Patriarch of Jerusalem presides over Feast of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor | Orthodox Times (en)

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of the Divine Transfiguration on Mount Tabor on August 19, 2026, at the site where, according to the Gospel, Christ was transfigured before three of His disciples.

The feast commemorates Christ taking Peter, James and John with Him onto a high mountain shortly before His Passion. There, He revealed His divine glory to them to the extent that they were able to perceive it: His face shone like the sun and His garments became white as light.

Moses and Elijah appeared alongside Christ, speaking about His coming Passion in Jerusalem, while a luminous cloud overshadowed the disciples and the voice of the Father proclaimed: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

According to the Patriarchate, through the Transfiguration, Christ revealed to His disciples the primordial beauty possessed by humanity before the Fall and which human beings can regain in Him.

Celebrations on Mount Tabor

The celebrations began on the eve of the feast with Vespers, presided over by Metropolitan Makarios of Ptolemais-Acre.

The Divine Liturgy was subsequently celebrated on a specially prepared outdoor altar, with Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem presiding. Concelebrating were Metropolitan Makarios of Ptolemais-Acre and Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Elder Chief Secretary of the Patriarchate, together with clergy from Galilee and visiting priests from other Orthodox countries.

Local faithful and pilgrims who had been permitted by the Israeli authorities to ascend Mount Tabor attended the celebration. Greek Ambassador Maya Solomou, members of the Greek Embassy and representatives of other Orthodox countries were also present.

The Divine Liturgy was also celebrated in the morning inside the Holy Church of the Transfiguration, which had been renovated and adorned through the work of the late Hegumen, Archimandrite Hilarion.

Following the celebrations, the new Hegumen, Archimandrite Markellos, hosted a meal for the Patriarchal and Hierarchical entourage and the faithful.

Celebrations in Ramallah and Gethsemane

The Feast of the Transfiguration was also celebrated at the Church of the Transfiguration in Ramallah, where Archbishop Philoumenos of Pella presided over the Divine Liturgy. Archimandrite Galaktion, Hegumen of the community, welcomed the hierarch and the numerous faithful who attended.

Celebrations also took place at Gethsemane, where a multi-episcopal Divine Liturgy was presided over by Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias and Archbishop Demetrios of Lydda, with the participation of Holy Sepulchre Hieromonks and priests and a large congregation of faithful.

Read the full homily of the Patriarch below:

“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:1–2).

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,

Devout Christians and pilgrims,

The Grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us all from the ends of the earth upon this lofty Mount Tabor, where Jesus “went up to pray” (Luke 9:28), so that we might celebrate this great event of His Divine Transfiguration, which took place before the Apostles Peter, John and James, as well as in the presence of the Prophets Moses and Elijah.

“And as He prayed, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming” (Luke 9:29), writes the Evangelist Luke, referring to the Transfiguration of Christ. He was transfigured while He was praying. That is to say, when Christ humbled Himself, taking refuge in prayer, then He was also glorified, being transfigured. Therefore, Saint Cyril of Alexandria says: “Showing [Jesus] that a lowly [= contemptible] mind could never be fit for contemplation, but that he who has risen above earthly things and has become superior to all things pertaining to the body, and who has withdrawn from the cares of life, having established himself apart in stillness, and has become higher than the domination of the passions.”

According to the God-bearing and eminent Fathers of the Church, the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on this holy Mount Tabor had two purposes. First, it was intended to prepare His disciples for His impending Passion upon the Cross and His Resurrection on the third day, as Saint Cyril of Jerusalem says: “Moses was in the cleft of the rock” (Exodus 33:22), and Elijah likewise was then in the cleft of the rock (cf. 3 Kingdoms [1 Kings] 19:13). They [Moses and Elijah], being present with Him as He was transfigured on Mount Tabor, told the disciples of the departure which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Secondly, it was intended to manifest clearly to the Apostles and Prophets who were present with Him His future coming, that is, His Second Coming, as the hymnographer also says:

“That You might manifestly show Your ineffable Second Coming, when the Most High God shall appear standing in the midst of the gods; You shone forth ineffably to the Apostles on Tabor, together with Moses and Elijah. Therefore, O Christ, we all magnify You.”

