His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday said he was emphasizing the importance of the Orthodox Church and the Arab Christian presence in Jerusalem in meetings with political and religious world leaders.



During a meeting on Monday with the new Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, King Abdullah said the Holy City should be open to the followers of the three monotheistic faiths.



He urged Christian religious leaders to unite their efforts and speak in one voice to the West about the challenges facing the Christian Arab presence in Jerusalem.



At the meeting, also attended by the King's Private Adviser, HRH Prince Ghazi Ben Mohammad, and the head of the Central Orthodox Council in Jordan and Palestine Raouf Abu Jaber, King Abdullah said he fully supported the church's efforts to invalidate transactions for the sale of church property.



The patriarch said the church appreciated the King's support for its quest to retrieve property that has been leased to Israeli firms, and said the historic relations between the church and the Hashemite family are a model for coexistence.



Theophilos III was enthroned in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Nov. 22, formally replacing Irineos I, who was dismissed by the Holy Synod in May over an alleged multi-million-dollar sale of church land to Jewish investors.