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HOLY LAND'S CHRISTIANS FORM A 'MOSAIC' OF COMMUNITIES; CELEBRATE A MASS IN MANGER SQUARE NEXT TO THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY IN BETHLEHEM
CrossMap
May 29 2014
By Pat McCarthy and Dan Wooding/ Assist News On May 29, 2014
A snapshot of the Christian population of the Holy Land was recently
published in the lead-up to the May 24-26, 2014, visit by Pope Francis
to Jordan, the West Bank, where he prayed and touched the wall that
divides Israel from the West Bank, on his way to celebrate a mass
in Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem,
and then onto Israel, his final stop.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the pope that barriers were
erected to protect civilians, and at the Israeli leader's request,
Francis made an unscheduled stop at a memorial for terror victims
during an already packed itinerary.
"We don't teach our children to plant bombs," Netanyahu said, standing
alongside the pope at the memorial. "We teach them peace. But we have
to build a wall against those who teach the other side."
For his part, Francis offered symbolic gestures to both sides of the
Palestinian/Israel divide. The pope entered the West Bank directly from
Jordan rather than stopping first in Israel as previous popes had done,
and he referred to the "state of Palestine" in a speech in Bethlehem.
So, in view of his high profile visit, it is fascinating to
note that Christians in the Holy land constitute a mosaic of
communities, according the official website for the papal visit
(popefrancisholyland2014.lpj.org).
It says the local, rooted Christians of the Holy Land are for the
most part Arabic-speaking and live integrated within Palestinian and
Jordanian Arab society.
However, an increasing number of Christians of diverse origins also
live within Jewish Israeli, Hebrew-speaking society.
An important group of Christians are long-term resident expatriates,
many of whom serve in Church structures, religious orders, and
institutions.
Then there is a large number of Christians who have come to the
Holy Land as migrants - those seeking work, predominantly from Asia,
and asylum seekers, predominantly from Africa. And there is a large
number of Christians among the Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan.
There are 13 official Churches in the Holy Land that meet together
regularly in order to coordinate their efforts in favor of the
Christians of the Holy Land.
A Greek Orthodox procession in Jerusalem Messianic leader,
These are the Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian and Syrian Orthodox;
the Latin (Roman), Greek, Maronite, Syrian and Armenian Catholics,
including the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land; and the Lutherans
and Anglicans.
In addition to these, there is also a variety of Evangelical groups.
The website says Christians number between 2 and 3 per cent of the
total population of the Holy Land today - a major decrease in their
proportion of the population since 1948, when they made up more than
10 per cent.
In the state of Israel, it says, there are:
* About 120,000 to 130,000 Christian citizens who are Palestinian
Arabs.
* About 30,000 to 40,000 Christian citizens who are integrated into
the Jewish Israel Hebrew-speaking population (most of them Russian
speakers).
* About 150,000 Christian migrants (105,000 migrant workers, mostly
from the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ghana, Latin America
and Eastern Europe, and about 45,000 African asylum seekers (mostly
from Eritrea).
In the Palestinian Autonomy (and East Jerusalem) there are: * About
50,000 Christians, almost all of them Palestinian Arabs (about 38,000
in the West Bank, about 10,000 in Jerusalem and about 2000 in the
Gaza Strip).
In the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan there are: * About 250,000 Christian
citizens who are Jordanian and Palestinian Arabs.
* Tens of thousands of Christian migrant workers from Asia and Africa.
* Thousands of Christians among the refugees from Syria and Iraq.
The website says political and economic conditions have led to
large-scale emigration of Christians from the Holy Land, so that only
about 20 per cent of Christian Palestinians remain in their historic
homeland today.
It says: "Emigration continues as Christians see that the peace process
is blocked, the Israeli occupation continues, radical Islamic movements
prosper and the economic and social situation continues to worsen."
