THE Archbishop in Jerusalem, Dr Hosam Naoum, pleaded with the Church of England to stand with his “wounded” Church as it withstood violence, bombing, and threats of “ethnic cleansing”, in an address on Tuesday morning.
Dr Naoum told members that he was grateful for the C of E’s support, which he felt as a “true witness of God’s love”. Indeed, he saw so many friends here that the Synod was beginning to feel like a “second home”. He also praised the many bishops who had visited Jerusalem in the past few years.
He thanked the House of Bishops for its recent statements and for “taking our story as Christians in the Middle East” very seriously. He specifically thanked the four bishops had written in recent days to The Guardian about attacks by Israeli extremist settlers on Palestinian Christians in the West Bank.
Dr Naoum said that his diocese, which stretched across five nations, aimed to offer the love of Christ in deeds of hospitality and hope. In particular, he mentioned the Al-Ahli Hospital, in Gaza, which has been attacked six times during the war, including being bombed on Palm Sunday.
“Despite these incredible hardships, which have included unjust detention of some of our staff and destruction of their homes, the hospital has shown remarkable resilience as we commit to our healing ministry within Gaza,” he said.
He called for a permanent ceasefire to end the war, with no ethnic cleansing, as was being discussed by the Israeli and US governments. He condemned vandalism of Christian holy places and attacks on clergy in Jerusalem by fringe Jewish extremists. Food distribution in Gaza now looked most like a horrifying “hunger games”, Dr Naoum said, and medical and humanitarian supplies were minimal. Until the war ended, “every other part of our lives are our ministries are covered with the shroud of death”.
“What does it mean to be a Church in a time of war?” was the pressing question for Palestinian Christians, he said. “We are battered and bruised, but we are not defeated.”
His Church was committed to peacebuilding and reconciliation, even though both sides refused to listen to this message of peace. The Church must be a source of hope for those it served, “especially in hopeless situations”, but it must also be “prophetic”. And, in this task, the “wounded” Palestinian Church needed the wider body of Christ.
The two-state solution remained the only way forward for a durable peace in the Holy Land, he said. To that end, all should work towards the recognition of a Palestinian state. “God’s presence, even in the time of war, is always praised.”
Dr Naoum a long standing ovation, after which he presented the Archbishop of York with a “symbolic gift” from his diocese. Archbishop Cottrell then led the Synod in praying for Archbishop Naoum: “We pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and thank God for the ministry of our dear brother Hosam. We cry out to you for peace and justice in Israel, Palestine and Gaza.”
OTHER guests put an emphasis on mutuality and collegiality in their addresses to the General Synod.
“Here we are discussing the very similar issues and challenges that our Church faces in the present age — mental health, poverty, economy, financial and legislative matters,” the Archbishop of Hong Kong, the Most Revd Andrew Chan, said. “We remember and cherish our [Anglican] roots in our daily worship, celebrating in our fellowship, brotherhood, and sisterhood with the Church of England, even as we pray eight time zones away.”
He said of his country: “Even though we are politically stable under the one-country, two-system, framework, with no big unrest sweeping our government and our streets, we are seeing the worrying trend of economic downturn. Expenses are rising, and decades-old shops and restaurants are closing every other week due to increasing rents. . .
“But if there’s one thing [our] people are known for, it is our resilience. Events show we have recovered from the worst in our history and even flourished, despite times of difficulty in the past. We are confident that we will overcome these challenges, and the Province of Hong Kong will continue to serve the people of Hong Kong and Macau through our extensive ministry, impartial care, education, social service, and medical care. With faith, hope, and love we believe that nothing is impossible.”
Canon Chuck Robertson, senior adviser to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States, spoke of the importance of governance and administration. Quoting the Presiding Bishop, Dr Sean Rowe, he said: “Our structures, our budgets, our relationships will only matter if we do it for the sake of the gospel. . . How we interact with one another when we gather is also absolutely crucial.”
He continued: “Instead of showing a different way, all too often I notice that we churchgoers often mirror what we see around us. I often remind people who are surprised by what they describe as Christian behaviour that our track record in the Church through the centuries has not always been exemplary. Crusades, inquisitions, pogroms, religious wars, vicious gossip . . .— no, not exemplary at all.”
Canon Robertson also quoted the former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry: “‘If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.’ . . . So, the work you do here this week matters, as does the work of [all the Churches of the Anglican Communion] and all our ecumenical partners. The work we do in this world matters — how we do it as much as why we do it. The way of love which we proclaim, and by God’s grace actually practise, is desperately needed in this present age.”
Sam Atkins/Church TimesThe Bishop of Tunsberg in Norway, the Rt Revd Jan Otto Myrseth, brought greetings from the Porvoo Communion, on Sunday
The Bishop of Tunsberg, in Norway, the Rt Revd Jan Otto Myrseth, brought greetings from the Porvoo Communion: an agreement, he said, that “has not only brought our [Anglican and Lutheran] Churches closer together in shared ministry, but has also shaped our self-understanding as part of a wider fellowship of Churches rooted in the gospel and called to mutual accountability and hope. . . As such, we cannot turn away from suffering and injustice. Indifference is not an option.”
The Archbishop of York’s visit to the ecumenical celebrations last year had reminded the Porvoo Churches of the “deepest historical and spiritual ties” with the Anglican Communion, he said. A joint delegation of English and Norwegian bishops had visited Iraq in February to “explore ways to contribute to peacebuilding, religious tolerance, and humanitarian engagement, in a region where Christians, other religious minorities, and the wider population have faced considerable challenges due to conflict, displacement, and political instability.
“The sad thing is that yesterday’s conflict zones are so quickly forgotten in the shadow of the recent ones. Even though Norway is ranked among the best countries to live in, more people than ever struggle with loneliness, mental health, and fractured relations. We see many signs of spiritual hunger. Young people, in particular, are longing for something beyond ideology, something deeper and more enduring than everyday satisfactions.”
He concluded: “Our communion is the precious reminder that no Church walks alone. The body of Christ is one, and the Spirit of God is still at work among us.”
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