Transcript The Church in the Holy Land

Churches and Christians in the
Holy Land
Jerusalem Inter-Church Centre
Jerusalem Inter-Church Centre
The Holy Land
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Jesus and His Disciples
Christ’s followers / Romans
Christian Romans 323-614AD
Persians 614-628
Byzantines 628-637
Arab/Muslims 637-1092
Arabs/Crusaders 1099-1239
Arabs 1239-1514
Ottomans 1517-1917
British Mandate 1917-1947
UN Partition Plan 1947
Israel 1948 (al Naqba)
Occupation 1967
PA in West Bank and Gaza
Seperation
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Churches of the Holy Land
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Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Armenian Patriarchate
Coptic Orthodox Church
Syrian Orthodox Church
Greek Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate
Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarchate
Syrian Catholic Church
Maronite Archdiocese of Haifa and the Holy Land
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land
Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate
Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the M.E.
Custody of the Holy Land ( Franciscan Order)
The local Churches in the Holy Land belong to 4 Church families:
Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, & Protestant.
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Christians Today – Demography
In Israel
Areas occupied 1948
150,000 Christians
Among 7 million
Just over 2%
In Palestine
Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem
50,000 Christians
Among 4 million
Below 2%
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6,000,000
Currently, they
are between
400,000 –
500,000
scattered
throughout the
World
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
Chistians
Moslems
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04
20
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95
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85
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75
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44
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31
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22
19
17
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0
Jews
The Dwindling Christians…
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Of the 750,000 Palestinian refugees who were driven out of their
homes in 1948, 50,000 were Christians
Since then, emigration amongst Christians increased substantially
Percentages of Palestinian Christians continued to decrease due to:
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Occupation and oppression practiced against the Palestinian
population by the Israeli Occupation
Deterioration of the economic situation especially after the
closure and separation policy
Unemployment and difficulty in attaining jobs
High cost of living in Education and Health
Limited and unaffordable housing availability in Jerusalem
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The youth is the most affected.
Population Pyramids of Christian Sample of the West Bank and of Israel Compared to
Population Pyramids of The Two Countries
1. Christian Sample Population Pyramid –
West Bank
85+
80 - 84
75 - 79
70 - 74
65 - 69
60 - 64
55 - 59
50 - 54
45 - 49
40 - 44
35 - 39
30 - 34
25 - 29
20 - 24
15 - 19
10 - 14'
5 - 9'
0-4
-300
2. Palestinian Population Pyramid –
West Bank
80+
75-79
70 - 74
65 - 69
60 - 64
55 - 59
50 - 54
45 - 49
40 - 44
35 - 39
30 - 34
25 - 29
20 - 24
15 - 19
10 - 14'
5 - 9'
0-4
-200
-100
Female
0
100
200
Male
*Source: Christian sample population in late
2005 and early 2006.
300
-40000 -20000
0 Female
0
0
200000 400000
Male
*Source: Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2005
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Challenges
Need for political settlement : Freedom facing oppression and
Economy facing separation and closures drive Palestinian
Christians out of this country.
Effective cooperation; networking is encouraged on all levels within
the Churches. Uniting the voices against the occupation and Israeli
policies and need for law and order within Palestinian territories..
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The Need to support the three vital sectors.
Health: General and specialized support for the Health service
institutions where services are given to all Palestinians. indicators
shows that West Bankers spend 25% of their income on health
care and 75% of them have no adequate health insurance.
Housing: A real challenge East Jerusalem. Very limited options
and resources to stay in the city where Israeli policies limit
construction
Education: In pursuit for higher education we risk loosing
Palestinian Christians then turning into emigrants. On lower
education levels support for tuition fees and Schools infrastructure
will ensure better education and keeping Palestinians Christians
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within the Christians Jerusalem
schools.
Other HOT issues
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Residency rights of the Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem
are threatened today through the Israeli policies in
confiscating ID cards from those who have residency right
somewhere else besides the house demolition orders
against at least 20 families.
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Freedom of movement of Clergy and the faithful between
the West bank and East Jerusalem , Reentry and entry
issues limit the work of the Church and are against UN
recognized human rights
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Formalizing property and land registration in the Bethlehem
area will lower the level of friction that frequently arouse
when crimes in this level happen
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Alarming Jerusalem Scenario?
Current Jerusalem Christian Population:
Directly affected by Israeli Policies
 Family re-unification pending cases estimated at 300 families
 National Insurance cases against Christians in Jerusalem are
1200. 50% of which may loose residency rights for their family to
be in Jerusalem
 Isolation policy behind the apartheid Wall, and residency rights
risks from being abroad will cause a loss of 100,000 residency
rights. 1.4% of them are Christians
 Children without ID cards in Jerusalem.