Commenting on these words of the hymnographer, Saint Nicodemus of Mount Athos invokes Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, who presents the Transfiguration as a type and foretaste of the blessedness that is to come, saying: “Then, when we become incorruptible and immortal and attain the Christ-like [= likeness to Christ] and most blessed end, we shall always be with the Lord, as the divine Paul says (1 Thessalonians 4:17), being fulfilled in the visible Theophany through all-holy contemplations, while the most radiant flashes of light shine around us, as they did upon the Disciples in that most divine Transfiguration” (Chapter One: On the Divine Names).

According to Saint Gregory Palamas, not only the angels but also the saints among humanity partake of the glory revealed to the disciples of Christ on Mount Tabor. The Father and the Son, together with the Holy Spirit, possess this glory and kingdom by nature, whereas the holy angels and human beings acquire them by grace, receiving their illumination from that source. Moses and Elijah, who appeared with Him in this glory, revealed precisely this to us. [Not only the angels, but also the saints among humanity partake of this glory and kingdom; yet the Father and the Son, together with the divine Spirit, possess this glory and kingdom by nature, while the holy angels and human beings enjoy them by grace, receiving their illumination from that source.]

“Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice came out of the cloud saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’…” says the Evangelist Matthew (Matthew 17:5). Interpreting these words, Saint Gregory Palamas asks: “…But what is this cloud, and how, being luminous, did it overshadow them? Could this be the inaccessible light in which God dwells, the light which He puts on as a garment? … For he says: ‘He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about Him’ (Psalm 17:12 [18:11]), while, as the Apostle says, He is ‘the only One who has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light’ (1 Timothy 6:16); thus, the same thing is both light and darkness, overshadowing by its surpassing brightness.” [More simply: what is this cloud, and how, being luminous, did it overshadow them? Could it be the inaccessible light in which God dwells, the light which He puts on as a garment? For he says: “He made darkness His covering, like a tent round about Him” (Psalm 17:13 [18:12]). And as the Apostle says, “He is the only One who has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16); thus, here the same reality is both light and darkness, which, because of its exceeding brightness, overshadows.]

It is noteworthy that Saint John of Damascus points out that the “cloud clearly signified the grace of the Holy Spirit, which overshadowed them, and most manifestly revealed itself on Tabor.” “Covered with the light of the inaccessible glory, the Apostles on Mount Tabor cried aloud: Blessed are You, O God of our Fathers,” sings Saint Cosmas the Melodist in his hymnography.

Through the “light of the inaccessible glory”, Christ revealed and manifested the beauty of the archetypal beauty, though not in its entirety; revealing enough to assure them [the Apostles], yet also withholding, lest, together with the vision, they should lose their lives; but only insofar as they were able to receive it, as they gazed upon it with their bodily eyes, the hymnographer again proclaims.

In other words, my beloved brothers and sisters, Christ revealed to His creature, namely man, not merely as in an image, but as He Himself is according to His essence, having become God and man. “The glory did not come to the body from outside, but from within, from the super-divine divinity of God the Word, ineffably united to it according to hypostasis,” teaches Saint John of Damascus.

We, then, my beloved brothers and sisters, who by divine grace have drawn near and are participating in the divine and sacred mystery of the bloodless Eucharistic Sacrifice here on this Mount Tabor, let us say together with the hymnographer:

“You were transfigured on the mountain, O Christ our God, showing Your glory to Your disciples as far as they could bear it. Shine also upon us sinners Your everlasting light, through the intercessions of the Theotokos. O Giver of light, glory to You.”

Source: Patriarchate of Jerusalem