Christians in the Holy Land
Among Christians in the Holy Land is meant mainly indigenous Christians , in Israel or the Palestinian territories live. They represent a minority within the Jewish and Muslim dominated population of this region and, according to the language, usually belong to the Arabs , even if they have an Israeli passport. Cities such as Bethlehem , Nazareth or the Christian Quarter and the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem's old town were mostly inhabited or shaped by Christians until the recent past. The increasing violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict , however, has led to increased emigration abroad since the 1990s.
According to official data, Israel (including Jerusalem) had 148,000 Christians in 2006, 120,000 of whom were Arabic as their mother tongue, 2.1% of the population of Israel. The following are named for Jerusalem: 732,000 inhabitants, including 469,000 Jews (64%), 239,000 Muslims (32%) and 14,700 Christians (2%).
Due to the importance of the region for the origin of Christianity, almost all Christian churches and denominations are represented in the Holy Land . The term “Christians in the Holy Land” therefore also includes all Christians from abroad who have settled there for religious reasons. Many of the most important places of origin of Christianity are in the Palestinian Territories. In today's Nablus, formerly Shechem, in the northern West Bank, Abraham, the progenitor of all three monotheistic world religions, according to tradition, appeared to God and promised Abraham's descendants the land. Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem and his Church of the Holy Sepulcher is located in the old city of Israel-occupied East Jerusalem. Even Gaza is mentioned in the Old Testament as the place of captivity and death of the Jewish hero Samson.
Christians in public functions
In the Israeli parliament there is usually a Christian Arab.
In the Palestinian Territories, a presidential decree of 2001 requires that the heads of ten local councils be Christian. This decree may apply a. for Bethlehem, Ramallah, Birzeit and Taybeh. Some of these communities have a (clear) Muslim majority. A 2005 decree states that at least six seats in Parliament (Palestinian Legislative Council) must be given to Christians. However, it can be assumed that these edicts are not solely responsible for the political influence of Christians. At the Sixth General Congress of Fatah in Bethlehem in August 2009, five of the 80 elected members of the Revolutionary Council were Christians. This means that they are disproportionately represented in this influential body, measured against the proportion of the population.
List of Christian communities
Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches
- Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
- Russian Orthodox Church (since 1858, an archimandrite)
- Romanian Orthodox Church (since 1935, an Archimandrite)
- Patriarchate of Jerusalem of the Armenian Apostolic Church
- Syrian Orthodox Church (one archbishop)
- Coptic Church (since the 13th century, an archbishop)
- Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Catholic churches
- Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (Roman Catholicism) with the Custody of the Holy Land
- Melkite Greek Catholic Church
- Maronite Church
- Armenian Catholic Church
- Syrian Catholic Church
- Chaldean Catholic Church
Other churches
- Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land
- Presbyterian Church of Scotland
- Baptists
- other Protestant churches
Other groups
Well-known Christians in the Holy Land
- Hanān 'Ashrāwī (* 1946), Palestinian politician and scientist
- Azmi Bishara (* 1956), member of the Knesset for the Balad (Israel) (1996–2007), candidate for prime minister
- Khouloud Daibes abu Dayyeh (* 1966), Minister
- George Habasch (1926–2008), Palestinian politician
- Clara Khoury (* 1976), actress
- Issam Makhoul (* 1952), General Secretary of the Communist Party of Israel
- Munib Younan (* 1950), Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and President of the Lutheran World Federation
literature
- Friedrich Heyer: 2000 years of church history in the Holy Land: martyrs, monks, church fathers, crusaders, patriarchs, excavators and pilgrims (studies on oriental church history 11). LIT, Münster / Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-8258-4955-4 .
- Kirsten Stoffregen Pedersen: The Holy Land Christians. Jerusalem 2003.
- Anthony O'Mahony (Ed.): The Christian Communities of Jerusalem and the Holy Land: Studies in History, Religion and Politics . University of Wales Press, 2003, ISBN 0-7083-1772-3 .
Web links
- Christian Information Center in Jerusalem
- ATS - Pro Terra Sancta, Franciscan relief organization for Christians in the Holy Land (Engl.)
- HCEF (engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Felix Dane, Jörg Knocha, "Role and Influence of Christians in the Palestinian Territories", in: KAS-Auslandsinformationen, 2010, No. 12, pp. 56–75, http://www.kas.de/wf/doc /kas_21240-1522-1-30.pdf?101124163301
- ↑ Felix Dane, Jörg Knocha, "Role and Influence of Christians in the Palestinian Territories", in: KAS-Auslandsinformationen, 2010, No. 12, pp. 56–75, http://www.kas.de/wf/doc /kas_21240-1522-1-30.pdf?101124163301