Church Administration Staff The ELCJHL holds offices in the Old City of Jerusalem inside the Church of the Redeemer. This dedicated team works to organize and carry out the ELCJHL's administrative needs.   Bishop Doctor Sani Ibrahim Azar Presiding Bishop to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. email: ibrahimazar@yahoo.de Bassem Thabet Director of Operations email: bthabet@elcjhl.org   Tamara Zahran Administrative Assistant to the Bishop email: tzahran@elcjhl.org   Ranan Issa Gender Justice Program Manager email: elcjhlwomensdesk@gmai...

A Brief History Compared with other churches in the Middle East, the history of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan & the Holy Land (ELCJHL) is very recent, but still rich in the culture and traditions of Palestine. The ELCJHL traces its origins to the middle of the 19th century, when German and English Evangelical Protestant Christians came to Palestine to support the Christian minority in the area through diaconal and mission work. They channeled their many activities through a variety of organizations and institutions. The initial phase of the Lutheran mission effort began in...

Our Mission  Vision We envision ourselves as “salt of the Earth,” as God calls us to be in the Gospel of Matthew. Just as a little bit of salt adds immense flavor to food, we center on being a positive and empowering addition to our communities. For this reason, we facilitate congregational and educational ministries to serve not only our members but the society at large. Through these ministries we work toward a future that is just, peaceful, and reflective of God’s kingdom. Calling The ELCJHL is called to serve the vulnerable in our community– regardless of...

Our Bishop: Doctor Sani Ibrahim Charlie Azar Bishop Sani Ibrahim Charlie Azar was born June 22, 1961 in Lebanon. Bishop Azar is a product of the Evangelical Lutheran Schools in Palestine, graduating from the Evangelical Lutheran School of Bethlehem in 1979. He earned his theology degree from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany in 1987. He was ordained on March 25, 1988 and served as pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City of Jerusalem for 30 years. He was elected Bishop in January 2017. In 2023, Bishop Azar was awarded a Doctorate of Divinity ho...