Coinciding with the last Friday of Ramadan, on the 29th of December 2000, the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem buried its patriarch, His Beatitude Diodoros I. The funeral rite was celebrated in the church of St. Constantine and St. Helen of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. The funeral was attended by numerous nuns, clergy and faithful, representatves of the various churches of Jerusalem amongst them members of the Catholic Church: His Beatitutude Michel Sabbah Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Apostolic Nunzio Mons Pietro Sambi and the Custos of the Holy Land Fr. Giovanni Battistelli ofm. After the funeral celebration the procession left towards the residence of the Patriarch on the Mount of Olives, known as "Viri Galilei" where he was buried. The funeral procession passed through Jaffa Gate, stopped in the Church of the Armenian Patriarchate where His Beatitude Torkom Manoogian, together with his clergy, presided over a funeral rite. From here the funeral, passing through Sion Gate, left towards the Mount of Olives. The election of the new Patriarch will take place fourty days from the death of the Patriarch.The figure of the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem is of the utmost importance for the ecumenical cause and for the peaceful living of the different christian communities of Jerusalem.