Anglican Church names new Bishop for Jerusalem

From Jerusalem-

Michael Augustine Owen Lewis, diocesan bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf has been named as the new president bishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

Archbishop Michael, as he will be known henceforth, succeeds the Most Reverend Suheil Dawani. 

Michael will take up his duties on Sunday 17 November 2019, according to a statement by provincial secretary, Georgia Katsantonis.

Lewis has held the position of diocesan bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf for the past twelve years.
Prior to that he was for eight years Bishop of Middleton in the Province of York in the United Kingdom.

More here-

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2019/11/11/anglican-church-names-new-bishop-for-jerusalem/

US church leaders urge President to restore vital funding to East Jerusalem hospitals

From Lutheran World-

Leaders of Lutheran, Catholic and Episcopal (Anglican) churches in the United States have jointly called on the US President to restore vital funding for four church-associated medical institutions in East Jerusalem. By halting this humanitarian assistance “lives are being threatened unnecessarily,” they say in a joint statement issued today.

The five church leaders, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry (The Episcopal Church), Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops), Bishop William O. Gafkjen (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), and Bishop Joseph C. Bambera (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) say restoring the vital financial support “is a morally correct thing to do” so that patients can “continue to receive the treatment and care they need.”

One of the affected institutions is Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH), which is run by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF). For decades, AVH, St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital and Princess Basma Rehabilitation Centre (Anglican /Episcopal), and St. Joseph’s Hospital (Catholic) had been assured of US humanitarian assistance. Recently, President Donald Trump’s administration decided to discontinue such support as part of a wider move to curtail funding towards Palestinians.

More here-

https://www.lutheranworld.org/news/us-church-leaders-urge-president-restore-vital-funding-east-jerusalem-hospitals

What’s Happening In Israel Isn’t About Jesus

From Progressive Christian-

When American Televangelists like John Hagee and Robert Jeffress stand in Jerusalem and proclaim that Biblical prophecy is being fulfilled, it’s important to realize that there is no such Biblical prophecy being fulfilled.
 
None.

Every Old Testament prophecy about Israel returning to the land was fulfilled.

The final prophecy about the fate of Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem was spoken by Jesus and fulfilled in AD 70. There were no prophecies made after that time about any restoration of Jerusalem or rebuilding of the Temple.

On the contrary, there were dozens of prophecies and statements in the New Testament by Jesus and the Apostles about the new Temple of God being fulfilled in Christ, and subsequently by those who are in Christ.

The new Temple of God is us.

More here-

 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/keithgiles/2018/05/whats-happening-in-israel-isnt-about-jesus/#qdjwbyxFgmJ1dIwH.01

For many evangelicals, Jerusalem is about prophecy, not politics

From CNN-

As I watched Donald Trump announce that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move our embassy to that city, I could only think of one thing: my high school youth group Bible study.

I know that sounds odd. Especially coming from a liberal Episcopalian like me. But there you have it. The President makes a world-important declaration about global politics, and an absurdly apocalyptic thought arises, "Jerusalem? The Last Days must be at hand!" 

 

When I was a teenager in the 1970s, I attended a "Bible church," a nondenominational congregation that prided itself on a singular devotion to scripture. We read the Bible all the time: in personal Bible study and evening Bible classes. We listened to hourlong Sunday morning sermons. For us, the Bible was not just a guide to piety. It also revealed God's plan for history. Through it, we learned how God had worked in the past and what God would do in the future. 

 

More here-

 

https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/08/opinions/jerusalem-israel-evangelicals-end-times-butler-bass-opinion/index.html

Bishop of US-based Episcopal Church installed as Canon of St George’s, Jerusalem

From La Croix-

In a sign of Christian unity, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States has taken residence as a canon of St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem, anglicannews.org reports. 

The presiding Bishop of the US-based Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, was officially installed in his new role during an Evensong service on Palm Sunday.The dean of St. George’s, the Very Rev Hosam Naoum, welcomed the arrival of the episcopal canon at the cathedral, which was established in 1899 and offers education for clergy from around the world.

“The cathedral here becomes a sign for unity in the Anglican Communion, despite all of our differences,” he said. “That is the message that comes out from Jerusalem to the whole worldwide church.”