So there you have it - the Holy Land's Christians form a wonderful
"mosaic" of communities, and they all follow Jesus Christ, who walked
this earth in the areas where many of them are from today.
http://crossmap.christianpost.com/news/holy-lands-christians-form-a-mosaic-of-communities-celebrate-a-mass-in-manger-square-next-to-the-church-of-the-nativity-in-bethlehem-10616
From: A. Papazian
CrossMap
May 29 2014
By Pat McCarthy and Dan Wooding/ Assist News On May 29, 2014
A snapshot of the Christian population of the Holy Land was recently
published in the lead-up to the May 24-26, 2014, visit by Pope Francis
to Jordan, the West Bank, where he prayed and touched the wall that
divides Israel from the West Bank, on his way to celebrate a mass
in Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem,
and then onto Israel, his final stop.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the pope that barriers were
erected to protect civilians, and at the Israeli leader's request,
Francis made an unscheduled stop at a memorial for terror victims
during an already packed itinerary.
"We don't teach our children to plant bombs," Netanyahu said, standing
alongside the pope at the memorial. "We teach them peace. But we have
to build a wall against those who teach the other side."
For his part, Francis offered symbolic gestures to both sides of the
Palestinian/Israel divide. The pope entered the West Bank directly from
Jordan rather than stopping first in Israel as previous popes had done,
and he referred to the "state of Palestine" in a speech in Bethlehem.
So, in view of his high profile visit, it is fascinating to
note that Christians in the Holy land constitute a mosaic of
communities, according the official website for the papal visit
(popefrancisholyland2014.lpj.org).
It says the local, rooted Christians of the Holy Land are for the
most part Arabic-speaking and live integrated within Palestinian and
Jordanian Arab society.
However, an increasing number of Christians of diverse origins also
live within Jewish Israeli, Hebrew-speaking society.
An important group of Christians are long-term resident expatriates,
many of whom serve in Church structures, religious orders, and
institutions.
Then there is a large number of Christians who have come to the
Holy Land as migrants - those seeking work, predominantly from Asia,
and asylum seekers, predominantly from Africa. And there is a large
number of Christians among the Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan.
There are 13 official Churches in the Holy Land that meet together
regularly in order to coordinate their efforts in favor of the
Christians of the Holy Land.
A Greek Orthodox procession in Jerusalem Messianic leader,
These are the Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian and Syrian Orthodox;
the Latin (Roman), Greek, Maronite, Syrian and Armenian Catholics,
including the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land; and the Lutherans
and Anglicans.
In addition to these, there is also a variety of Evangelical groups.
The website says Christians number between 2 and 3 per cent of the
total population of the Holy Land today - a major decrease in their
proportion of the population since 1948, when they made up more than
10 per cent.
In the state of Israel, it says, there are:
* About 120,000 to 130,000 Christian citizens who are Palestinian
Arabs.
* About 30,000 to 40,000 Christian citizens who are integrated into
the Jewish Israel Hebrew-speaking population (most of them Russian
speakers).
* About 150,000 Christian migrants (105,000 migrant workers, mostly
from the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ghana, Latin America
and Eastern Europe, and about 45,000 African asylum seekers (mostly
from Eritrea).
In the Palestinian Autonomy (and East Jerusalem) there are: * About
50,000 Christians, almost all of them Palestinian Arabs (about 38,000
in the West Bank, about 10,000 in Jerusalem and about 2000 in the
Gaza Strip).
In the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan there are: * About 250,000 Christian
citizens who are Jordanian and Palestinian Arabs.
* Tens of thousands of Christian migrant workers from Asia and Africa.
* Thousands of Christians among the refugees from Syria and Iraq.
The website says political and economic conditions have led to
large-scale emigration of Christians from the Holy Land, so that only
about 20 per cent of Christian Palestinians remain in their historic
homeland today.
It says: "Emigration continues as Christians see that the peace process
is blocked, the Israeli occupation continues, radical Islamic movements
prosper and the economic and social situation continues to worsen."
So there you have it - the Holy Land's Christians form a wonderful
"mosaic" of communities, and they all follow Jesus Christ, who walked
this earth in the areas where many of them are from today.
http://crossmap.christianpost.com/news/holy-lands-christians-form-a-mosaic-of-communities-celebrate-a-mass-in-manger-square-next-to-the-church-of-the-nativity-in-bethlehem-10616
From: A. Papazian