February 22nd was a historic night here in the Holy Land. Dayroyo Boulus Khano, a monk at the St. Mark’s Syriac Orthodox Monastery in Jerusalem and an important friend to the ELCJHL, has launched his four gospels handwritten in ancient Syriac Aramaic. Dayroyo Boulus has studied this language since the young age of twelve, when … [Read more…]
This past Friday, leaders and representatives from each Christian church in the Bethlehem area congregated as one Christian community to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season. The ELCJHL was represented by bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar, Reverend Doctor Munther Isaac, and Reverend Ashraf Tannous. Attendees sang together, and enjoyed music by a local youth music … [Read more…]
Jerusalem, 13 January 2018 – The day after the consecration of The Rev. Sani Ibrahim Azar as the fourth Palestinian Bishop of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), Bishop Azar addressed the international partner churches in attendance for the installation. The international partners of the ELCJHL include organizations, churches and … [Read more…]
Tokyo, 27 July 2017 – In a ceremony among his professional peers, long-time friends, and his supportive wife, The Right Rev. Dr. Bishop Munib Younan receives the Niwano Peace Prize today for his work toward interreligious dialogue among Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Jerusalem and worldwide. Bishop Younan is the 34th recipient of the distinguished … [Read more…]
“The US Administration’s Special Envoy for International Negotiations Visits With Holy Land Religious Leaders” First published in The Times of Israel by Raphael Ahren Tel Aviv, 16 March 2017 – Jason Greenblatt, the US administration’s Special Envoy for International Negotiations, on Thursday met with senior Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders in Jerusalem, reportedly calling the meeting “the … [Read more…]
French President, François Hollande, met with Christian leaders in Jerusalem on Monday, November 18th, at St. Ann’s Church in the Old City of Jerusalem to discuss the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the issues surrounding Jerusalem. Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos, Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal, and Archbishop Youssef Jules El Zereyi of the Greek Catholic Patriarchate, … [Read more…]
By Bishop Munib Younan In I John 4:20-21, it is written, “Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: … [Read more…]
JERUSALEM, 3rd June, 2013 – During the month of May an unprecedented number of sites holy to all three religions have been attacked, some repeatedly. Synagogues in Bat Yam and Haifa, a mosque in Umm Al-Qutuf, graves in As-Sawiya, and the Church of the Dormition on Mount Zion have all been desecrated with offensive graffiti. The … [Read more…]
Vice President Joe Biden meets with the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, February 28, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann) WASHINGTON D.C./JERUSALEM, 8 March 2012 (Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land)– On a visit to Washington, representatives of the Council … [Read more…]