Vassilios Papadopoulos at the age of 14, went to Jerusalem and studied at the local seminary. In 1914 he became a monk. He then became Deacon and served in the Metropolis of Ptolemaida. In 1921 he went to Athens to study at the Theological and Law School of the University of Athens. After the end of his studies he returned to Jerusalem (1925) and in October 1929, he was ordained Elder and appointed Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in Athens. He remained in this position until 1946. Thereafter and until 1951 he was a member of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, when he was consecrated Archbishop of Tiberias.

In 1957 he was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem, thus beginning a great work of reorganization of the Patriarchate (2 orders). The Jordanian Government enshrines the sovereign rights of the Athonite brotherhood to the shrines of the Holy Places. Benedict took part in many international ecclesiastical conferences to solve political and pastoral problems. He met with Pope Paul VI in Jerusalem together with the also great Masonic Patriarch Athenagoras in an unprecedented and unique worldwide Christian effort of cooperation and dialogue between the Churches. During this meeting, the mutual lifting of the anathema from the time of the Schism ( 1054) was made. Benedict also settled issues of the election of the Patriarch, salaries, staffing of the Patriarchate, etc. He was multilingual and cultured, and left a remarkable body of writings of legal and historical studies. He will be remembered in ecclesiastical history as one of the leading pastors. He was honored with such honors as: Grand Cross of the Order of Apostles , Grand Cross of George I, The Supreme Order of Jordan, etc.