Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem

Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem (Greek: Πατριάρχης Ιεροσολύμων Θεόφιλος Γ'; Arabic: غبطة بطريرك المدينة المقدسة اورشليم وسائر أعمال فلسطين كيريوس كيريوس ثيوفيلوس الثالث, romanized: Ghabṭat baṭrīark al-madīnat al-muqaddasa Urshālim wa sā'ir A'māl Filasṭīn Kiryūs Kiryūs Thiyūfīlūs al-thālith; (born 4 April 1952) is the current Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem since 2005.

His election was confirmed by the Eastern Orthodox synod of Constantinople, and was endorsed by Jordan on 24 September 2005, and subsequently by the Palestinian Authority.

Theophilos was born Ilias Giannopoulos (Ηλίας Γιαννόπουλος, إلياس يانوبولوس) in Gargalianoi, Messenia, Greece, on 4 April 1952 to parents Panagiotes and Triseugenia.

From 1991 to 1996, he was a priest in Kafr Kanna in Galilee, which had a predominantly Palestinian Christian community, there he also formed a brotherhood called "Nour al Masih" ("Light of Christ"), to spread the Orthodox Christian faith throughout the region; the group is still active and runs a website under the domain www.lightchrist.org.

Delegates from all of the Orthodox Churches as well as high secular dignitaries were in attendance, including the President of Greece, and senior officials representing the governments of Palestine, Jordan and Qatar, as well as diplomats and military officials.

Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem in the Senate of the Republic of Poland (2010)
President George W. Bush listens as Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, speaks during a visit to the Church of Nativity Thursday, 10 January 2008, in Bethlehem.