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Jerusalem and
Christianity |
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Preoccupations:
Palestinian Christians and the Tasks Ahead
By Bernard Sabella
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Introduction
If one looks in historical perspective on the Holy Land and on the
relationships of its people and religions, one finds a variety of
situations and contexts within which these relations have evolved
throughout history. The experiences of history have imprinted
certain images and certain views of one another. Because the
experiences were varied, the images and views also vary: the Old
Testament with its promises; the New Testament with its salvation
message; the arrival of Islam; the Crusaders and their Holy Wars;
the Ottoman Turks and their Empire dreams; the British Mandate and
its Jewish National Home policy; the Arab National Movement and its
insistence on the Arab nature of Palestine; the creation of Israel
and the disintegration of Palestine; the 1967 war and the emergence
of the PLO; the Oslo accords and the Palestinian National Authority;
the process of negotiations and outstanding final status issues of
Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees and the Jewish settlements in
the West Bank and Gaza.
These experiences have affected us; they have imprinted on us a
certain perception of the world as it revolves around the Holy Land.
They also have been a strong input into our own identities whether
as Palestinians or as members of particular groups. It is no wonder
that Palestinian Christians, when they speak of their roots, refer
to historical events and identify with them as integral part of
their collective psyche. In fact, the rites and rituals of the
liturgical year are constant reminders of the continuity that spans
two thousand years and a confirmation of the links that tie the
present generation of Palestinian Christians with countless previous
generations, going back to early Church founded by Christ himself.
Moslems and Jews, likewise, live out historical events as part of
their collective identities. The presence of so much history and its
recurrent rehearsal, by different religious groups, points to the
deep roots that tie individuals and collectivities to the land and
its various religious and national symbols. And yet the religious
parameters that are used to strengthen the sense of identification
are also a reminder of the potential for separateness and
divisiveness, not simply along religious lines but also along
national and political lines.
Accepting the Challenges
At the turn of the millennium, we are in need of courage to look at
our differences and to accept the challenge they pose to us. Is it
possible that we can succeed, all of us, to use the lessons of
history to make for a different future in which our differences turn
into perspectives that respect others and their experiences and
history? And how can each culture, religion, people, contribute to
this different future? In the Palestinian Christian case, we are
called upon to fulfil the historic vocation of identifying with the
land, with our people and with our Christian roots and heritage.
This is at a time when all Palestinians are facing challenges that
accompany the establishment of their state and the arduous process
of institution building. It also comes at a time when deep
transformations are taking place in the relationships with the
Israelis that have left much ambivalence among many Palestinians for
their imbalance of power and control in spite of majority support to
the peace process itself. Palestinian Christian vocation also
confronts, at this juncture, the painful continuous hemorrhage of
indigenous emigration that is emptying the Holy Land from
Palestinian Christian faithful.
Palestinian Christians pride themselves on continuous links with the
early Church. The Syriac Church uses Aramaic in its sacred rites,
the same language spoken by Christ himself. Some of the Syriac and
other Palestinian Christian families trace their family trees to the
early Church. The various religious ceremonies and rites throughout
the year point to the reaffirmation of continuity links across
decades and centuries. The entry of the Latin Patriarch on Palm
Sunday to Jerusalem symbolizes the entry of the Master himself as he
was received with the waving of palm branches. The procession on the
Via Dolorosa on Good Friday, headed by the Franciscan Custos of the
Holy Land, reminds the faithful of the tribulations of Jesus on his
way to Golgotha. The celebration of the ceremony of Holy Fire on
Easter Saturday by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, an event that
attracts faithful believers from near and far, reflects the
Christian faith and belief in the resurrection of Christ: the fire
that shines and enlightens our lives. The modern day celebrations of
the Anglican, Lutheran and other Protestant communities link the old
with the new bridging two worlds and attempting to bring them closer
together thus affirming the universal character of the Church. The
Armenian church attests to centuries’ old faith and its Armenian
Quarter in the Old City attests to the will of Armenians to stay put
in spite of the disastrous effects of emigration of young Members of
the Church. The Eastern Orthodox churches, such as the Coptic and
Ethiopian churches, have their own traditions and rituals that
commemorate in unique manners the story of birth, crucifixion and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
But perhaps the most impressive liturgical ceremony is that of
Christmas in Bethlehem. On December 24, the Latin Patriarch of
Jerusalem marches from his seat in the Latin Patriarchate on Jaffa
Gate in Jerusalem to Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity. The
faithful Christians of Palestine, together with pilgrims from all
over, line the route in celebration and joy. Moslem Palestinians
share the joy of the occasion as they participate in welcoming the
Patriarch. Since the establishment of the Palestinian National
Authority, President and Mrs. Arafat have attended Christmas
midnight mass. This is seen as a gesture to reaffirm the excellent
Moslem-Christian ties that characterize the relationships between
the Christians and Moslems of the Land.
