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1. On the 14th of November 1994, the heads of the Christian Communities
in Jerusalem met to discuss the status of the holy city and the situation of
Christians there, at the conclusion of which, they issued a declaration, which
until today expresses their common vision and stance. I quote the second
paragraph, which introduces the whole declaration:
“Jerusalem
is a holy city for the people of the three monotheistic religions: Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. Its unique nature of sanctity endows it with a special
vocation: calling for reconciliation and harmony among people, whether
citizens, pilgrims or visitors. And because of its symbolic and emotive value,
Jerusalem has been a rallying cry for different revived nationalistic and
fundamentalist stirrings in the region and elsewhere. And, unfortunately, the
city has become a source of conflict and disharmony. It is at the heart of the
Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab disputes. While the mystical call of the
city attracts believers, its present unenviable situation scandalizes many”
(Memorandum, par 2)
The
second important common stand of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem was their letter
dated 17 July 2000, addressed to the three leaders gathered in Camp David,
Clinton, Arafat and Barak.
2.
To speak about Christianity and Jerusalem, we have always to bear in mind two
forms of Christian presence and concern in Jerusalem, distinct but strongly
united: the local and the universal, local Palestinian Christians and
Christians from all over the world. Both are present in Jerusalem, and both
are intimately linked among themselves and with the Holy City.
This
is to say that Jerusalem is the Holy City for all Christians in the world,
locally or abroad. It is the city of their roots, it is historically the
Mother Church. It was always the place of worship and daily living for local
Christians. It was always a place of pilgrimage, worship and studies for
Christians coming from all the Churches.
3.
The universal presence in Jerusalem is manifest by the presence of religious
communities from all over the world and from the several Churches; Catholic,
Orthodox or Protestant. Many members of these communities spend their lives
for the sake of Jerusalem and the mystery of Redemption which took place in
it. They are not born there: but by their prayer, studies, charity, by their
life and death in it, they become a part of Jerusalem.
Pilgrims
to the Holy Places are another sign of this universality: we indeed consider
them as an important part of world Christianity, and at the same time a part
of our own dioceses in the Holy Land. Their presence is a support to our
faith, and witnesses to the same Saviour, Jesus-Christ, which is the main
objective of all Christian presence, local or universal.
Lastly
this universal presence is manifest in the growing attention of the world
Churches to what is going on in the Holy Land today: to the local Christian
presence and to the political conflict in the region. This situation requires the involvement of all Churches,
because of their allegiance to Jerusalem, in the difficult quest for justice
and peace.
Here
I have to express special thanks for the large and generous solidarity shown
to the Churches of Jerusalem, during these last months of suffering, by so
many Churches, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, among which this Bishops'
Conference of England and Wales was very significant.
4.
The local Christian presence is small: it amounts to 2% of the total
population of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. It was more substantial in some
times past: in 1922, according to some sources, it was 51% in Jerusalem, and
in 1947, it was still one third of the population of the Holy City. The proportion lessened in the following years, due to
social, economic and especially political factors, i.e. the conflict between
Palestinians and Israelis. Up until today, emigration, for this same political
reason, is a phenomenon which is reducing more and more the proportion of
Christians in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
On
this issue of emigration, our position as Churches is the following:
Christians in the Holy Land are called by God to be Christians in the Holy
Land, and not elsewhere in the world. Even, when political instability
makes daily life more difficult, Christians should be aware of their identity
and mission, and remain where they are - where God wants them to be - and thus
make their own contribution to the building of the future, together with and
within their own Palestinian society. Christian emigration cannot be
considered only from a ‘human’ point of view, or according to merely
political perspectives. Christian presence, especially in Jerusalem and all
the Holy Land, is part of the mystery of God in this land, who allowed, in His
divine wisdom, Jews, Christians and Moslems to gather and to survive here over
centuries. Therefore, any measure to achieve reconciliation in
Jerusalem, to determine its present and future, must not ignore the dimension
of the presence of God in this city, or the Christian Palestinians who are a
part of that presence.
5.
We local Christians are few in number. At the same time, we belong to many
Churches, bearing each of us our own memories and wounds. Memories and wounds:
we put them all together before the same Jesus Christ who has gathered us in
the past, and gathers us today, around the places where he has redeemed and
sanctified the world. Today, each one of these Churches, Catholic, Orthodox
and Protestant, remain faithful to its faith, to its liturgy, and to its
ecclesial traditions as received down the centuries. Each Church also shares
in the same effort towards Christian unity in the city where all Christians
were born. Indeed, we meet each other on many occasions. Fraternal spirit
reigns among us, and common messages are addressed from time to time to our
faithful.
The
present and the future of Christians depends upon this fraternal spirit, and
upon this common walk towards unity.
6.
The Holy Places are a main component of the Christian presence in Jerusalem.
From 1856, in the Congress of Paris after
the war of Crimea, then in 1878 in Berlin following another war between Russia
and Turkey, the Status Quo was established to regulate relations between
Christian communities in the Holy Places, mainly in the Holy Sepulchre and the
Basilica of Bethlehem. This same Status Quo later passed to the League of
Nations, then to the U.N.
