has been Theophilos III. The patriarch is styled "Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Holy Land, Syria, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Holy Zion." The patriarch is the head of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, and the religious leader of about 130,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land, most of them Arab Christians in Israel and Palestine.

The patriarchate traces its line of succession to the first Christian bishops of Jerusalem, the first being James the Just in the 1st century AD. Jerusalem was granted autocephaly in 451 by the Council of Chalcedon and in 531 became one of the initial five patriarchates.

Arab Christians (Arabic: ﺍﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, romanized: al-Masīḥiyyūn al-ʿArab) are the Arabs who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million, although most predominant in Lebanon. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, but are concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of the Levant and Egypt, with smaller communities present throughout the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.

The history of Arab Christians coincides with the history of Eastern Christianity and the history of the Arabic language; Arab Christian communities either result from pre-existing Christian communities adopting the Arabic language, or from pre-existing Arabic-speaking communities adopting Christianity. The jurisdictions of three of the five patriarchates of the Pentarchy primarily became Arabic-speaking after the early Muslim conquests – the Church of Alexandria, the Church of Antioch and the Church of Jerusalem – and over time many of their adherents adopted the Arabic language and culture. Separately, a number of early Arab kingdoms and tribes adopted Christianity, including the Nabataeans, Lakhmids, Salihids, Tanukhids, Ibadis of al-Hira, and the Ghassanids.