Since its foundation in 1992, the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land (ACOHL) has brought together the Bishops/Eparchs/Exarchs of the Catholic Church holding jurisdiction over the territory of the Holy Land: Jerusalem, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus.

Catholic Ordinaries belong to:

• The Latin Church,
• The Greek Melkite Catholic Church,
• The Maronite Church,
• The Armenian Catholic Church,
• The Syriac Catholic Church
• The Chaldean Catholic Church

Its statutes, approved ad experimentum by Pope John Paul II on January 1992, then finally on November 2016 by the Congregation for Oriental Churches, make it an Ecclesiastical Legal Personality.

It is statutorily chaired by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Vice-president is elected by the Assembly for a period of 3 years renewable.

At present, the Assembly is composed of 27 members: of which 5 residential Ordinaries, 3 Exarchs, 8 Patriarch Vicars, 8 Bishops emeriti, 3 representatives of the Custody of the Holy Land as well as religious men and women.

The Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land meets twice a year in a plenary ordinary meeting or in an extraordinary regional meeting if necessary.

The purpose of the ACOHL is to:

• Deepen the communion between Catholic Churches
• Promote coordination in pastoral work
• Support common initiatives
• Promote the good of religion
• Observe ecclesiastical discipline

A Statement is published and the end of each meeting. All ACOHL statements are available here.

An integral part of the ACOHL, the Justice & Peace Commission is chaired by Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah. It aims to contribute to the Church's reflection on the situation in the Holy Land. You can consult its work here.

Contact details : 

• Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center
• P.O.B. 20531 - 9120402
• JERUSALEM
• Tel (02) 628 85 54 - Fax (02) 628 85 55
• [email protected]
• Website: https://aocts.org/