A Brief History
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The Phoenix Publishing Organization.
Athens, Greece: Eleutheroudaki Publishing House.
Athens, Greece: Evangelos M. Rallis.
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[IMPORTANT NOTE: The historical Agiotafitikos Stavros (Cross of The Holy Sepulcher) of the Adelfotis (Brotherhood), as described below and bestowed by His Beatitude The Patriarch of Jerusalem, is the only authentic Cross of The Holy Sepulcher
accepted by all Institutions of the Byzantine Tradition: perpetuated, honored, and protected by the Greek Orthodox Church.]
By:
The first appearance. The word and meaning of "Brotherhood" [Adelfotis] has its root and provenance from Holy Scripture. It is mentioned in the First Epistle of Peter (2:17 and 5:9), wherein the First-in-chief [Protokoryfeos] of the Apostles exhorts: to love the brotherhood; and, he refers to the Christian brotherhood in the world, for which he also bids well. These expressions characterize the community of persons who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and who amongst themselves feel as brothers. On the basis of this general meaning, Brotherhoods also appeared within the Ecclesia in the sense of a collective organization. The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher [Agiotafiki Adelfotis] emerges after the triumph of Christianity and the foundation of the Churches in the Holy Land by the God-inspired and Equal-to-the-Apostles [Isapostoloi], Saints Constantine and Helen (326). At first, it bore the name "Order of the Spoudaeoi (wise, learned, worthy, gifted, exceptional, significant, industrious, serious)" or "The Spoudaeoi of the Holy Resurrection of Christ." Those who comprised it were dedicated with all their soul to prayers and rites that were performed at the All-Venerable Church of the Resurrection. Along with the incessant sacred ministry, they were also charged with the care and preservation of the All-Holy Sepulcher and the rest of the Holy Shrines (see Chr. Papadopoulou, History of the Church of Jerusalem, in Jerusalem 1910, pp. 97, 189, 235, 393-394; cf. also Jacob of Diocaesareia, The Holy Places of Palestine and the Order of the Agiotafites [the Ones of the Holy Sepulcher], in Jerusalem, 1982). They were distinguished above all for the observance of uninterrupted prayer in the sense of mental and heartfelt supplication. At the same time, they were distinguished for their virtuous an diligent ascetic life. According to findings of contemporary researchers, they pre-existed as ascetics earlier than 326. They were organized as an Order during the sojourn of the Regal Mater [Basilomitir] Saint Helen to the Holy City and Holy Places, where the Lord’s feet treaded and where the miraculous events of the Holy Dispensation took place. They cultivated a fervent love for Jesus Christ and they nourished a special respect, honor, and affection for the God-trodden places, thinking of them as Holy Residences in the "courtyard of the Lord." For their work achievement and their virtue, Cyril of Jerusalem makes mention in his Catechisms, saying: "Those cantors, the Spoudaeoi of the Church, know to emulate the angelic armies and always praising God, the most worthy ones, chant in Golgotha" (cf., Archim. Kallistou, About the Spoudaeoi. . . . p. 704 and Sylvias Odoiporikon, the Life of Gerountios, The Life of Holy Melanis in Analecta Bollandiana, t. 22, p. 27). Of special importance about the holiness of the Spoudaeoi Monks is the characterization of Cyril of Jerusalem, that they incessantly emulated the angelic armies and praised God without interruption.
The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher or The Holy Community of the All-Holy Sepulcher. Thus is named the Greek Orthodox Monastic Fraternity, which for centuries guards and protects the global All-Holy Christian Shrines in the Holy Land (Palestine), which were sanctified by the life, the teaching, and the passion of the Godman [Theanthropos], founder of the Christian Church, our Savior Jesus Christ. The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher also at the same time administers the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, therefore, is the Chief, President, Governor, and Hegumen of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher and is addressed by the ecclesiastical traditional laws as Father and Most Holy Beatitude Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and of all Palestine (see Calendar of the Holy Sepulcher 1994, p. 32 and edition of 1922, cf. et al., p. 41). Members of the Brotherhood and also staff officers of the Patriarchate comprise all of the Most Reverend Metropolitans, Archbishops, Bishops and Holy Archmandrites, Hieromonks, Deacons, and Monks. As a consequence, the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher is flesh of flesh of the Most Holy Mother of the Churches. In that capacity, i ministers, guards, and protects for centuries the Life-giving Most Holy Sepulcher and all the Most Sacred Shrines of our Immaculate Faith, with the grace and power of our Lord Jesus Christ. It attests, therefore, as a Greek Orthodox Brotherhood, to the privileged position of our respectful and blessed Race in these Holy Places.
The reverend Fathers of the Holy Sepulcher, executing faithfully their mission, suffered indescribable persecutions and martyrdom, struggling with heroic courage "in the face of the powers and authorities of the present century." And they continue with self-sacrifice the good struggle, in order to maintain "inextinguishable the torch of the Orthodox ideals, but also the repository of privileges and exceptional rights of the Orthodox Church in the Holy Land: whereby they experienced mocking and flogging, including fetters and imprisonment. They were pelted by stones, they were bruised, murdered by the knife . . . being denied, saddened, abused in the desert . . . in the mountains and in the caves and in the gorges of the earth" (cf. Heb 11:36-38). All the Archpriests of the Patriarchate without exception, the Archimandrites, the Hieromonks and the Monks, are members thereof According to its dual purpose and dual mission, the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher is so named and also Holy Communion of the All-Holy Sepulcher, and on the other hand, Church of Jerusalem, Church of Zion (see Calendar of the Holy Sepulcher 1994, p. 32).
The holy Shrines that the Agiotafites (Monks of the Holy Sepulcher) preserved through the centuries with unshakeable faith in the Greek Orthodox ideals, are many and priceless to the faithful. The most important are: The All-Holy Sepulcher, The Dreadful Golgotha, the place of the Crucifixion of Jesus, the location of the discovery of the Precious Cross by Saint Helen, the Cave of the Birthplace of Christ in Jerusalem, the Tomb of Mother Mary in Gethsemane, the Pool at Siloam, the holy places of the Transfiguration of the Savior and Mount Tabor, [locations] of the Baptism in the Jordan, of Nazareth, of Gennesaret, of the Ascension at the Mount of Olives, of Cana, of Bethesda, of Capernaum, the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, the fountain of the Samaritan and other.