More here-

https://international.la-croix.com/news/bishop-of-us-based-episcopal-church-installed-as-canon-of-st-george-s-jerusalem/7248

CHURCH OF HOLY SEPULCHRE REOPENS AFTER DECISION TO HALT TAX COLLECTION

From The Jerusalem Post-

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre reopened early Wednesday morning after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became personally involved and froze the measures that had infuriated church leaders.

The site had been closed since Sunday.

“We, the heads of Churches in charge of the Holy Sepulchre and the status quo governing the various Christian holy sites in Jerusalem – the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, the Custodian of the Holy Land and the Armenian Patriarchate – give thanks to God for the statement released earlier today by Prime Minister Netanyahu and offer our gratitude to all those who have worked tirelessly to uphold the Christian presence in Jerusalem and to defend the status quo,” the leaders of the three denominations in charge of the site said in a statement.

More here-

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Church-of-Holy-Sepulchre-to-reopen-after-decision-to-halt-tax-collection-543793

Jerusalem Christians Unite ... to Close Church of the Holy Sepulchre

From Christianity Today

In an action not seen in more than a century, the leaders of Jerusalem’s churches closed the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday in a show of united protest. The dramatic decision comes in response to moves by Jerusalem authorities to begin collecting tens of millions of dollars in taxes from churches, as well as proposed legislation to confiscate church-owned land.

The Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem said the new tax threatened its ability to maintain its many social care initiatives in the city, along with its numerous schools, training centers, and health care facilities. Likewise, the Vatican’s Notre Dame of Jerusalem hotel, restaurant, and conference center (among many other such enterprises) are set to face fines, stretching the Roman Catholic Church’s resources in the ancient city.

More here-

http://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/february/jerusalem-church-of-holy-sepulchre-closed-taxes-arnona.html

and here-

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/jerusalem-s-church-of-holy-sepulchre-closed-indefinitely-in-protest-of-israeli-bill-city-tax-policy-1.5847184

and here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/sacred-jerusalem-church-shuttered-in-dispute-with-israeli-authorities/2018/02/25/f6e05fd4-1a31-11e8-9de1-147dd2df3829_story.html?utm_term=.2ffd87b21877

‘People in the Bible Belt make our lives difficult’: Middle Eastern Christians lambaste evangelicals over Jerusalem obsession

From Raw Story-

Christians living in the Middle East are expressing their unhappiness with President Donald Trump’s attempt to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, which some see as a pandering to U.S. evangelicals.

With an overwhelming majority members of the United Nations roundly condemning the proposed move, the proposed shift of the embassy is also not popular in the region and has inflamed tensions both in the U.S. and abroad, according to the Washington Post.

Citing a poll stating that only 16 percent of Jewish Americans support moving the embassy to Jerusalem immediately, the Post contrasts that number with another poll showing that 53 percent of American evangelicals supported Trump’s decision.

More here-

https://www-rawstory-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.rawstory.com/2017/12/people-in-the-bible-belt-make-our-lives-difficult-middle-eastern-christians-lambaste-evangelicals-over-jerusalem-obsession/amp/

You Can Be an Evangelical and Reject Trump's Jerusalem Decision

From The Atlantic-

Few developments could have excited President Trump’s evangelical base more than his intention to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This base came through for him in the 2016 election, with 81 percent of white evangelicals voting for him. When he promised during his campaign that moving the embassy was high on his agenda and even said it would be one of his first acts as president, many evangelicals cheered.

But other evangelicals—myself included—were cautious, viewing this move as an idea that needs to be left on the shelf. And they are worried now. Despite media portrayals giving the impression that evangelicals have one point of view when it comes to Israel, in reality there is a wide range of perspectives.

More here-

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/12/evangelical-trump-jerusalem-embassy/547643/?utm_source=fbb

Jerusalem's Christian Leaders to Trump: Recognition Will Cause 'Irreparable Damage'

From Haaretz-

Patriarchs and heads of local churches in Jerusalem penned a special letter addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump to express their concern over his intention to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and possibly relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The letter, sent on Wednesday hours ahead of the expected announcement by Trump, asks the president to walk back on the potential unilateral recognition of the city as solely Israeli. "Our solemn advice and plea is for the United States to continue recognizing the present international status of Jerusalem. Any sudden changes would cause irreparable harm," the clerics pleaded with the president.