The
expression ‘Status Quo’ means literally, “Things are to remain as they
are”, without prejudice to the rights claimed by any party. This situation
helped organize inter-Christian relations, as well as the duties of political
leaders towards the Christian presence. Sometimes misunderstandings occur: but
any such instance today is no longer powerful enough to separate any community
from the general fraternal spirit prevailing among us all.
The
Status Quo is already a kind of ‘international law’ which permeated
Jerusalem, and which regulates the relations between Christians themselves
with respect to the main Holy Places of Christianity. Successive governments,
Ottoman, British Mandate, Jordanian, Israeli, have all so far respected these
regulations as expressed by the Status quo.
One
day, once Jerusalem enjoys more quiet and peaceful times, this Status Quo
needs to be revised, in order to create new mechanisms – once again, without
any prejudice to any party. Only
in this way can the present difficulties be overcome over the practical steps
necessary to make improvements, to rebuild and repair, or to safeguard the
honour and the reverence due to such places, and to prevent abuses by
irresponsible or ignorant visitors.
7.
The Christian presence is also a presence with Islam and with Judaism.
Dialogue
with Moslems is conducted on the basis that both Christians and Moslems are
Palestinians, form one people with same history and destiny, and hence share
same sufferings and aspirations. The day-to-day applications of such dialogue
are continuously worked out as they affect action in the individual or public
realm, and for all new legislation in every domain. Relations between Palestinians, Moslems and Christians
constitute a permanent collaboration tending to build the best way of living
together, despite those differences in belief that are manifested in many
aspects of social life.
Many
wish have imagined and wished for the creation of some formal Christian-Moslem
institution, some body for reflection and creativity, in order to exchange
views, to reconcile them, and to proceed together through the complications of
daily life. It may sometimes happen, consciously or unconsciously, that
religion becomes sometimes reduced to irrational feelings and reactions, on
both sides, whether Christian or Moslem. In order to preserve the rationality
and authenticity of our religious lives and relations, such
a stable body will be very useful.
In
this matter of Christian-Moslem relations, some would express their fear of
religious extremism. When speaking about all kinds of extremism, one should
see the whole reality: extremism and violence are born of situations of
injustice, oppression, humiliation and poverty. Those who maintain such
situations of injustice, humiliation and poverty a for violence. Another factor which invites the growth of religious
fundamentalism or extremism is the religious vacuum that is expanding in the
modern Western world. Therefore,
in order to avoid dangers stemming form such “extremism”, leaders should
work for more justice and equality among the peoples of the earth in general,
and should work for a fuller appreciation of the presence of God in society.
Specifically, in what concerns Palestine and Israel, leaders should work for
the justice required by the Palestinians. Because justice for the Palestinians
is the only way to assure security to all the region.
8.
Interfaith dialogue with Jews.
Many
interfaith Christian-Jewish associations exist in Israel. Their dialogue
continues the Christian-Jewish dialogue that started in the West after the
Second Vatican Council. However this dialogue remains international, with a
distinctively Western historical background.
It does not engage with the daily lived realities of the region and it
often ignores issues of peace and justice. A Jewish-Christian dialogue in
Palestine and Israel should deal with the daily relations between Christian
Palestinians and the Jews of Israel – and that means that it should deal
with the issue of justice, peace and equality among all, based on religious
values as well as on positive legislation.
9.
Finally local Christians are of course a part of the on-going political
conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. The role of this Christian
presence is important, because it is echoed in the universal Church, in all
the Churches of the world, and it is supported by a large chain of church
solidarity and concern for Christians and for the Holy Places, these being the
places of the Church’s roots. Locally, Christian Palestinians are precisely Palestinians,
hence their direct involvement in the conflict. Being Palestinians and
Christians they call for justice and peace. This claim for justice means a
claim for freedom, human dignity, and the right to an independent state. It
means the end of the Israeli military Occupation in Jerusalem and in all those
Palestinian Territories occupied in 1967.
I
have said that this claim is Palestinian.
Nevertheless it is simply a claim for normal human rights, not special
and not essentially different from the rights of any person or people in the
earth, including the Jewish people. What the Jewish people achieved for
themselves (freedom, an independent state), the Palestinian people should be
able to achieve for himself (freedom, and an independent state).
With this aim, the U.N passed a number of resolutions, and with this
aim peace talks started in 1993, following the Oslo agreement.
About
these relations between Palestinians and Israelis, and the necessity to put an
end to
the conflict, I
would like to quote the words of H.H. Pope John Paul II, in his address to the
diplomatic corps, on the occasion of the New Year. I quote:
"This
light (of Christmas) signals the path of all who in our times in Bethlehem
and Jerusalem are struggling on the road to peace. In this part of the
world which received God's revelation to man there should be no resignation
before the fact that a kind of guerrilla warfare has become an everyday event,
or in the face of the persistence of injustice, the contempt for international
law or the marginalisation of the Holy Places and the requirements of the
Christian communities. Israelis and Palestinians can only think of their
future together, and each party must respect the rights and traditions of the
other. It is time to return to the principles of international legality: the
banning of the acquisition of territory by force, the right of peoples to
self-determination, respect for the resolutions of the United Nations
Organization and the Geneva Conventions, to quote only the most important.