Troubling Signs
And yet in spite of the strength that the life of Jesus, his death
and resurrection provides the faithful in the Holy Land, there are
troubling signs that indicate that indigenous Christians are quickly
becoming a relic of the past. In 1893, Christians in the Holy Land
made up 13 percent of the population. At the turn of the millennium,
Palestinian Christians number less than two percent of all the
population in the Holy Land. The trend towards emigration among
indigenous Palestinian Christians continues and this poses special
challenges at a time when their skills, know-how and perspective are
needed in the efforts of state and institution building.
The question that is being asked today is: where does the
Palestinian Church stand on a host of interrelated issues? First,
there is the issue of maintaining Christian presence and viability.
Second, all Palestinians are confronted with the issue of
participation in the reconstruction of their society and its civil
and public institutions. Third, and in spite of disappointment with
the results of the peace process, the issue of reconciliation and
peace making poses itself.
Christians presence and viability of the Palestinian indigenous
church
In order to maintain Christian presence and viability, the churches
of the Holy Land are called upon to work closely together. The
religious leaders must unite to develop a common agenda that aims at
keeping the faithful in the Land and ensuring that centuries’ old
communities continue to function. The viability of Christian
communities cannot be an egoistic and religiocentric undertaking;
rather it is an enterprise that would ensure the kaleidoscopic
nature of the social and religious makeup of the country. It will
also ensure that indigenous Palestinian Christians will not end up
forming expatriate communities in such distant lands as Australia,
Chile, USA and Canada, among other lands. It is indeed sad when
there are more Palestinian Christians from Jerusalem celebrating
Easter in Sydney, Australia than in Jerusalem. This breakup spells
the possible end of community life as it has been known and
experienced in the Holy Land for countless generations.
But the viability of the Christian community is not the sole
responsibility of the churches and their leaders. Lay people need to
get engaged and rise up to their responsibilities to ensure
continuity of their communities. The emphasis on commitment and
service that would ensure the viability of community can only bear
fruit through work and involvement in meeting the challenges
confronting Palestinian society at large. Palestinian Christians are
not an island unto themselves: they are an integral part of their
society and context and hence the viability of their communities can
only transpire with their sharing of the concerns and preoccupations
of their compatriots. Hence, there should be no selective
consideration of Palestinian Christians’ woes but only consideration
of these woes as part of the larger Palestinian woes.
Certainly, Churches and other partners in the West can help
Palestinian Christians in ensuring the viability of their
communities, as part of ensuring the healthy development of
Palestinian society. But partnership with the Western Churches and
Christians should not evolve into a patron-client condescending
relationship; rather it should emphasize the shared vision based on
Christian compassion and on openness to each other and to all
others. The primary consideration in partnership with the Western
Churches should be how to empower Palestinians, including Christians
among them, to build their own society and to rank their priorities
in line with the constraints and limited resources.
The practical agenda that Palestinian Christians and their Churches
have to develop should deal with how to keep young people in the
country, especially those in the 20-29 year old age group at highest
risk of emigration. Activation of members of Churches and their
involvement in the affairs of their community is another approach
that must be encouraged in an ecumenical manner. Offering quality
education and vocational and professional training should continue
to be a priority in the various educational institutions run by the
various Churches. Thinking in particular on how to appeal to the
mindsets of the people, linked to the world through electronic and
audiovisual technology, should be a concern for the Church and its
membership. Presence and viability can only be ensured if we, as
Palestinian Christians, are willing to accept the challenge of
modernity side by side with the challenge of being faithful to our
heritage and roots. This is not an easy undertaking and some doubt
that it will ever work. But if we can help ourselves and our society
in mastering this challenge, then perhaps we can contribute towards
creating new bonds that will help all of us determine the kind of
Palestinian society in which we all would like to live.
Dr. Bernard Sabella is an Associate Professor of Sociology at
Bethlehem University at the Department of Service to Palestinian
Refugees Middle East Council of Churches.
February 23, 2000
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