The multicentury history of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher is linked with the history of the Christian Church from its cradle. The first Christian Community of Jerusalem had as its chief James the Brother of God [Adelfotheos] who is the first Bishop of Jerusalem.
During Tito’s terrible destruction of the Holy City to its foundation in 70 A.D., which Jesus Christ had predicted, Christians fled to Pella of Decapolis where they remained until 134. After the return of the Christians to Jerusalem (which during Hadrian was named Aelia [135 A.D.]), the first Greek bishop to be elected was Mark I (134). The Church of Jerusalem becomes reorganized at the beginning of the Fourth Century during the period of the Bishop Makarios I. At the same time, monastic life begins to be reformed and takes on the identity that is characteristic of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher. It remained unshakeable and immovable in its place during its entire long journey through the centuries until today. This was in spite of the incursions of foreignness and infidels, the adventures and the destructions, the slaughters, the terrible persecutions and the indescribable hardships and privations, etc.
Historiographers divide the history of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher into three periods: (a) From 327 to 638, the year when the "Holy City" was sieged by the caliph of the Moslem Arabs, Omar Hatap; (b) from 638 to 1517 with the conquest of Jerusalem by the Ottoman Turks under the Sultan Selim; (c) from 1517 to the present (see Chrys. Papadopoulou, History of the Church of Jerusalem, in Jerusalem 1910, p. 96 and, New Zion I, 16 and, Eccl. Truth, Constantinople XXIX 1901, no. 33-49, Kleopa Koikylidou, About the Ancient and Modern Monasteries in Palestine, in Jerusalem 1906, p. 20, 34, 94 etc.).
The Church of the All-Holy Sepulcher is founded with the help of Saint Helen during the first period and at the time of Bishop Makarios. Also, the first monastery is founded and Saint Hilarion who introduced it in Palestine sets order in the life of the monks. Monastic life emerges in the Holy Land since then and the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher is formed, which at first carried the name of The Order of the Spoudaioi of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. The importance of the Brotherhood is evidenced by the name, which has as its purpose the patronage of the All-Holy Sepulcher, of Golgotha, of the site of discovery of the Virtuous Cross, and in general of the Holy Sites, as well as of the performance of Divine Services, the Wakes and Pilgrimages, the Holy Ministry, and the Uninterrupted Prayer. The churches of the Sacred Shrines were not parochial, nor were they just for the Christians of Jerusalem, or Bethlehem etc. They are of exceptional meaning to all of Christianity, insofar as they are Universal Christian Shrines. It is there that the Divine Liturgy and the various Christian ceremonies assume their perfected form and are distributed to the rest of the Christian world. For this reason the Typikon [prescription of worship services] and almost all feasts originate in Jerusalem. The work of the Order of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher, therefore, was most important, beginning in 326 with the establishment of the Sacred Shrines. The mission of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher under the precepts of Saint Hilarion is for the world a positive, living, and dynamic contribution of monasticism: It did not only tend to acquiesce the Monks to a communal life, but also brought them into beneficial communion with the world. It is known that not just Saint Hilarion [Agios Ilarionas] but also Saint Chariton [Agios Chariton], another of the great monks of the Church of Jerusalem, founder of he first Laura [Lavra] (a multi-cell coenobium), worked tirelessly with marvelous results for the spread of Christianity to the Nationals, Jews, and Saracens.
The Agiotafites at first lived around the so-called tower of David. Later they settled in a special monastery near the Church of the Resurrection with which they communicated through an internal entrance. Some lived inside the Church, as it is still done today by rotation. From the Fourth Century, the dignities [duties] were named for the Sacristan [Skevofylax] who was charged with the guardianship of the Precious Wood of the Cross.
By decision of the Fourth Oecumenical Synod (451) the Bishop of the "Holy City" is promoted to Patriarch of Jerusalem. Since then, the throne of Jerusalem becomes independent and is adorned with an uninterrupted line of Greek Patriarchs. The promotion is owed mainly to the special significance that Jerusalem acquired from the First to the Fourth Oecumenical Synod; the establishment of the magnificent Churches; the complete supervision of Christianity in Palestine; the convergence of the pilgrims from around the world; the distinction of important bishops and teachers; the struggles of the Agiotafites in behalf of Orthodoxy; and the interest in the Holy Places on the part of the pious Emperors of Byzantium.
In the latter years of the First Period, begin the incursions of the foreignness against Palestine and, naturally, the struggles of the Agiotafites for the defense of the Sacred Shrines. First the Persians occupy Jerusalem in 614 and take prisoner the Patriarch Zacharias together with the palladium of Christianity, the Precious Cross. Patriarch Sophronios lamented the indescribable destruction in his elegy. Chrysostomos Papadopoulos writes the following in the history of the Patriarchate: "The churches inside and outside Jerusalem, the Monasteries, were destroyed; the Christians were slaughtered brutally . . . thousands of prisoners purchased by Jews were slaughtered. Anything good that existed was destroyed or was plundered by the invaders. . . . The monks were slaughtered mercilessly, especially those of the Saint Savvas Monastery."
In 638, the caliph of the Arabs, Omar Hatap, lays siege to Jerusalem. The Patriarch Sophronios surrenders the city. With the famous Antiname (Treaty of the Caliph, see Sacred Calendar 1995, p. 17), however, and with prudence, he manages to save from destruction the Shrines and to secure the ownership and the privileges of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher in the Holy Places. This accorded safety and free exercise of religion to the "Nation of the Hellenes" as well as the ownership of the Holy Places to them.
During the middle period (638-1517), the Church of Jerusalem and the Sacred Brotherhood suffered many persecutions and many trials. The Shrines suffered repeated destructions from the successors of Omar Hatap, and Monks and Christians were persecuted.
The most deadly persecution occurred during the ambivalent and raving Fatimide Al Hakim (1007-1009) who had a schizophrenic personality, and who was named the "Nero of Egypt" for his merciless acts. He persecuted ferociously both Christians and Jews. On the Jews he imposed that when they were in the street, they should wear a mask representing the head of an ox and a bell around their neck; to the Christians he imposed that they should wear apparel of mourning and around their neck a cross of the length of one yard. Also, by his command, the Church of the Resurrection was completely destroyed (see Chr. Papadopoulou, p. 358).
In the Eleventh Century the caliph Al Zachir, after a treaty with Byzantium, acknowledged to the Hellenic Empire the right to reconstruct the Shrines.