Otherwise, anything can happen: from unilateral rash initiatives to an
extension of violence which will be difficult to control".
9.1
Christianity and violence in Jerusalem.
The
Church, of course, does not support violence. Peace, and peaceful ways, can
give birth to more peace. Unfortunately, all the nations of the world were
born in wars and bloodshed. It seems that the Palestinian state is not
different from all nations of the world. The Jewish state had its period of
resistance and violence during the British mandate before 1948, after which
the State of Israel was born. History makes all peoples equal in their refusal
and condemnation of violence, and at the same time in their forced recourse to
violence. Violence is to be condemned. But any form of oppression, of
illegitimate military occupation is a form of violence and a direct invitation
to violence. Will humankind be able one day to live without weapons and
violence? Those days will be the days of the Second Coming of Christ, and the
dawn of the Kingdom of God, when all earthly kingdoms will have their end.
Violence
in Jerusalem is in direct contradiction to the nature and the call of the holy
city. However, Jerusalem during its long history, though permeated by the
mystery of God, has known many forms of violence. Although God wished it to be
the city of reconciliation between human beings and God, and between human
beings themselves, today it seems to be the city of non-reconciliation,
or, to put it in a positive way, a city in which believers in the same God, -
yes, He is the same God, Creator of all, Jews, Christians and Moslems - are
desperately striving for a difficult reconciliation.
9.2.
Concretely, the question of Jerusalem has a double aspect, political and
religious. The political question is to be settled by both political parties
involved, Palestinians and Israelis, on the basis of the above-mentioned
principle, the removing of all forms of oppression and occupation begun in
1967, and on the basis of the international resolutions.
Once
the political aspect of the conflict is settled, the second aspect, the
religious aspect, can and must be approached. The holiness of the city, the
patrimony of humankind, the Holy Places with all their historical requisites,
are to be taken into consideration by political and religious leaders alike.
As to the Christian Holy Places, Christian leaders of Jerusalem, representing
all Christians, will speak with the political authorities. The political
authorities will have to find the special means to ensure all that is needed
to preserve the holiness of the city, to respect and safeguard historical and
contemporary religious and civil rights, and to ensure freedom of worship and
freedom of access at all times, whether of peace or war. The authorities will
need to present this special regime for recognition by the international
community, in order to guarantee its stability. This procedure is by no means
the kind of internationalisation that takes the property of the city or that
property’s control from the hands of its legitimate local governors; rather
it permits the normal recognition by the international community required
today for any lasting agreement.
9.3
“Christianity in Jerusalem” today means also the daily life of the local
Christians of Jerusalem, with all the exigencies of life: not only freedom of
worship, but dignity of life, and equal opportunities for all, to be ruled not
according to the mere weight of the number of citizens but according to the
equal right of every religion and every person to enjoy full freedom in the
Holy City. Christians do not ask for privileges, or for a special protection.
They are citizens and believers just like all other citizens. The only proper
protection for all, Jews, Moslems and Christians, will be a set of
non-discriminatory and just laws, because the nature of Jerusalem and its
divine call cannot admit discrimination or exclusivism.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Christian communities
concluded their 1994 document with these words:
"Jerusalem is a symbol and a promise of the presence of God, of
fraternity and peace for humankind, in particular for the children of Abraham:
Jews, Christians and Muslims. We call upon all parties concerned to comprehend
and accept the nature and deep significance of Jerusalem, the City of God.
None can appropriate it in exclusivist ways. We invite each party to go beyond
all exclusivist visions or actions, and without discrimination, to consider
the religious and national aspirations of others, in order to give back to
Jerusalem its true universal character and to make of the city a holy place of
reconciliation for humankind".
10.
Conclusion
Our
future as Christians in Jerusalem will depend upon our present: on how we deal
with Jerusalem, how much we accept it, and contribute to its building. It
depends upon the awareness of local Christians themselves of their call: to be
the witnesses of Jesus Christ in His land, to be Christians there, and
as such to be an integral part of their society, Palestinian, Arab and Moslem;
moreover to have a constructive and objective dialogue with Judaism and with
Israeli society as a whole. Our future depends on our readiness to respond to
this call and identity.
The
conflict will come one day to an end. But authentic Christian life will always
remain a struggle, in order to love and to build; a struggle for a constant
ecumenical spirit, for a constant constructive inter-faith dialogue, for a
constant action for justice and peace. Moreover Christians will remain a small
number, but the small number will be also true believers, for whom religion
consists of love, dialogue, sharing, building, and overcoming all kinds of
difficulties.
We
do not promise a quiet future to our faithful, but a difficult one, which
needs a clear vision of our Christian identity and a strong will, in order to
remain the living stones; to guard, with our prayers and our service to
society, the Holy Places of our blessed land, and to welcome the whole
Christian world.
+Michel Sabbah, Patriarch
London, 23.01.2001
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