25.07.2025

Voices from the Land of the Holy One – Gathering Perspectives of Christian Leaders

In the wake of the attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza on July 17 and intense pressure being put on Christians in the West Bank, Christians around the world are being urged by their brothers and sisters in the Land of the Holy One to raise their voices and raise awareness. Here we gather some voices of church leaders in Jerusalem, including from our partners in the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem. The Archbishop of Dublin has written an introduction calling us all to pray for a ceasefire so that care for all the people of the region can start.

Praying for ‘Startcare’ …

Over many years, we in Dublin and Glendalough have had a relationship of friendship and reciprocation with The Diocese of Jerusalem and The Middle East. Every part of that diocese is now in a theatre of war. We care for, we pray for and we seek to support everyone who suffers throughout the region; we continue to pray for the release of all hostages. We have witnessed unimaginable sacrifice, immeasurable solidarity, unbearable suffering and now widespread starvation. We have also witnessed betrayal, abandonment, numbness and hopelessness at home and abroad. We have documented and analyzed the political tangle, the military devastation and the national idealism that have fed these conflicts. All of this has left everyone looking at a brick wall of bloodied humanity. It is important that we do not turn our faces away and let our hearts be turned to flint, thereby normalizing warfare and its horrific consequences.

There can be no startcare without ceasefire. Once again, I invite people to pray for an immediate ceasefire and in this I stand in solidarity with everyone of all Christian persuasions who are Heads of Churches in Jerusalem in The Land of The Holy One. Where are we, who are beneficiaries of the earliest response to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in that treasured region, without the living stones? My invitation is not confined to the Christian population, including all members of the Anglican Diocese whom I love dearly and at this stage know well, but extends to everyone in Israel and Palestine. Those who speak from the ground up and out in Jerusalem urge us not to forget all Palestinians who suffer. To this I add all the citizens of The State of Israel because the present, as currently experienced, is not a future. Across the world of today, countries with divided and fractured heritage do not flourish as they might, were they to listen and care together about a shared humanity and a shared ecology. Time is always shortening. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are time–honoured ways of centring before God our concerns and our compassion for those in need right across religious traditions. They are practised regularly in the three Faith Traditions whom everyone worldwide associates with this region, Jews, Christians and Muslims.   

Cardinal Pizzaballa, on his recent return from Gaza, spoke of seeing mothers preparing food for others – altruism; he spoke of seeing nurses treating wounds with gentleness – altruism; he spoke of people of all faiths still praying to the God who sees and never forgets – altruism. And then, with utter devastation, he speaks of people themselves seeing no horizon for a return. A landscape without an horizon is no longer a landscape. The redemption of memory in the present time is the calling of international and local leaders to sobriety and action.

In our own nationwide programme of awareness raising and fund raising for a particular hospital, The Al Ahli Arab Hospital, we adopted as our strapline some words from St John 1.5: The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has never mastered it. The failure of darkness to master the Middle East continues to be our hope and our prayer today. I commend to your perusal the enclosed collage of perspectives which Lynn has kindly gathered. It comes as our response to a call from Christians in the region to others to amplify what they are saying. We need to move rapidly from warfare to ceasefire and then to startcare. We thank you for your generosity up until now. We need you to use every honourable means to enable this to begin in order to salvage and populate a landscape for all where human needs for survival are met equally.

The psalmist encourages us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Let us now turn our hearts to pray not only for the peace of Jerusalem but for all of The Middle East and its people affected by war, famine and despair.

 

Attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza – ‘A violation of international Law and an affront to human dignity’

Statement from the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem

The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem issued a statement on July 18 following the attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza.

They expressed their profound solidarity with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the people sheltering in Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, “as we bear witness to the heinous attack by the Israeli Army on the church compound there on Thursday morning, July 17, 2025. This attack not only caused damage to the Church complex, but also left three dead and 10 wounded—with even the parish priest, Fr Gabriel Romanelli, being among the injured.

“In unyielding unity, we strongly denounce this crime. Houses of worship are sacred spaces that should be kept safe. They are also protected under international law. Targeting a church that houses approximately 600 refugees, including children with special needs, is a violation of these laws. It is also an affront to human dignity, a trampling upon the sanctity of human life, and the desecration of a holy site.

“We, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, call upon world leaders and United Nations agencies to work towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza that leads to an end of this war. We also implore them to guarantee the protection of all religious and humanitarian sites, and to provide for the relief of the starving masses throughout the Gaza Strip.

“Our prayers and support remain steadfast, calling for justice, peace, and the cessation of the suffering that has descended upon the people of Gaza.”

You can read the statement in full here: 

https://www.lpj.org/en/news/statement-on-the-attack-on-holy-family-catholic-church-in-gaza

‘The Church’s Work Among the Wounded, Bereaved and Displaced’

Visit of Patriarch Theophilos III and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa to Gaza

Patriarch Theophilos III and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa visited Gaza the day after the attack (July 18).

In a statement on their pastoral and humanitarian visit, during which they were accompanied by a delegation of Christians, they noted that the Church’s humanitarian presence amid catastrophe is a sacred duty. They also noted that the attack on the Holy Family Church occurred less than 48 hours after the Patriarchs and other high level church leaders visited the Christian town of Taybeh in the West Bank.

His Beatitude Theophilos III reaffirmed that the Orthodox Church, compelled by its unshakable faith, remains steadfast in its sacred mission to be present, spiritually and humanely, in times of war. Such presence, he said, is a religious and moral obligation that will not be abandoned.