During the Crusades, the Agiotafites confront new persecutions. They are ousted by the Latin (catholic) clergy from the Church of the Resurrection and other Shrines. They regroup in the Metachion of the Laura of Saint Savvas and conduct desperate struggles against Francocracy [Frangocratia]. They gain possession of the Shrines again, when Salachendin occupied Palestine (1185). The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher vigilantly guards the Shrines during the tumultuous period of the Mamelukes. At the fall of Constantinople to the Turks (1453), the Patriarch Athanasios went to the Polis (Constantinople) and received from the plunderer, Mohammed II, the Chati that confirmed the ownership rights by the Brotherhood of the Sacred Shrines.
During the Third Period, the struggles of the Hellenic Monks of the Holy Sepulcher continue against the Latins and the Armenians who were pursuing to usurp the Shrines and the rights of the Brotherhood that had been recognized equally by the Byzantine Emperors as by the conquerors. (Omar, Mohamed II, etc). The organization of the Brotherhood was essentially reconstituted during the period of the British mandate in Palestine, prior to and after World War II. A special law No. 227 issued from Jordan, regulates the details of its government as of 1/6/1958. Notable activities of the members of the Holy Brotherhood are the following:. The Church of the Resurrection is rebuilt in 617-626 by Patriarch Modesto. In 1545 the canopy of the All-Holy Sepulcher is repaired under Patriarch Germanos. In1808 the Armenians burn it and it is rebuilt under the care of the Monks and at the expense of the respectful Greek Nation. In 1927, the small dome is destroyed and is also rebuilt by the Brotherhood with a contribution again of the Greek Nation (1931-1933). The Church of the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem is repaired in 1842 by the Agiotafites. In 1951 the Tower of Justinian is refurbished by Archbishop of Neapolis, Artemios who also raised in 1956 the Chapel of Saint George at the Basilica of the Nativity at the expense of the Archbishop of Pellis, Claudius. In Gethsemane, the Metochion is refurbished and the same archbishop constructs a dome in 1954-55. In 1951 the Laura of Abbot Theodosius is refurbished. The list continues with a series of works that followed including those under the care and by the initiative of a number of members of the Brotherhood in the years, 1958, 1961, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1982, 1988, 1991, etc.
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Bibliography [as listed]
Hierosolymias, Jerusalem, 1864.
Beniamin Ioannidou, Proskynetarion of the Holy Land
[Devotional], 1877.
A. Papadopoulou Kerameos, Catalog of the Library of the
Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
A. Courct, Terre Sainte, 1901.
Kleopa Koikilidou, About The Hellenic Monasteries in Palestine,
1906.
Chrysostomou Papadopoulou, History of The Church of Jerusalem,
1910.
P. Meistermans, Terre Sainte, Paris, 1923.
K. Metaxa, Jerusalem and the Shrines, Athens, 1957.
Chr. Evaggelatou, Jerusalem Fountain of Eternal Life.
Jerusalem Fountain of Eternal Life.
New Zion, Scientific Theological Journal of the
Patriarchate of Jerusalem with significant and
extensive historical studies of blessed ever memorable Patriach Timotheos.
Archim. Kallistou, Most Holy Calendar. Et al.
E. Th. Panagiotou
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The following article
appeared in The National Herald on November 9-10, 2002.Jerusalem Nun Speaks About Terror in Holy Land
By
Sophia Apessos
NEW YORK - The Cathedral fellowship of The Holy Trinity Church in New York City hosted a presentation last Sunday by Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos, a member of the Orthodox Monastic community of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, Jerusalem, and administrator of the Orthodox School of Bethany.
Following the Divine Liturgy, Mother Agapia spoke about the state of Christianity in the Holy Land and how it can survive, at the Cathedral center in Manhattan.
"Christians are suffering in the Holy Land," said Mother Agapia.
She said the Israeli government is making life so difficult for people to eventually force them out. She said the fear in the Holy Land is that Christian churches and religious sites will become nothing more than museums under Israeli rule, if Christians are driven away. She painted a picture that can be linked more to Nazi Germany than to a modem-day democracy, with military rule, checkpoints, arbitrary curfews, random destruction and siege of property.
"Really what's going on is genocide under the radar gun," said Mother Agapia. She said from what she sees there everyday, it is clear that the Israelis do not want a peaceful resolution, but to control the entire area.
She said she saw a deaf, mute Palestinian man beaten by Israeli soldiers and shot in the back of the head because he was going to the local bakery for bread off curfew hours. He survived, but lost his eye.
"It has never been darker in the Holy Land than today following two years of state-sponsored terrorism against the Palestinian people who are desperately seeking a homeland, freedom and independence from Israeli occupation and brutality that has almost totally destroyed the land of Christ's birth along with several precious Christian sites," Maria Khoury, Ed.D., a Greek American author who lives in the West Bank, wrote in a paper entitled "Struggling One Day at a Time in the Holy Land."
Israeli soldiers stand in towers and on mountaintops in full gear with their American paid wepons, Khoury writes.
Mother Agapia explained that Israelis have yellow plates on their vehicles and are free to pass certain areas , while Palestinians have green plates on their vehicles and cannot pass freely from place to place.
"It's impossible to create a Palestinian state with the [Israeli] settlements being built," said Mother Agapia.
Mother Agapia said the Palestinians in Israel are treated like third-class citizens. "Even basic services are denied to Palestinians," said Nick Khoury a Palestinian Orthodox Christian, who comes from Nazareth.
He said until the Roman catholic Pope's visit in 2000, open sewage ran through the streets in Palestinian occupied areas.
"It's about the occupation,"said Mother Agapia. "Americans shouldn't look at it as an issue of terrorism but occupation."
Mother Agapia said what the Israeli military put people through at checkpoints, is more about harassment and humiliation than security. She said clerics, including herself, are required to do what they term "the dance" at Israeli soldier's demands: they have to raise their arms and turn slowly to show that they are not wearing a bomb or other weapon. "These are clerics, bishops and nuns, these people are not armed," said Mother Agapia, recalling another occasion when catholic and Orthodox bishops had to undergo such inspections of their luggage and their bodies that they refused to get on an airplane to attend an international inter-denominational religious conference on the occupation in Israel.
"The Palestinian Moslems are not there to push the Israelis into the ocean," said Mother Agapia. "I think we have to erase the idea that they are terrorists."
