August 14, 2025 - The Jerusalem municipality has frozen all bank accounts belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, according to a statement from a group founded by Theophilos III, the Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem.

August 18, 2025 - According to a Longstanding Arrangement Between Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Churches and the State, Including the Greek Orthodox Church, the Churches Are Exempt From Municipal Tax. But the Jerusalem Municipality Argues That It Has the Right to Collect Tax on Church Assets That Aren't Used for Worship

August 14, 2025 - A statement by Protecting Holy Land Christians, a group founded by Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, said the freeze has left the Patriarchate unable to pay salaries to clergy, teachers, and staff. The Times of Israel news outlet said the freeze, enacted on Aug.

August 14, 2025 - “As religious bodies, the churches ... the heads of other churches in the city. “Because of this, historically, the churches have never paid municipal or governmental taxes for church properties whether during the periods of Ottoman, British, Jordanian, or Israeli ...

August 17, 2025 - Share:Share on WhatsAppShare on FacebookShare on X (Twitter)Share on TelegramShare on RedditShare on EmailOccupied Jerusalem (Quds News Network)- Israeli authorities froze the bank accounts of the Orthodox Patriarchate in occupied Jerusalem and imposed heavy taxes on its properties.

August 19, 2025 - “The church leaders argue that they have never paid municipal or governmental taxes during the periods of Ottoman, British, Jordanian, and Israeli rule,” advocacy group Protecting Holy Land Christians said in a statement. The organization, assembled by Theophilos III, patriarch of the Orthodox ...

August 16, 2025 - As of now, only mosques and churches are obligated to pay the Arnona tax, in a country that claims to treat all religions equally.

August 14, 2025 - Israeli authorities have frozen all bank accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem amid a property tax dispute, escalating tensions with Christian institutions in the occupied city, local media reported Thursday, amid Greece's stance against Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza.

3 weeks ago - The church traces its foundation in Jerusalem to the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit, according to Christian beliefs, descended on the disciples of Jesus Christ and ushered the spread of the Gospel. The church celebrates its liturgy in the ancient Byzantine Rite – whose sacred language, Koine Greek, is the original language of the New Testament – and follows its own liturgical year under the Julian calendar. The majority of Orthodox Christians under the patriarchate ...

The current dispute dates back to 2018, when Jerusalem decided that tax exemptions for churches applied only to properties used “for prayer, for the teaching of religion or for needs arising from that”—excluding commercial activities serving pilgrims such as guesthouses and coffee shops.

August 21, 2025 - For generations, churches had been ... Patriarchate has thrust one of the Holy Land’s oldest churches into financial paralysis, intensifying a long-running dispute over property taxes and exposing once more the fragile standing of Christians in the region....

August 15, 2025 - In 2018, however, the city ruled that this exemption applied only to properties used for prayer, religious education, or direct religious purposes—excluding facilities serving pilgrims, such as guesthouses and cafes. It subsequently sought to collect tens of millions of shekels in taxes. The ...

August 14, 2025 - According to timesofisrael.com, the Jerusalem Municipality has frozen all bank accounts belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, as announced by Protecting Holy Land Christians, a group founded by Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem. “On Wednesday, August 6, the Jerusalem ...

August 18, 2025 - Dear Brother Archons and Friends of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, In keeping with our sacred mission to defend religious freedom everywhere it is threatened, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (AEP) unequivocally condemn the Jerusalem Municipal Authority’s move to ...

November 23, 2017 - Around NIS 100 million ($28.4) ... property taxes, inflated by interest, on some 1,000 dunams (250 acres) of its land near the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox monastery, located in southeast Jerusalem not far from Bethlehem. A further NIS 41 million (then worth around $10 million) was owed to a developer who secured the backing of arbitrators in his claim that under a previous leadership in the 1990s, the Patriarchate breached a ...

4 days ago - The patriarchate has described the debt as “astronomical and illegal.”

August 19, 2025 - JERUSALEM — The Israeli authorities’ decision to freeze the bank accounts of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and impose heavy taxes on its properties has ignited widespread outrage among church and political circles. Many warn that the move is the latest in a ...

Decision to charge both parties stems from ‘irregular situation’ involving church properties owned before Israel's founding

August 15, 2025 - Israeli authorities have frozen all bank accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem over a long-standing property tax dispute.