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1- In 638 AD the Arab
Christian Patriarch Safronius handed over the keys of Jerusalem to
the Caliph Omar Bin Al-Khattab. This act marked the establishment of
the covenant of Omar which to this day represents the reference for
Arab Christian and Moslem Relations in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
2- Since that time,
Seventy Arab Christian Patriarch held that position in Jerusalem
till the year 1534 AD. At that time a young man by the name of
Jermanus who was originally Greek but concealed his true identity
through mastering the Arabic language was able to get the Arab
Patriarch Atallah to consecrate him as a deacon in the Orthodox
church.
Eventually Jermanus became the Patriarch of Jerusalem after the
resignation of Patriarch Atallah. This event resulted in the total
control of Greek clergy and Patriarchs of the Orthodox church of
Jerusalem till this day.
3- During the Ottoman
rule of Palestine, and in March 1875 during the rule of Kamal Pasha
as governor, the Jerusalem Roman Patriarchate law was established.
Despite the fact that this law gave the majority of control to the
Greek church leadership at that time, it still gave some rights and
privileges to the indigenous Arab church members. This led to many
differences and conflicts between the church members and the
leadership due to the refusal of the church leadership to uphold
their commitments and responsibilities towards their Arab members.
As part of this conflict, the Christian Orthodox Arabs closed St.
Jacob’s church in protest.
4- In 1908, the Ottoman
constitution was declared and promoted the establishment of a 40
members church council in Jerusalem composed of clergy and Jerusalem
community leaders. When this council submitted their demands to
Patriarch Dhamianus who had been elected in 1897, the Patriarch
rejected all these demands. Eventually, he appointed a mixed council
to discuss those demands which were again rejected. Consequently,
the Arab Orthodox Church members escalated their struggle and
demanded the overthrow of the Patriarch. This struggle continued to
escalate and led to the eviction of some church leaders from their
monasteries. In 1909, the Arab Orthodox Christians even formally
petitioned the Ottoman highest authority in demand of their rights.
5- Eventually, several
Arab Christian Orthodox conferences were held to promote and demand
the rights for the Arab Orthodox community to gain a role in the
affairs of the church:
5.1. The first Arab Orthodox conference was held in Haifa on July
15th, 1923.
5.2. The second Arab
Orthodox conference was held in Jafa on October 28th 1931.
5.3. The third Arab
Orthodox conference was held in Jerusalem on September 23rd and
24th,1944.
5.4. The fourth Arab
Orthodox conference was held in Jerusalem on March 23rd,1956
5.5. The fifth Arab
Orthodox conference was held in Amman on December 8th,1992.
6- Throughout recent
history, the Patriarch and church leaders have held tight controls
over the affairs of the church and its properties in Palestine
without any consultation with Arab Church members. Their corrupt and
unscrupulous practices became rampant without any sense of
responsibility or good conscience.
6.1. In the twenties of
last century, the Patriarchate sold religious property for (400000.
-) Palestinian Pounds to repay outstanding debts.
6.2. On the 11th of
April, 1990, St. John’s property in the Christian quarter of
Jerusalem was sold. All the Arab Christian protests at that time
were to no avail.
6.3. Seven hundred and
fifty dunums of land belonging to Mar Elias church near Jerusalem
were relinquished under the pretext of restoring St. John’s property
in Jerusalem. The result was the loss of both properties.
6.4. Several other sales
and forfeitures were recorded in many places in Palestine such as,
Nazareth, Jerusalem and Jafa as well as other cities and locations.
Even church properties in Cyprus and several other places in the
world were sold.
6.5. The recent sale of
two hotels and twenty seven stores at Omar Bin Al-Khattab square
near the church of the Holy Sepulchure in Jerusalem came as the
latest act of a long history of flagrant and corrupt disposal of
Arab Christian heritage in the Holy Land.We aim to emphasize our
strongest renunciation and protest against such sale of Christian
Arab Orthodox heritage by corrupt church leaders.
We implore all humanity and freedom loving forces in the world to
help us put a stop to such actions once and for all as we struggle
to restore what was illegally and under handedly taken from us while
bringing all those responsible to justice.
Protest Organized by Arab Orthodox Christians on March 25th, 2005
Arab Orthodox Christians participating in this protest declare their
 strongest
rejection and renunciation of all actions taken by the church
leadership in Jerusalem with regard to the recent media reports
concerning the sale or lease of church holdings in Jerusalem or any
other place in the Holy Land.
We consider that such
illegal actions by the church leadership constitute a deliberate
contribution towards the judaization of the Holy City and the loss
of the rights of the Palestinian people in their lands.
Arab Orthodox Christians
consider that this cause concerns not only Christians and Moslems
but also humanity at large and all peace loving people of the world
who seek justice and truth.
We seek the
 support
of all free people and governments in the world to help us restore
our rightful heritage in Jerusalem and the Holy Land in order to
reverse all illegal deals that went through in the dark behind
closed doors.
We aim to gather all
possible support to preserve the Arab identity of Jerusalem and
defend Christian and Moslem holy places alike.
We affirm that Jerusalem
and its Christian and Moslem religious places and heritage is an
endowment for all humanity throughout the ages and it is our
responsibility as well as that of our children to protect and
preserve this legacy for all time.
This protest is
simultaneously conducted all over the Holy Land,
in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Ramallah and all locations of Arab Christian
presence to affirm our rights and seek justice for our cause.
On the basis of the
above, the Arab Christian Orthodox Community in the Holy Land demand
the following:
1- The church leadership
in Jerusalem should immediately and unequivocally commit itself to
the preservation of all Arab Christian lands and property in the
Holy Land.
2- Realization of a true
partnership between the Orthodox church leadership and its members
through the true activation of Jordanian law No.27 of 1958 which
dictates the establishment of a church council
 composed
of clergy and church members to manage the affairs of the church.
3- Establishment of a
comprehensive inventory of all the Orthodox church assets in the
Holy Land especially in Jerusalem in order to investigate any secret
deals that may have taken place and identify the involved parties.
This should be done in all transparency for the purpose of revoking
any actions that undermine the rights of Arab Orthodox Christians.
4- The Jordanian
government as well as the Palestinian National authority are
requested to activate their supervision of all activities that may
relate to any illegal sale or miss-use of Christian properties (
Religious Endowment- Waqf) in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
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