She said press reports never tell the full story behind suicide bombers. One Palestinian became a suicide bomber after his brother was gunned downed [sic] by Israeli soldiers on his way home from a wedding.
She does not agree with the measures they take, the Palestinians who have lost all hope and resort to suicide bombings, but the world does not hear them.
She said peaceful protests are nearly impossible and never make it into the press. A group of bishops and nuns were stopped by Israeli soldiers, who pointed their guns and tanks right at them as they tried to proceed. She said they were stopped so as not to attract media attention.
"Nobody had a weapon, nobody had rocks, these were peaceful, middle aged people," said Mother Agapia. Soldiers allowed a protest BY Israeli citizens for the rights of Palestinians until it began to get some media attention. At that point, the protest was squelched with teargas.
Mother Agapia said Israel is not a democracy or a place of religious freedom. Palestinians have no voting rights and live in second world conditions, while the Israelis live with modern-day amenities. She said they are not free to worship in the holy places when strict curfews are enforced.
She said Israeli checkpoints make it impossible to maintain a Palestinian economy. People must wait for hours before anyone can pass through, often sitting there an entire afternoon. People have become prisoners in their own villages, she said.
"Many times I return home to the village to find the same road I used in the morning completely blocked and can't get back home after a very tiring and hot day. Thus the children get out of the car and walk over the dirt piles with those heavy back packs that feel like rocks and I call my husband to meet me at the checkpoint and drive the car through the valley because he will hit fewer rocks than me," Khoury writes about the blocked roads.
"The Palestinians are losing all of their land and their faith," said Mother I Agapla.
Americans decry human rights violations across the world, yet support, with tens of billions of dollars a year the Israeli government.
"The politicians here support them regardless of these issues, and they're not even an ally hardly, they spy on us," said one audience member.
Mother Agapia explained that the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is in danger of losing its land to the Israeli government as well. She said the Jerusalem patriarchate has much land there, and Israel's refusal to recognize the patriarchate is a way to pressure the patriarchate to share their views.
The patriarchate owns land in Beit Sahour, a predominantly Christian town of about 13,000 that is being used as housing for 100 Orthodox Christian families. The Israelis are building tunnels and roadways around Palestinian occupied areas and these Orthodox homes are in the way of the Israeli tunnels, so the government wants to take over this land and build tunnels in their place.
The dispute is now in the Israeli courts. Israel claims that the seven four-story apartments built on Greek Orthodox Church-owned land is under their jurisdiction and no building permits were obtained to construct them. Beit Sahour officials say the buildings are in their jurisdiction and should not be demolished.
"Why as we, United States taxpayers, why is our money going into these territories, into building these settlements," Mother Agapia said Americans must ask themselves.
"Israel is basically a welfare state funded by the United States," said Mother Agapia.
She said the Greek Orthodox territories are occupied by Israelis, and that they have confiscated all of the land surrounding Nazareth. "The aim is to take over the territory completely," said Mother Agapia
She said there is fear that with a war against Iraq, in the ensuing chaos of war, people will be forced out of Israel
into Jordan and other surrounding areas. Jordan has blocked its borders and has told Israel that it will not accept any Palestinians into the country.
She said when you leave the Jordan River, you are forced to enter a bookstore run by the Kibbutz stocked with books speaking out against Christianity. She also talked about the 'walk-on-water' amusement park type ride at the site that she said makes a mockery of Christianity.
"I feel, unfortunately, that Orthodox Christians are too small a group to make a difference," said another audience member.
Mother Agapia, however, said anybody can help, and like water trickling down a rock, every little bit can make a difference. She said helping the people in the area economically is one way people can help fight the economic constraints these people are under and their inability to move freely has made it nearly impossible for people there to make a living.
"It's impossible for people to work," said Mother Agapia.
She said farmers who sell their goods often end up with spoiled produce that they are unable to sell, due to having to wait in long lines. She said they stand in lines that do not move, that soldiers just sit there, blocking the checkpoints, not allowing people through.
The Cathedral fellowship gave Mother Agapia a check for $500 to put toward her charitable works in Israel. "Some of these Christians are too proud to say they are in a desperate sitauation," said Mother Agapia.
One audience member said Americans are good-hearted people who just don't know about what really goes on in Israel. He asked Mother Agapia what would have to happen to have a more balanced media account of events in Israel. Mother Agapia said reporters are filing the stories, but many never make it to print. "A lot of times their stories are edited out," said Mother Agapia.
"A lot of what you have said seems to validate what we here thought was going on there in Israel, despite the one-sided media reports," said one audience member.
Another audience member asked why Patriarch Bartholomaios doesn't take a stronger stand on the issue and why Mother Agapia doesn't use her brother's (George Stephanopoulos) prominent position in the media to get the truth out about the human rights violations in Israel.
"There's tremendous pressure on the media," said Mother Agapia. "We don't need to be afraid," she said, adding that people should write to their church leaders about taking a stand on the issue, and to their elected officials as well. "I'm here today to ask you to help them carry their cross," said Mother Agapia. "Each of us in our own way can help to change the situation. Find your own way to help the Palestinian people carry their own cross," she added. "For those of you who've been saving up to go for the first time, now is not the time to go, but to those of you who have been before, it would help to take solidarity visits, let them know you support them," said Mother Agapia.
"We have to speak up," she said, "by silence God is betrayed."
She said people can also sponsor children in Israel to help them afford the cost of an education.
"Nobody is going into these towns, so these people can't sell their items, so we're shipping them out," said Mother Agapia. She explained that they will sell their items outside of Palestine through the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, www.hcef.org, to help the people there maintain an income.
“Christ came for the poor and the neglected,” said Father Robert Stephanopoulos, dean of the Cathedral and father of Mother Agapia. “I believe God has brought her here.”
For more information go to www.hcf.org or www.pepm.org.
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This excerpt was taken from The National Herald (April 5-6, 2003, p. 11)
The Neglect of Eastern Christianity
By: Theodore G. Karakostas
[Op-Ed.: The words
Belligerence toward rather
than Neglect
of are more appropriate for the title of the
present revealing article. The word neglect is solicitous and not descriptive of the
cohesive and enduring Faith of the Church of the East: A Faith
that exists in most difficult environments—an enviable presence that casts the
very reason for the said belligerence and desire to penetrate. Compare
this to the thin veneer of sensationalist Christianity designed for the
entertainment of the moment.