Read more:

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.827207

Heads of Jerusalem churches deliver last-minute plea to Trump

From Times of Israel-

The patriarchs and heads of the main churches in Jerusalem on Wednesday delivered  a last-minute plea to US President Donald Trump, urging him not to change US policy toward Jerusalem for fear this could cause “irreparable harm.”

“We have been following, with concern, the reports about the possibility of changing how the United States understands and deals with the status of Jerusalem,” a letter from them Wednesday said.

Trump was giving a speech later Wednesday in which he is expected to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The move has sparked widespread outrage in the Arab and Muslim world, fears of violence and pleas from world leaders to hold back.

More here-

https://www.timesofisrael.com/heads-of-jerusalem-churches-deliver-last-minute-plea-to-trump/

U.S. to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital, Trump Says, Alarming Middle East Leaders

From The New York Times-

President Trump plans to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the American Embassy there, upending nearly seven decades of American foreign policy and potentially destroying his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr. Trump’s decision, a high-risk foray into the thicket of the Middle East, was driven not by diplomatic calculations but by a campaign promise. He appealed to evangelicals and ardently pro-Israel American Jews in 2016 by vowing to move the embassy, and advisers said on Tuesday he was determined to make good on his word.

But the president, faced with a deadline of this past Monday to make that decision, still plans to sign a national security waiver to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv for an additional six months, even as he set in motion a plan to move it to Jerusalem. Officials said the process would take several years.

More here-

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/world/middleeast/american-embassy-israel-trump-move.html

Historic restoration of Jesus’ tomb completed

From Crux-

The tomb of Jesus has been resurrected to its former glory.

Just in time for Easter, a Greek restoration team has completed a historic renovation of the Edicule, the shrine that tradition says houses the cave where Jesus was entombed and resurrected.
Gone is the unsightly iron cage built around the shrine by British authorities in 1947 to shore up the walls. Gone is the black soot on the shrine’s stone façade from decades of pilgrims lighting candles. And gone are fears about the stability of the old shrine, which hadn’t been restored in more than 200 years.

“If this intervention hadn’t happened now, there is a very great risk that there could have been a collapse,” Bonnie Burnham of the World Monuments Fund said Monday. “This is a complete transformation of the monument.”

More here-

https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/03/22/historic-restoration-jesus-tomb-completed/

Unsealing of Christ's Reputed Tomb Turns Up New Revelations

From National Geographic-

Researchers have continued their investigation into the site where the body of Jesus Christ is traditionally believed to have been buried, and their preliminary findings appear to confirm that portions of the tomb are still present today, having survived centuries of damage, destruction, and reconstruction of the surrounding Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City.

The most venerated site in the Christian world, the tomb today consists of a limestone shelf or burial bed that was hewn from the wall of a cave. Since at least 1555, and most likely centuries earlier, the burial bed has been covered in marble cladding, allegedly to prevent eager pilgrims from removing bits of the original rock as souvenirs.

When the marble cladding was first removed on the night of October 26, an initial inspection by the conservation team from the National Technical University of Athens showed only a layer of fill material underneath. However, as researchers continued their nonstop work over the course of 60 hours, another marble slab with a cross carved into its surface was exposed. By the night of October 28, just hours before the tomb was to be resealed, the original limestone burial bed was revealed intact.

More here-

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/jesus-christ-tomb-burial-church-holy-sepulchre/

Inside the World's Only Surviving Tattoo Shop For Medieval Pilgrims

Still fishing in Montana but ran across this and couldn't resist- (more next week)

 In Jerusalem’s Old City today, you can find a uniquely obscure historical relic—the sole surviving pilgrimage tattoo business, Razzouk Ink. It’s a place where ancient artifacts meet contemporary machines, rich history intersects with modern technology. Twenty years ago, as a budding tattoo scholar, I first read about the adventures of Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land and the indelible souvenirs they had inscribed under their skin. I never expected to one day get the opportunity to follow in their footsteps and receive my own.

Just inside the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, you can duck down the second side street to the left, as I did, finding respite from the beating sun and leaving the bustle of the crowded main square. A tiny shop, almost dwarfed by its prominent sign, lies across a quiet cobblestone road. If you didn’t know anything about the incredible, centuries-long history of the family who runs this particular shop, the sign’s tagline might cause you to do a double-take: “Tattoo With Heritage Since 1300” it reads. 