The Church’s work among the wounded, the bereaved, and the displaced is a direct continuation of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, who calls us to mercy, accompaniment, and service to all people without discrimination.

As His Beatitude declared: “Where suffering abounds, so too must our responsibility. We do not come from afar; we are of this land, of its sorrows, of its people, and of its perseverance. The Church is here to accompany, to heal, and to rekindle hope in hearts crushed beneath the weight of this ongoing devastating atrocity.”

You can read the statement in full here: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/announcements/patriarch-theophilos-iii-and-cardinal-pierbattista-pizzaballa-in-gaza-the-churchs-humanitarian-presence-amid-catastrophe-is-a-sacred-duty/ 

‘Christ is not absent from Gaza’

 

Press Conference on Visit to Gaza with His Beatitude Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa Patriarch of Jerusalem

 

On Tuesday July 22 The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem held a joint press conference following their visit to Gaza.

In his opening statement Cardinal Pizzaballa said he and Patriarch Theophilos III had returned from Gaza with broken hearts. But they were also encouraged by the testimony of many people they met.

He said: “We entered a place of devastation, but also of wonderful humanity. We walked through the dust of ruins, past collapsed buildings and tents everywhere: in courtyards, alleyways, on the streets and on the beach — tents that have become homes for those who have lost everything.

“We stood among families who have lost count of the days of exile because they see no horizon for a return. Children talked and played without batting an eyelid —they were already used to the noise of the bombing.

“And yet, in the midst of all this, we encountered something deeper than the destruction: the dignity of the human spirit that refuses to be extinguished. We met mothers preparing food for others, nurses treating wounds with gentleness, and people of all faiths still praying to the God who sees and never forgets.

“Christ is not absent from Gaza. He is there — crucified in the wounded, buried under rubble and yet present in every act of mercy, every candle in the darkness, every hand extended to the suffering.”

He pointed out that they were not politicians or diplomats but pastors. He emphasised that their mission was not for a specific group but for all. “Our hospitals, shelters, schools, parishes — St. Porphyrius, the Holy Family, the Al–Ahli Arab Hospital, Caritas — are places of encounter and sharing for all: Christians, Muslims, believers, doubters, refugees, children. Humanitarian aid is not only necessary — it is a matter of life and death. Refusing it is not a delay, but a sentence. Every hour without food, water, medicine and shelter causes deep harm,” the Cardinal stated.

In appeal to leaders of the region and the world he said: “there can be no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians or revenge. There must be a way that restores life, dignity and all lost humanity”.

You can read the statement in full and watch a video from their visit to Gaza here: https://lpj.org/…/press-conference-on-the-patriarchs…

You can read about their visit here: https://lpj.org/en/news/patriarchs-of-jerusalem-in-a-solidarity-visit-cardinal-pierbattista

 

‘We are not strangers because we belong to the land’

 

Patriarchs and Heads of Churches Solidarity Visit to Taybeh in the West Bank

Meanwhile in the West Bank, Palestinian Christians find themselves under intense pressure. Taybeh is the last remaining all–Christian town in the West Bank. On Monday July 7 settlers set fire to the cemetery and the Church of St George which dates back to the 5th century.

The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches and members of the clergy visited Taybeh in solidarity with the local community following an intensifying trend of systemic and targeted attacks against them and their presence. They asked for the prayers, attention, and action of the world, particularly that of Christians globally.

“These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community first and foremost, but also to the historic and religious heritage of our ancestors and holy sites. In the face of such threats, the greatest act of bravery is to continue to call this your home. We stand with you, we support your resilience, and you have our prayers,” they told the residents.

You can read their account of the visit here: https://lpj.org/en/news/statement-of-the-patriarchs-and-heads-of-the-churches-in-jerusalem-dur

Our partners in the Dioceses of Jerusalem were represented by the Dean of St George’s College, Jerusalem, Dean Richard Sewell; Fr Fadi Diab, Rector of St Andrew’s Church in Ramallah; and Canon Wadie Far, Pastor to the Arabic–speaking congregation at St George’s Cathedral and Vicar of St Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Writing on social media (and quoted with permission), Dean Sewell said: “Abuna Bashar Fawadleh, the priest of Taybeh Catholic Church spoke powerfully about the grave dangers they are facing and the very real fear because, without intervention, it will simply get worse. He said: ‘We are surrounded by iron gates which fence us in. We are treated as if we were strangers here. But we are not strangers because we belong to the land.’

“The bitter appeal for support is well described in the statement from the Heads of Churches. In truth, the most serious complaint is that this, along with hundreds of other incidents of settler attacks, simply are not dealt with as crimes by the state of Israel and so they go unchecked. It gives every impression that the settlers have the approval of Israel’s governments and they are effectively acting on their behalf. This should be treated with the utmost importance by Israel’s friends and allies.”

Dean Sewell continued: “We prayed together in the ruined ancient church and we were reminded of St Paul’s advice to the Romans, ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’ It should be noted that the people of Taybeh cannot do this alone.

“Also present at the event were representatives of the nearby village of Kafr Malak where settlers recently murdered three villagers. So far no action has been taken against the perpetrators. Whilst in the case of Taybeh, the Christian village named in the Bible as Ephraim (John 11:54) we are highlighting the vulnerability of Christians, this threat is to all Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank. Will the cry be heard and acted upon? Or will the alleged ‘moral complexity’ of it all make it easy to utter a few supportive words and do nothing?”