The occasion of this article invokes the need to mention public awareness of the machinations of the so-called information media. Usage of commercial subliminal deceptions are well-known and evident, when flashing on the television screen in a fraction of a moment among other ordinary images that of an Eastern Orthodox Prelate in the background with the word EVIL in prominence in the foreground. Also, leaders must become aware of the nature and value of presumed spiritual and Scriptural advice to which they subject themselves.]
“While Iraq is a Muslim country, it is ironically one of the few Muslim states that tolerates Christianity. American Secretary of State Colin Powell is at the present time threatening Syria and Iran if the latter two do not cooperate. The irony is that these Muslim nations are also tolerant of Christianity. The fate of the Greek Orthodox Church in the East does not really seem to preoccupy or concern America's Roman Catholics and Protestants. Evangelical Protestants in particular, have taken a strong interest in Israel based on the belief that God promised the holy land to Abraham in the Old Testament.
“The fact that the New Testament in turn overrides much of the Old Testament and that Jesus Christ and the Gospels did not speak of Israel as ‘chosen’ while establishing faith around the practices and teachings of the Church does not seem to dissuade those Evangelicals who support the excesses of Israel at all costs, indifferent even that Greek Orthodox Christians are victimized by the Israeli occupation.
“In Jerusalem, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is under siege. The Patriarchate owns a great deal of property (including that upon which the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, stands). In September 2001, his Holiness Ireneos was elected Patriarch by the Holy Synod. The Israeli government has refused to recognize him officially. The present Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon in fact has a history of religious intolerance. During Orthodox Easter 1990, then housing minister Sharon supported a group of Jewish settlers who interrupted the holy Thursday Easter procession and who were then joined by the Israeli army who beat Greek Orthodox clerics and gassed then Patriarch Diodoros
“There has been universal silence in response to the situation that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem finds itself in. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the guardian and protector of the holy places. Israel, like Turkey which continues to discriminate against the Ecumenical Patriarchate has the support of a great number of religious conservatives in America, Roman Catholic and Protestant.
“American threats against Syria are especially disturbing. Under the leadership of late President Hafez Al Assad and current President Bashir Assad, the Greek Orthodox Church has been protected. The ancient Patriarchate of Antioch is presently located in Damascus. There are at least 500,000 or so Arab speaking members of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch throughout Syria and Lebanon. American Christians seem indifferent if not outright ignorant of the fact that Christianity is surviving under the Syrians. In Iran, Armenian and Nestorian Christians are allowed representation in Parliament and are tolerated.
“The American 'war on terror’ has been noticeably absent in targeting Muslim entities where Orthodox Christians are routinely massacred and ethnically cleansed. Since Yugoslav forces were withdrawn from Kosovo following NATO's aggression against that country, over 300,000 Serbian Orthodox have been murdered or expelled. Priests and monks who had nothing to do with politics or the Milosevic regime have been tortured and murdered by America's Albanian allies. In August 1995, the army of Catholic Croatia fully backed and armed by the United States waged an offensive against the Serb civilians of the Krajina region which resulted in the ethnic cleansing of 200,000 Serb civilians.
“In Cyprus, Greek Orthodox churches and monasteries are routinely torn down or converted into hotels by leaders of the Turkish occupation. In Constantinople, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has lost most of its flock and is prohibited by law from operating its only seminary. Most distressing is that Christendom's most glorious Churches such as Aghia Sophia and numerous others throughout Asia Minor and Trebizond stand in complete silence.
“It is very ironic that the wrath of America is aimed against Arab countries such as Iraq and Syria which are entirely secular, and tolerant of Christian worship. America has indulged Turkey for many decades. It will be interesting to see if Turkey's tilt towards Islam and its new hostility to the United States results in any change of policy. Israel continues to evade any kind of sanctions or penalty not only for its treatment of Palestinians, but for its attempt to obstruct the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem from functioning independently. I wonder how American Roman Catholics would feel if Italy attempted to block the ascension of a Pope it did not like.
“Evangelical Protestants have in the post-cold war era attempted to infiltrate Orthodox lands such as Russia. Indifferent to the fact that Russia has been Christian for 1,000 years, they have complained about the Russian government. Many of them remain unwavering in their support for Israel, despite the fact that Israeli policy is just as harmful for Palestinian Christians as for Muslims.
“It has never been more clear that the division between Christian east and west is the greatest that it has ever been.”
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Ε.Θ. ΠΑΝΑΓΙΩΤΟΥ, Λ.Θ. ΙΣΤΟΡΙΟΔΙΦΗ
ΣΥΝΤΟΜΗ ΙΣΤOPIA ΤΗΣ ΑΓΙΟΤΑΦΙΤΙΚΗΣ ΑΔΕΛΦΟΤΗΤΟΣ
_______________
Πρώτη εμφάνιση.
Η λέξη καί έννοια «Αδελφότης» έχει την
ρίζα καί προέλευσή της στην Αγ. Γραφή. Αναφέρεται στην Α' Επιστολή Πέτρου (2,17
και 5,9), όπου ο Πρωτοκορυφαίος Απόστολος συνιστά: «την αδελφότητα
αγαπάτε» και αναφέρεται στην Χριστιανική «εν τω κόσμω Αδελφότητα» υπέρ της
οποίας και εύχεται. Με τις εκφράσεις αυτές χαρακτηρίζεται η κοινότητα των
ανθρώπων που πιστεύουν στον Κύριό μας, Ιησού Χριστό, και αισθάνονται μεταξύ τους
ως αδελφoί. Με βάση την γενική αυτή έννοια εμφανίστηκαν στην Εκκλησία. και
Αδελφότητες με την έννοια της συλλογικής οργάνωσης. Η Αγιοταφιτική Αδελφότης
εμφανίζεται μετά τον θρίαμβο του Χριστιανισμού και την ίδρυση Ναών στους Αγ.
Τόπους από τους θεόσεπτους και Ισαπόστολους Αγίους Κωνσταντίνο και Ελένη (326).