Assuming 1.4% of the 10,000 are Christians
 House demolition cases of 20 families
Indirect causes
 Emigration rates of Palestinian Christians in Israel and Palestine
was estimated at 4.5%
Balance of Jerusalem Christians in 7 years
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10,000
(900)
(1800)
(1,400)
(140)
(60)
(450)
5,250
How to cope?
Local Churches in Diakonia
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The Local Churches ( on Social services)
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Managing more than 65 schools with 23679 students
Running more than 5 hospitals and tens of clinics
Constructed over 1000 housing units in the past 10 years
Accommodating up-to 30% of the Christian working force
(5% in Palestinian Educational system)
Supervising tens of organizations:
Charitable organizations
Social service organizations
Clubs and youth movements
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But… The need is still great and
the challenges are mounting
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Ecumenical Local Churches role
(on Advocacy)
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Unified positions since 1989
On Jerusalem 1994, 2006
On movement restrictions
On the separation Wall and closures
On the security of Israelis and Palestinians
Press releases
Joint studies : ( e.g. Christian schools / Health services ,
Residency rights and needs assessments)
Participation and mediation in the Council of Religious
Institutions of the Holy Land
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With WCC and Mecc
LOCALY BASED
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Ecumenical Accompaniment program for the Palestinians and
Israelis (EAPPI)
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Inter-Church Center ( JIC) based on information and cooperation
in association with MECC
INTERNATIONAL
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Established the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF)
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International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel
(ICAPPI – now WWPPI)
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JIC’s mandate
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Provide timely and regular information, analysis and reports to
the ecumenical community;
Liaise with the local Churches and with MECC and WCC.
Facilitate intensive exposure tours and seminars for
international, high-level government, church and media visitors
assuring hosting and contact with the local churches and
communities.
Strengthen local church capacity for diaconal work in
association with WCC Middle East desk and MECC.
Strengthen local ecumenical and interfaith relations.
Host EAPPI as a much-needed local-global accompaniment
program.
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EAPPI Objectives
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Participate in the daily life and work of Palestinian and Israeli civil society,
Churches and Christian communities.
Be visibly present in vulnerable communities, locations or events, e.g.
near Israeli settlements and the wall/fence, schools and homes, fields &
orchards.
Actively listen to local people's experiences and give voice to peoples'
daily suffering
Monitor the conduct of Israeli soldiers
Engage in non-violent ways with perpetrators of human rights abuses.
Produce testimonies and analysis.
Report on violations of human rights.
Engage with the media locally, nationally and internationally.
Be part of international advocacy and networking activities that highlight
the human rights situation in Palestine.
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World Week of Prayer in P/I
During one week churches in different countries send a clear signal
to policy-makers, interested publics and their own parishes about
the urgent need for a peace settlement that secures the
legitimate rights and future of both peoples.
The action week organizers are asking all participants to :
 Pray with churches living under occupation, using a special
prayer from Jerusalem
 Educate about actions that make for peace and about facts on
the ground that do not
 Advocate with political leaders using ecumenical policies that
promote peace with justice
 Public Action - in order to stress the depth of church concern.
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Amman call : Inter-Church commitment
(PIEF)
Peace building will include the following:
1. Furthering theological and biblical perspectives and Christian education
resources around those issues central to the conflict.
2. Developing strategies that will support the processes of justice and
reconciliation, including inter-religious dialogue and cooperation.
3. Strengthening the churches' responses to the occupation.
4. Recognizing, encouraging and cooperating with all efforts of Israeli and
Palestinian civil society that are in accord with the vision and goals of the
PIEF.
Peace making will include the following:
1. Defining and promoting measures, including economic ones, that could
help end the occupation and enhance sustainable growth and
development.
2. Strengthening local churches and church related organizations not only
to survive, and to be witnesses of hope.
3. Advocacy strategy in order to mobilize all of Church constituencies and
influence change.
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Christian Related Organizations-CROs
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The CROs network in Jerusalem was formed
in 2002 aiming to unify the Palestinian
Christian voice. Due to movement
restrictions it was only a Jerusalem CROs
network at the beginning – with 12 member
organizations
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In 2004, the Network of Christian
Organizations in Bethlehem (NCOB) was
formed and now embraces more than 26
member organizations
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The National Coalition of Christian
Organizations in Palestine
(NCCOP)
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Christian Organizations…
Accomplishments of CROs networks:
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Producing the VOX newsletter (Jerusalem)
Issuing Position and Action statements
Organizing Church services for special occasions
Developing contacts with global ecumenical and social
movements and Churches
Participating in events and meetings of the MECC, WCC
and World Social forums
And…. Tens of organizations initiatives and programs
targeted at embracing the Christian Youth and
advocating Just Peace.
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Strategies
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Unity: NCCOP and Heads of Churches
Advocacy: United voice and International
Church support ( KAIROS PALESTINE)
Social opportunities; Education, housing, and
health sectors support
Economic opportunities: partnerships and
Pilgrimages.
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Thank You!
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Jerusalem Inter-Church Centre