The Funeral Service of the late Holy Sepulchre Archimandrite Hilarion, Hegumen of the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour on Mount Tabor.
At noon on Friday, 6/19 June 2026, His Beatitude, our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, presided over the Funeral Service of the late Holy Sepulchre Archimandrite Hilarion, Hegumen of the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour on Mount Tabor.
Concelebrating with His Beatitude were the Holy Sepulchre Hierarchs: His Eminence Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth; His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Elder Chief Secretary; His Eminence Metropolitan Makarios of Ptolemais; His Eminence Archbishop Methodios of Tabor; and His Eminence Archbishop Philoumenos of Pella.
Also participating were numerous Holy Sepulchre Hieromonks, among them the Archimandrite Chrysostomos, Hegumen of the Holy Monastery of Saint Gerasimos of the Jordan; Archimandrite Artemios, Hegumen of Haifa; Archimandrite Raphael, serving in Jordan; Archimandrite Silouanos; Archimandrite Christodoulos, Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod; Archimandrite Leontios, Hegumen of Cana; and Archimandrite Dositheos, Hegumen of the Holy Monastery of the Prophet Elisha in Jericho.
Present likewise were many clergy from throughout Galilee, especially from the Community of Reineh, in which the departed Father had served; numerous faithful from across the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate; monks and nuns; and the Ambassador of Greece to Israel, Mrs Maya Solomou, together with members of the Embassy staff. All had gathered to honour his memory in appreciation of his work and out of respect for his person.
Also in attendance were the nuns of the Monastery of Mount Tabor, to whom the late Archimandrite had been a spiritual Elder, as well as nuns from other monasteries.
The funeral oration of His Beatitude, delivered in Greek as follows, was rendered into Arabic by Fr Nikolaos Basal.
“Beloved brethren in Christ,
Strengthened by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who rose from the dead and by His death trampled down death; strengthened by the power of His glorious Ascension into heaven, whereby He exalted and seated at the right hand of God the Father the human nature which He assumed through His Incarnation; and comforted by the grace of His Holy Spirit, the Paraclete sent unto us from the Father, we stand today before the mortal remains of our beloved brother, Hieromonk Hilarion, Hegumen of the Holy Monastery of Mount Tabor, who has departed unto the eternal mansions. We stand in sorrow, a sorrow in which our Lord Himself shared at the death of His friend Lazarus, who had lain four days in the tomb and whom He raised from the dead; yet ours is a sorrow comforted and strengthened by our faith and hope that “the dead shall rise, and they that are in the graves shall be raised.” We grieve “not even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) of the Resurrection, but as those who believe in the Lord Who was crucified, died, and rose again, and Who shall also raise up our brother, lately departed from among us, and all those who believe in Him on the Last Day, according to His infallible word.
As we accompany our dearly beloved departed brother with our prayers on his ascent unto the heavens, in the hope of the Resurrection unto life everlasting, we should make mention of his life and conduct. Having heard the encyclical letters in his fruitful native island of Corfu, the island of the Holy Apostles Jason and Sosipatros and of the venerable relics of our Father among the Saints, Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous the Wonderworker, he came to Jerusalem in the year 1967, sought admission to, and was enrolled in, the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre. He was tonsured a monk by the late Patriarch of Jerusalem Benedictos and thereafter was ordained, Deacon and Priest. With zeal, he served in various ministries of the Patriarchate. He served as Secretary of the Finance Committee and as Sacristan of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. For many years, he ministered as Head of the Community of Reineh, under the jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Nazareth, where he accomplished highly noteworthy pastoral work, instructing the flock in the principles and values of our Rum Orthodox Christian tradition, while at the same time undertaking the restoration and iconographic adornment of its holy church.
Particular mention should likewise be made of the conservation and restoration work carried out on the Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah in the nearby community of Ma’alul, which the Christian inhabitants had abandoned following the events of 1948. Through the efforts and at the expense of Archimandrite Hilarion, this holy church was preserved and once again rendered fit for liturgical use for the annual feast of the Prophet Elijah, with the permission of the Israeli military forces guarding the site, and with the participation of Our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III. He carried out similar work at the Chapel of the Precious Cross situated within the Patriarchal estate known as Qasr al-Mutran in Nazareth.
While fulfilling these pastoral and parish ministries, from the year 1979, his principal obedience was the abbacy of the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. He preserved it as a place of pilgrimage for the faithful arriving from all Orthodox lands, celebrating the Feast of the Transfiguration not only with the morning Divine Liturgy within the church but also with the outdoor nocturnal Divine Liturgy upon a specially erected and beautifully prepared Holy Altar, attended by thousands of pilgrims despite official prohibitions. He restored the iconostasis of the church through the services of specialist conservators whom he invited from Romania; he paved the floor with marble; he adorned the entire church with Byzantine iconography; and he installed in the bell tower bells weighing sixteen tons, whose sound could be heard from one end of Galilee to the other. Within the monastery, he also erected a new chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity, which was consecrated by His Beatitude.
What has been mentioned here constitutes but a few of his many works, yet they bear witness to his priestly and Holy Sepulchre ethos and accompany him now to his meeting with the merciful and compassionate Judge, God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
We beseech Him that He may account these works in his favour, overlook whatsoever, as a man, he may have sinned voluntarily or involuntarily, and number him among the righteous in His Kingdom. May He vouchsafe unto him the enjoyment of the glory of the Tabor Light, which the chosen disciples beheld “as they were able.”
May his memory be eternal.”
After the funeral service, the nuns of the Monastery hosted a reception for the repose of his soul.
His Beatitude thanked all those who honoured the memory of the departed and wished for his memory to be eternal.
From the Chief Secretariat
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