Αρχικά έφερε το όνομα: «Τάγμα των Σπουδαίων» ή «Σπουδαίοι της
Αγίας του Χριστού Αναστάσως». Ήταν δε οι αποτελούντες αυτήν ολόψυχα αφοσιωμένοι
στις προσευχές και ιεροτελεστίες, που ετελούντο στον Πάνσεπτο Ναό της
Αναστάσεως. Μαζί με την διηνεκή ιερά διακονία είχαν και φροντίδα γιά την
διαφύλαξη και συντήρηση του Παναγίου Tάφου και των λοιπών Ιερών Προσκυνημάτων
(βλ. Χρ. Παπαδόπουλου Ιστορία της Εκκλησίας Ιεροσολύμων, εν Ιερoσoλύμoις 1910,
σσ. 97, 189, 235, 393-394, πρβλ. και Διoκαισαρείας Ιακώβου, Οι Άγιοι Τόποι της
Πσλαιστίνης και το Τάγμα των Αγιοταφιτών, εν Ιεροσολύμοις (1982). Διακρίνονταν
πρωτίστως γιά. την τήρηση της αδιαλείπτου προσευχής υπό την έννοια της
νοερής η καρδιακής προσευχής.
Συνάμα διακρίνονταν γιά την ενάρετη, φιλόπονη και ασκητική ζωή τους. Κατά τα
συμπεράσματα νεωτέρων ερευνητών προϋπήρχαν ως ασκηταί, προ του 326.
Συγκροτήθηκαν δε σε Τάγμα κατά τη διαμονή της Βασιλομήτορος Αγ. Ελένης στην Αγ.
Πόλη και στους Αγίους Τόπους, όπου έστησαν οι πόδες του Κυρίου και έλαβαν χώρα
τα υπερφανή γεγονότα της θείας Oικονομίας. Καλλιεργούσαν θερμή αγάπη προς τον
Ιησού Χριστό και έτρεφαν προς τους θεοβάδιστους τόπους, ιδιαίτερο σεβασμό, τιμή
και στοργή, θεωρώντας αυτούς ως Ιερά Σκηνώματα «εν αυλαίς Κυρίου». Γιά. το
επιτελούμενο έργο αυτών κα την αρετή τους κάνει λόγο ο Ιεροσολύμων Κύριλλoς στις
περίφημες Kατηχήσεις του λέγοντας: «Οίδασι οι Σπουδαίοι της Εκκλησίας
ψαλμωδοί, οι τας αγγελικάς μιμούμενοι στρατιάς και πάντοτε τον Θεόν ανυμνούντες,
οι κατηξιωμένοι ψάλλειν εν τω Γολγοθά» (Πρβλ. Αρχιμ. Kάλλιστoυ. Περί
των Σπουδαίων . . . σ. 704 και Συλβίας Οδοιπορικόν, Γεροντίου, Βίος της Οσ.
Μελάνης εις Analecta Bollandiana, τ. 22, σ. 27). Είναι ιδιαίτερα σημαντικός γιά
την οσιότητα των Σπουδαίων Μοναχών ο
χαρακτηρισμός
του Αγίου Κυρίλλου Ιεροσολύμων, ότι εμιμοϋντο τις αγγελικές στρατιές και
ανυμνούσαν το Θεό αδιαλείπτως.
Οι σεβάσμιοι Αγιοταφίται Πατέρες, επιτελώντας ευσυνειδήτως την αποστολή τους υπέστησαν και διωγμούς και μαρτύρια ανεκδιήγητα, αγωνιζόμενοι μεηρωικό σθένος «προς τας αρχάς και εξουσίας του σκότους του αιώνος τούτου». Και εξακολουθούν με αυτοθυσία τον καλόν αγώνα, προκειμένου νά διατηρήσουν «άσβεστη τη δάδα των Ορθοδόξων ιδανικών, αλλά και την παρακαταθήκην των προνομίων και εξαιpετικών δικαιωμάτων της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας στην Αγία Γή. Όθεν και εμπαιγμών και μαστίγων πείραν έλαβον, έτι δε δεσμών καί φυλακής. Ελιθάσθησαν, επρίσθησαν, εν φόνω μαχαίρας απέθανον . . . , υστερούμενοι, θλιβόμενοι κακoυχούμενοι, εν ερημίαις, εν όρεσι και σπηλαίοις και ταις οπαίς της γής» (Εβρ. 11, 36-38). Ολοι ανεξαιρέτως οι Αρχιερείς του Πατριαρχείου οι Αρχιμανδρίτες, οι Ιερομόναχοι και οι Μοναχοί, είναι μέλη της. Κατά τόν διπλό σκοπό καί την διπλή αποστολή της η Αγιοταφιτική Αδελφότης ονομάζεται αφ' ενός Αδελφότης του Παναγίου Τάφου ή Ιερόν Κοινόν του Π. Τάφου και αφ’ ετέρου Εκκλησία Ιεροσολύμων, Εκκλησία της Σιών (βλ. Αγιοταφ. Ημερολόγιο 1994, σ. 32).
Τα Ιερά Προσκυνήματα, που διαφύλαξαν διαμέσου των αιώνων οι Αγιοταφίτες με ακλόνητη πίστη στα ελληνορθόδοξα ιδανικά, είναι πολλά και ανεκτίμητης αξίας γιά τους πιστούς. Τα σπουδαιότερα είναι: Ο Πανάγιος Τάφος, ο Φρικτός Γολγοθάς, ο τόπος της Σταυρώσεως του Ιησού, ο τόπος όπου βρέθηκε ο Τίμιος Σταυρός από την Αγία Ελένη, το Σπήλαιο της Γεννήσεως του Χριστού στη Βηθλεέμ, ο Τάφος της Παναγίας στη Γεθσημανή, η Κολυμβήθρα του Σιλωάμ, οι ιεροί τόποι της Μεταμορφώσεως του Σωτήρος στο όρος Θαβώρ, της Βαπτίσεως στον Ιορδάνη, της Nαζαρέτ, της Γενησαρέτ, της Αναλήψεως στο Όρος των Ελαιών, της Κανά, της Βηθεσδά, της Καπερναούμ, ο τάφος του Λαζάρου ατή Βηθανία, το φρέαρ της Σαμαρείτιδος κ.α.
