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 The
Ecumenical Situation in Jerusalem, Week of Prayer for Christian
Unity 2011 From 1910 to 2010
From Jerusalem, Jesus sent the apostles to
be his witnesses "till the end of the earth" (Acts
1:8). In their mission, they encountered many and rich languages
and civilisations and started proclaiming the gospel and celebrating
the Eucharist in these many languages. As a consequence, Christian
life and liturgy acquired many faces and expressions that
enrich and complete each other. From early times, all these
Christian traditions and churches wanted to be present together
with the local church in Jerusalem, the birthplace of the
Church. They felt the need to have a praying and serving community
in the land where the history of salvation unfolded, and around
the places where Jesus lived, exercised his ministry and suffered
his passion, thus entering into his paschal mystery of death
and resurrection. In this way the church in Jerusalem became
a living image of the diversity and richness of the many Christian
traditions in the East and the West. Every visitor or pilgrim
in Jerusalem is, in the first place, invited to discover these
various and rich traditions.
Unfortunately, in the course of history and for various reasons,
this beautiful diversity has also become a source for divisions.
These divisions are even more painful in Jerusalem, since
this is the very place where Jesus prayed "that they
all may be one" (John 17:21), where he died "to
gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad"
(John 11:52), and where the first Pentecost took place. However,
at the same time, it must be said that not a single one of
these divisions has its origin in Jerusalem. They were all
brought to Jerusalem by the already divided churches. As a
consequence, almost all the churches around the world bear
their part of the responsibility for the divisions of the
church of Jerusalem and therefore are also called to work
for its unity together with the local churches.
At present there are in Jerusalem thirteen churches with an
Episcopal ministry: the Greek Orthodox Church, the Latin (Catholic)
Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Syrian Orthodox
Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church, the Greek Catholic (Melkite) Church,the Maronite (Catholic)
Church, the Syrian Catholic Church, the Armenian Catholic
Church, the Chaldean (Catholic) Church, the Episcopal Evangelical
Church, and the Lutheran Evangelical Church. Alongside these,
a considerable number of other churches or communities are
present in Jerusalem and the Holy Land: Presbyterian, Reformed,
Baptist, Evangelical, Pentecostal, etc.
All together the Christians in Palestine and Israel, number
between 150.000 and 200.000, constituting between 1 and 2%
of the total population. The large majority of these Christians
are Arab speaking Palestinians, but in some of the churches
there exist also Hebrew speaking groups of faithful who intend
to be a Christian presence and witness in Israeli society.
Besides these there are also the so-called Messianic Assemblies
that may represent about 4 to 5 thousand believers, but usually
are not counted in the numbers given for the Christian presence.
For recent developments in ecumenical relations in Jerusalem,
the pilgrimage of Pope Paul VI to the Holy Land, in January
1964, remains a landmark. His meetings, in Jerusalem, with
the Patriarchs Athenagoras of Constantinople and Benedictos
of Jerusalem signal the beginning of a new climate in inter-churches
relations. From that point on, things started moving in a
new way.
The next important stage was during the time of the first
Palestinian intifada, in the late 1980's. In the midst of
a climate of insecurity, violence, suffering and death, the
heads of the churches started meeting in order to reflect
together on what they could and should say and do together.
They decided to publish common messages and statements and
to initiate some common initiatives for the sake of a just
and lasting peace.
Since that time, every year the heads of the churches in Jerusalem
publish a common message for Easter and for Christmas, as
well as statements and messages on some special occasions.
Two statements deserve special mention. In November 1994,
the heads of the thirteen churches signed a common memorandum
on the significance of Jerusalem for Christians and on the
rights that result thereof for the Christian communities.
From that time on, they meet regularly, almost every month.
They published a second updated statement on the same subject
in September 2006.
Until now, the ecumenical inauguration of the third millennium
on Manger Square in Bethlehem, in December 1999, remains the
most significant expression of this new ecumenical common
pilgrimage. It was then that the heads and faithful of the
thirteen churches, together with pilgrims coming from all
over the world, spent an afternoon together, singing, reading
the Word of God and praying together.
In 2006, the creation of the Jerusalem Inter-Church Centre,
in collaboration with the local churches, the World Council
Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches, is another
expression of the growing collaboration among the local churches
and of the strong links between them and the churches worldwide.
It is at the same time a precious instrument in the service
of this ecumenical growth.
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel
was initiated in 2002 in co-ordination with the local churches
and the WCC. It involves volunteers coming from churches all
over the world with the aim to collaborate with the Israelis
and the Palestinians to alleviate the consequences of the
conflict, and to accompany them in places of confrontation.
This initiative constitutes another powerful tool for strengthening
the links of solidarity, both in the Holy Land and with the
churches where the volunteers come from.
Many more informal ecumenical groups exist in Jerusalem. One
of them, the Ecumenical Circle of Friends, which meets once
a month, has been coordinating the annual celebration of the
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Jerusalem for about
40 years now. Each year this constitutes a remarkable event
in the life of the churches.
The interreligious dialogue in Jerusalem, city considered
holy by Jews, Christians and Muslims, also has far-reaching
ecumenical repercussions thanks to the members of different
churches who work very closely together in it. Together, in
this dialogue they create the experience of the necessity
to overcome past disagreements and controversies and to finding
a new common language in order to be able to witness to the
one evangelical message in an attitude of mutual respect.
For the Christian faithful at the grass-root level, in Palestine
and Israel, ecumenism is part and parcel of daily life. Their
constant experience is that solidarity and collaboration are
of vital importance for their presence as a small minority
in the midst of the majority of believers of the two other
monotheist religions. Christian schools, institutions and
movements spontaneously work together, across the borders
between churches, offering a common service and bearing a
common witness. Marriages among members of the different churches
have become a generally accepted reality and can be found
in almost all families. As a consequence they share each other's
joys and sorrows, in the midst of a situation of conflict
and instability, reaching out to their Muslim brothers and
sisters with whom they share the same language, the same history,
the same culture and with whom they are called to build a
better common future. Together they are ready to collaborate
with Muslim and Jewish believers in preparing the ways for
dialogue and for a just and lasting solution of a conflict
is which religion has too often been used and abused. Instead
of being part of the conflict, true religion is called to
be part of the solution.
What is also significant is that the church
in Jerusalem continues to live in a political climate that
is in many ways similar to the life of the early Christian
community. Palestinian Christians have become a small minority
facing serious challenges that threaten their future in many
ways, while they are longing for freedom, human dignity, justice,
peace and security.
In the midst of all of this, the Christians
of the Jerusalem churches address their brothers and sisters
around the world through this week of prayer for Christian
unity to pray with them and for them in order to reach their
aspirations for freedom, and dignity and the end of all kind
of human oppression. The Church lifts up its voice in prayer
to God in anticipation and hope for itself and the world so
that we all may be one in our faith, in our witness, and in
our love.
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