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TO BE PUBLISHED IN POPOLI, AN ITALIAN-LANGUAGE JOURNAL

(Forthcoming)

The People and the Churches

          The Christians of the Holy Land are a colorful microcosm of the ancient churches of the Middle East. There are Greek and Syrian Orthodox, Melkite and Latin Catholics, Armenians, Maronites, Copts, Ethiopians and Chaldeans, and smaller groups of Anglicans, Lutherans and Evangelicals. There is even a  gathering  of Hebrew-speaking Catholics, the Community of Saint James, consisting mostly of French expatriate converts from Judaism.

It is hard to get precise figures on the numbers of Christians. In the four  jurisdictions that make up the Holy Land, Jordan, Israel, Palestine and Jerusalem, they number approximately 300,000. Slightly more than half are said to be Orthodox. The next largest group consists of Catholics, mostly Latins and Melkites. Since the first Palestinian Intifada (Uprising) in 1987, the patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem have issued periodic statements on public issues facing their people. The heads are thirteen altogether, the Greek, Latin and Armenian patriarchs and ten other church leaders, including the Anglican and Lutheran bishops, but not Evangelical leaders.

These ancient churches, especially the Orthodox and the (Latin) Catholics, are guardians of the Holy Places.  In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre/Resurrection and the Church of the Nativity, the Orthodox share jurisdiction with the Franciscans and with other oriental churches under complicated arrangements set out in a 19^th century Ottoman law known as The Status Quo. The churches jealously guard their prerogatives, and from time to time the joint jurisdiction sparks disputes. The Orthodox Holy Fire ceremony on Holy Saturday has been the occasion in recent years for clashes between Greeks and Syrians, and a  Syrian chapel in the Holy Sepulchre destroyed by fire decades ago has yet to be restored for lack of Greek agreement.

The Challenges 

Unresolved Conflict.  The Israeli-Palestinian conflict pervades every other aspect of life in the Holy Land. The current phase of the struggle has put the churches under extreme pressure. Most of the Christian faithful regard themselves as Palestinians, and whether they live in Israel or Palestine, they are affected by the struggle. In Israel, for example, some 70 % of Christians are dependent on the pilgrimage trade for their livelihood. When the number of pilgrimages plummets because of fears over the conflict, unemployment and underemployment rise. In the Palestinian areas like Bethlehem, the economic impact is  even worse due to border closings, checkpoints, and advice from Israeli tour companies to pilgrims against entering the territories. 

          The Al Aqsa Intifada (2000) seriously affected the Christians in Bethlehem and the neighboring towns of Beit Sahur and Beit Jala.  The outlying districts became battlegrounds between roving Muslim militias and the Israeli Defense Force. Heavy Israeli incursions disrupted commerce and destroyed much of the infrastructure newly renovated for the Great Jubilee.  Successive Israeli security measures, including the Security Barrier or Wall separating Israel from the West Bank, have resulted in the confiscation of Palestinian land, particularly in Christian neighborhoods. 

          In addition, in the chaos of the armed uprising, Christians town-dwellers suffered from the collapse of law and order. Gangs and militias were indistinguishable, and crime was rampant. As relatively well-to-do town dwellers, Christians were subject to extortion, kidnaping, robbery and murder. The same kind of lawlessness could be found in Muslim-on-Muslim crime in Jenin and Nablus, but because the victims in Bethlehem were Christians, the offenses there were often put down to religious persecution. 

          Islamic Fundamentalism.The rise of Islamic fundamentalism is a second threat to Christians in the region. For the short run, it has strengthened the church in Jordan, prompting Christians to improve their knowledge of the faith and, with the encouragement of the royal government, to strengthen their institutions and ties to the world church.  

          In the Palestinian Territories, Islamic militancy has been a growing challenge. Contrary to some reports, the Palestinian Authority has not been responsible for persecution of Christians or the failure to protect them.  The Authority has tried to protect Christians, but the influx of devout and militant  Muslims from the countryside into the towns and cities has led to unofficial harassment and discrimination on the local level.  

          The situation has been aggravated since 2000  by the new stage of Palestinian resistance  and recently by the election of the Islamist Hamas movement to control of the PA. Fears have grown that Christians will be compelled to adhere to Muslim customs, like the headscarf for woman and the prohibition of alcohol.  Hamas authorities, however,  have assured leaders of the Christian churches that they will not discriminate against Christians. 

          The situation is also complex in Israel. In a number of situations, the police have failed to provide Christians protection against Jewish, Muslim and Druze rioters.  In the case of the disputed Shehab al-Din Mosque adjacent to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Israeli politicians, elected leaders and security officials colluded for years with the militant northern wing of the Islamic Movement before the project was stopped.   

          Status of the Churches.  Finally, the legal status of the Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches in Israel has been put in question.  After the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church deposed Irenaios I as patriarch for allegedly secretly selling property to Israeli interests, the government refused to acknowledge the deposition and the election of a new patriarch.  As a result, the new patriarch, Theophilus III, is unable to take legal action on behalf of the church. 

          Meanwhile, after signing a treaty with the Vatican in 1993, the Israeli government has affirmed in court that the treaty, known as the “Fundamental Agreement,”  is not legally binding in Israel because no enabling legislation has ever been passed. This de facto renunciation of the treaty has already hampered  negotiations between the church and the government, and it places in jeopardy the Vatican’s plans of stabilizing the situation of Catholic rights and interests in the Jewish state.  

          Following the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Vatican had hoped that the future of Christianity in the Middle East could be constructed on the fundamental right to religious freedom of individual believers. As the overall situation of Christians has deteriorated, however the faithful have come to depend, as in the past, on the official church for support.  As legal uncertainty clouds the future of the institutional church, the prospects for Holy Land Christians seem clouded too. 

Drew Christiansen, S.  J.  is editor in chief of America, a U. S. Jesuit weekly.  For 14 years, he advised the U.  S.  bishops on Middle East policy.