Η μακραίωνη ιστορία της Αγιοταφιτικής Αδελφότητας είναι συνδεδεμένη μέ την ιστορία της χριστιανικής Εκκλησίας μέσα στην κοιτίδα της. Η πρώτη χριστιανική Κοινότητα των Ιεροσολύμων είχε ως αρχηγό τον Ιάκωβο τον Αδελφόθεo, που είναι και ο πρώτος Επίσκοπος Ιεροσολύμων. Κατά την τρομερή εκ θεμελίων καταστροφή της Αγίας πόλεως από τον Τίτο, τό 70 μ.Χ., πού προφήτεψε Ιησοϋς Χριστός, οι Χριστιανοί κατέφυγαν στην Πέλλα της Δεκαπόλεως, όπου παρέμειναν μέχρι το 134 μ.X. Μετά την επάνοδο των Χριστιανών στα Ιεροσόλυμα (που επί Αδριανού μετονομάστηκε Αιλία) πρώτος Έλληνας επίσκοπος εκλέγεται ό Μάρκος Α' (135 μ.Χ.). Από τις αρχές του 4 αι., από την εποχή του επισκόπου Μκαρίου Α' (314 μ.Χ.), η Εκκλησία Ιεροσολύμων αναδιοργανώνεται. Ταυτόχρονα αρχίζει να διαμoρφώνεται και ο μοναχικός βίος, που από τότε αποτελεί το χαρακτηριστικό γνώρισμα της Αγιoταφιτικής Αδελφότητας, η οποία παρέμεινε ακλόνητη και άσάλεπτη στη θέση της, καθ' όλη τη μακρά πορεία της στους εφεξής αιώνες μέχρι σήμερα, παρ' όλες τις επιδρομές αλλοφύλων καί αλλοπιστων, τις περιπέτειες, καταστροφές, σφαγές, τους φοβερούς διωγμούς και τις απερίγραπτες κακουχίες, στερήσεις κ.λπ.
Οι ιστοτιογράφοι διαιρούν την ιστορία της Αγιοταφιτικής Αδελφότητας σε 3 περιόδους: 1) από το 327 μ.Χ. μέχρι το 638 μ.Χ., το έτος που η «Αγία Πόλις» πολιορκείται από το χαλίφη των Μουσουλμάνων Αράβων, Ομάρ Χατάπ· 2) από το 638 μέχρι το 1517, την άλωση δηλ. της Ιερουσαλήμ από τους Οθωμανούς Τούρκους επί Σουλτάνου Σελήμ∙ 3) από το 1517 μέχρι τις ημέρες μας. (Βλ Χρυσ. Παπαδοπούλου, Ιστορία της Εκκλησίας Ιεροσολύμων, εν Ιεροσολύμοις 1910, σ. 96 κ.εξ., Νέα Σιών Α', 16 εξ., Εκκλ. Αλήθεια Κων/λεως ΧΧΙΧ 1901, αρ. 33-49., Κλεόπα Κοικυλίδου Περί των εν Παλαιστίνη αρχαίων και νεωτέρων Ελληνικών Μοναστηρίων, εν Ιεροσολ. 1906, σ. 20, 34, 94 κ.α.).
Κατά την Α' περίοδο, με τη βοήθεια της Αγίας Ελένης, επί εmσκόπου Μακαρίου, ιδρύεται ο ναός του Παναγίου Τάφου. Επίσης ιδρύεται το πρώτο μοναστήρι και ρυθμίζεται η ζωή των μοναχών από τον Άγιο Ιλαρίωνα που υπήρξε και ο εισηγητής τπυ μοναχικού βίου στην Παλαιστίνη. Από τότε ακμάζει ο μοναχισμός στην Αγία Γή και συκροτείται το Τάγμα της Αγιοταφιτικής Αδελφότητας, που αρχικά έφερε την ονομασία «Τάγμα των Σπουδαίων της Αγίας του Χριστού Αναστάσεως». Από την ονομασία φαίνεται και η σπουδαιότητα της Αδελφότητας, που σκοπό είχε τη διαφύλαξη τού Παναγίου Tάφου, του Γολγοθά, τού Ιερού τόπου της εύρεσης τού Τιμίου Σταυρού και γενικά των Ιερών Προσκυνημάτων, καθώς και την τέλεση των ακολουθιών και αγρυπνιών, την Ιερή διακονία, και την αδιάλειπτη προσευχή. Οι ναοί των Ιερών Προσκυνημάτων δεν ήταν ναοί ενοριακοί, ούτε των Χριστιανών μόνο των Ιεροσολύμων, της Βηθλεέμ κ.τλ. Είχαν εξαιρετική σημασία γιά όλο τον Χριστιανισμό, αφού περιέκλειαν τα Παγκόσμια Χριστιανικά Προσκυνήματα. Εκεί η Θεία Λειτουργία και διάφορες χριστιανικές τελετές παίρνουν την τελειότερη διαμόρφωσή τους και διαδίδονται στον υπόλοιπο χριστιανικό κόσμο. Γι’ αυτό το Τυπικό και όλες σχεδόν οι εορτές ‘ολες είναι ιεροσολυμιτικής προέλευσης. Ήταν σπουδαιότατο το έργο του Τάγματος της Αγιοταφιτικής Αδελφότητας που αρχίζει βασικά από το 326 μ.Χ. από το έτος δηλ. της ίδρυσης ναών στά Ιερά Προσκυνήματα. Είναι μιά θετική, ζωvτανή και δυναμική προσφορά του μοναχισμού, μέσα στον κόσμο, η αποστολή της Αγιοταφιτικής Αδελφότητας σύμφωνα με τις αρχές του Αγίου Ιλαρίωνα, που έτεινε όχι μόνο να συνενώσει τους Μοναχούς σε κοινό βίο, αλλά και να τους φέρει εύεργετική επικοινωνία με τον κόσμο. Είναι γνωστό, ότι τόσο ο Αγιος Ίλαρίωνας, όσον και ο Αγιος Χαρίτωνας, ένας άλλος από τους μεγάλους μοναχούς της Εκκλεσίας των Ιεροσολύμων, που ίδρυσε την πρώτη Λαύρα, εργάστηκαν ακαταπόνητα με θαυμάσια αποτελέσματα, γιά τη διάδοση του Χριστιανισμού στους Εθνικούς, Εβραίους και Σαρακηνούς.
Οι Αγιορίτες αρχικά κατοικούσαν γύρω από το λεγόμενο πύργο του Δαβίδ. Κατόπιν εγκαταστάθηκαν σε ιδιαίτερο μοναστήρι κοντά στο ναό της Αναστάσεως, που επικοινωνούσε μ' αυτόν με εσωτερική είσοδο. Μερικοί έμεναν, όπως και σήμερα, εκ περιτροπής μέσα στο ναό. Από τον 4 αι. αναφέρονται τα αξιώματα του Σκευοφύλακα, ο οποίος ήταν εντεταλμένος γιά τη φύλαξη του Τιμίου Ξύλου του Σταυρού.
