October 4, 2012
On
October 2 2012, the most senior hierarch of the
Church of Jerusalem, Metropolitan Basil of Caesarea
reposed at the age of 90. The next day, on October 3,
at the Church of St. Martyr Thecla funeral service
was served by the Patriarch Theophilos III of
Jerusalem concelebrated by the bishops and clergy of
the Jerusalem Patriarchate, reports the press service
of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in
Jerusalem.
Many people gathered to bid farewell to Metropolitan
Basil. Attending were the secretary of the Russian
Ecclesiastical Mission Hieromonk Anthony (Gutnick), the
Abbess of the Gorny Monastery Georgia with the sisters,
representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
representatives of the Coptic Church, the Jerusalem
Patriarch parishioners.
Metropolitan Basil was buried in The Great Lavra of St.
Sabbas the Sanctified.
* * *
Metropolitan Basil of Caesarea (born Khristos Blatsos) was born in 1923 in the city of Argos, Greece.
In 1939 he arrived to Jerusalem, where he studied at the Greek gymnasium and at the English school called "Bishop Cobat School".
In 1946 he was tonsured a monk and ordained a hierodeacon. He studied theology at the University of Athens. He taught at the gymnasium.
In 1954 he was ordained to the priesthood as presbyter,
and was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite. He was also
appointed editor of the "New Zion"
magazine.
He was the Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church
of Jerusalem. In 1957 he was appointed General Secretary
of the Holy Synod and remained in this position until
1981.
In 1962 he was elected and consecrated as Archbishop of
Jordan. In 1975, he was elevated to the rank of
Metropolitan of Caesarea. In 1981 he was appointed
Patriarchal Epitrop.
As a representative of the Jerusalem Patriarchate he
participated in various meetings. With the mission he
visited all the Orthodox Patriarchates as well as the
Ethiopian Church.
In 2005, he was again appointed Patriarchal
Epitrop.
(Translated by Ksenia Dolgova)