Με απόφαση της Δ΄Οικουμενικής Συνόδου (451) ο Επίσκοπος της «Αγίας Πόλεως» πριβιβάζεται σε Πατριάρχη Ιεροσολύμων. Από τότε ο θρόνος των Ιεροσολύμων γίνεται ανεξάρτητος και κοσμείται από μιά αδιάκοπη σειρά Ελλήνων Πατριαρχών. Ο προβιβασμός αύτός οφείλεται κυρίως στην ιδιαίτερη σημασία, που απέκτησε η Ιερουσαλήμ από την Α' μέχρι την Δ΄ Οικουμενική Σύνοδο, στην ίδρυση μεγαλοπρεπών ναών, στην πλήρη επισκόπηση του Χριστιανισμοϋ στην Παλαιστίνη, στην συρροή προσκυνητών από όλο τον κόσμο, στην ανάδειξη σπουδαίων επισκόπων και διδασκάλων, στους αγώνες των Αγιοταφιτών γιά την Ορθοδοξία και στο ενδιαφέρον των ευσεβών Αυτοκρατόρων του Βυζαντίου γιά τους Αγίους Τόπους.
Τ τελευταία χρόνια της Α' περιόδου, αρχίζουν οι πρώτες επιδρομές των αλλοφύλων κατά της Παλαιστίνης και φυσικά αγώνες των Αγιοταφιτών γιά την προφύλαξη των Ιερών Προσκυνημάτων. Οι Πέρσες πρώτοι, το 614 μ.Χ., καταλαμβάνουν τα Ιεροσόλυμα και παίρνουν αιχμάλωτο τον πατριάρχη Ζαχαρία, μαζί με το παλλάδιο τού Χριστιανισμού, τόν Τίμιο Σταυρό. Την απερίγραπτη καταστροψή θρήνησε σε ελεγεία ο πατριάρχης Σωφρόνιος. Ο Χρυσόστομος Παπαδόπουλος γράφει τα εξής στην Ιστορία tού Πατριαρχείου: «Οι ναοί εντός καί εκτός της Ιερουσαλήμ, τα Μοναστήρια κατεστράφησαν, οι Χριστιανοί κατεσψάζοντο θηριωδώς . . . χιλιάδας αιχμαλώτων αγοράσαντες οι Ιουδαίοι κατέσφαξαν αυτούς. Ό,τι καλόν υπήρχε ή κατεστράφη ή διηρπάγη υπό tων επιδρομέων . . . . Ανηλεώς κατεσψάγησαν οι μοναχοί, ιδίως της Μονής του Αγίου Σάββα».
Το 638, ο χαλίφης των Αράβων Ομάρ Χατάπ πολιορκεί την Ιερουσαλήμ. Ο πατριάρχης Σωφρόνιος παραδίδει την πόλη. Κατορθώνει όμως με την σύνεσή του να διασώσει από την καταστροφή τα Προσκυνήματα και να εξασφαλίσει την κυριότητα και τα προνόμια της Αγιοταφίτικης Αδελφότητας στους Αγίους Τόπους, με το περίφημο Aχτιναμέ (Συνθήκη του Χαλίφη, Βλ. Αγιοτ. Ημερολ. 1995, σ. 17). Μ' αυτό χορηγήθηκε ασφάλεια και ελεύθερη άσκηση της θρησκείας στο «Εθνος των Ελλήνων» καθώς και η κυριότητα των Αγίων Τόπων σ' αυτούς.
Κατά την διάρκεια της μέσης περιόδου (638-1517), η Εκκλησία Ιερο- σολύμων και η Αγ. Αδελφότης υπέστησαν πολλούς διωγμούς και πολλές δoκιμασίες. Επανειλημμένα, τα Προσκυνήματα υπέστησαν πολλές καταστροφές επί των διαδόχων του Ομάρ Χατάπ και οι Μοναχοί και οι Xριστιανοί καταδιώχτηκαν.
Ο πιό αμείλικτος διωγμός έγινε επί του επαμφοτερίζοντος και παρα- παίοντος Φατιμίδη Αλ Χακήμ (1007-1009), που είχε μιά διχασμένη προσωπικότητα και, γιά τις ανελέητες πράξεις του, ονομάστηκε «Νέρων της Aιγύπτου». Κατεδίωξε απηνώς Χριστιανούς και Εβραίους. Στους Εβραίους επέβαλε, όταν έβγαιναν στο δρόμο, να φορούν πpoσωπείo, πού παρίστανε κεφάλι βοδιού, και ένα κουδούνι στον τράχηλο, στους Χρισιτιανούς να φορούν πένθιμη στολή και στον τράχηλο ένα σταυρό μήκους ενός πήχη. Επίσης, με διαταγή του, ό ναός της Αναστάσεως καταστpάφηκε ολοκληρωτικά (βλ. Χρ. Παπαδοπούλου ε.α. σ. 358.
Τον 11 αι., ο χαλίφης Αλ Ζαχήρ, ύστερα από συνθήκη με το Βυζάντιο, αναγνώρισε στην Ελληνική Αυτοκρατορiα το δικαίωμα να ανοικοδομήσει τα Προσκυνήματα.
Επί Σταυροφόρων, οι Αγιοταφίτες αντιμετωπίζουν νέους διωγμούς. Εκδιώκονται από τους Λατίνους (καθολικούς) κληρικούς, από το ναό της Αναστάσεως και τα άλλα Προσκυνήματα, συγκεντρώνονται στο Μετ6χιο της Λαύρας του Αγίου Σάββα και διεξάγουν απεγνωσμένους αγώνες κατά της Φραγκοκρατίας. Γίνονται πάλι κύριοι των Προσκυνημάτων, όταν ο Σαλαχεντίν κατέλαβε την Παλαιστίνη (1185). Η Αγιοταφική Αδελφότητα φρουρεί άγρυπνα τα Προσκυνήματα και κατά τη θυελλώδη εποχή των Μαμελούκων. Κατά την άλωση της Κωνσταντινούπολης από τους Τoύρκoυς (1453), ο πατριάρχης Αθανάσιος πήγε στην Πόλη και έλαβε από τον Πορθητή Μωάμεθ Β' το Χάττι, με το οπqίο επικυρώθηκαν τα κυριαρχικά δικαιώματα της Αγ. Αδελφότητας στα Ιερά Προσκυν&