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/inside-the-worlds-only-surviving-tattoo-shop-for-medieval-pilgrims?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20160822&bt_email=stpsvicar%40yahoo.com&bt_ts=1471873763462

St George’s College, Jerusalem, welcomes new Dean

From ACNS-

The new Dean of St George’s College in Jerusalem, the Revd Dr Gregory Jenks, has begun his new ministry by meeting the Archbishop of Jerusalem, the Most Revd Suheil Dawani, and his predecessor as Dean, the Very Revd Dr Graham Smith. In addition to his role with the college, Dr Jenks will become a residentiary canon at St George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem

St George’s College, Jerusalem is an Anglican community of education, hospitality, pilgrimage, and reconciliation; and is renowned for its short-term study and pilgrimage courses which bring Christians from around the world into contact with the “Living Stones” of Israel and Palestine.

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2015/11/st-georges-college-in-jerusalem-welcomes-new-dean.aspx

RIP: Former Jerusalem and Middle East Bishop Samir Hana Kafity

From ENS-

The Most Rev. Samir Hana Kafity, twelfth president-bishop and primate of Jerusalem and the Middle East, and bishop-in-residence at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Poway, died on the afternoon of Aug. 21 at home after a stroke. He was 81 years old.

“Bishop Kafity kept a ball of barbed wire on his desk to help him remember that he was pastor to Christians on both sides of the barbed wire,” said the Rev. Mark McKone-Sweet, rector of St. Bartholomew’s, Poway, the parish home of Bishop Kafity and his family for the past eighteen years. “He gave himself relentlessly to bringing peace to all people, regardless of race, nationality, faith or political group, by breaking down differences and collaborating with countless religious leaders around the world.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2015/08/24/rip-former-jerusalem-and-middle-east-bishop-samir-hana-kafity/

Archaeologists may have found the site of Jesus' trial in Jerusalem

From Australia-

It started 15 years ago with plans to expand the Tower of David Museum. But the story took a strange turn when archaeologists started peeling away layers under the floor in an old abandoned building adjacent to the museum in Jerusalem's Old City.

They knew it had been used as a prison when the Ottoman Turks and then the British ruled these parts. But, as they carefully dug down, they eventually uncovered something extraordinary: the suspected remains of the palace where one of the more famous scenes of the New Testament may have taken place - the trial of Jesus.

Now, after years of excavation and a further delay caused by wars and a lack of funds, the archaeologists' precious find is being shown to the public through tours organised by the museum.

More here-

http://www.smh.com.au/world/archaeologists-may-have-found-the-site-of-jesus-trial-in-jerusalem-20150105-12iefs.html

Archbishop of Canterbury meets with chief rabbis

From The Jerusalem Post

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams met with Chief Rabbis Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar on Thursday during a week-long personal pilgrimage to Israel and the West Bank.

The office of the Diocese of Jerusalem of the Anglican Church said that during Williams’ visit he emphasized “the importance of constructive dialogue and co-existence between all religions,” and the need to “consolidate the peace process between the people of this region.”

Invited by the head of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem Bishop Suheil Dawani, Williams was on a private tour and so did not make any public statements.

Williams arrived in Israel on Monday and visited Nazareth, where he met with Christians, Muslims and Druse, religious leaders and local mayors.

The Archbishop and his pilgrims also visited St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in the village of Zababida in the northern West Bank and met with the Mayor of Zababida Vector Khader and the Governor of Jenin Qadura Musa.

More here-

http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=256532

No simple solutions for Jerusalem, PBS correspondent Ray Suarez tells Philadelphia forum

From ENS-

Just inside the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is the Stone of Anointing on which tradition says Jesus was prepared for burial. Watching pilgrims from all over the world fall to their knees to kiss the stone "makes you reconsider what it all means to them to you, to the people who live there, to the people who live far away," according to Public Broadcasting Service Senior Correspondent Ray Suarez.

Suarez made his remarks Oct. 7 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in the historic part of downtown Philadelphia. His talk was hosted by the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem with the sponsorship of Philadelphia Theological Institute, the Diocese of Pennsylvania's Middle East Study Group and St. Peter's Church.

In 2009 Suarez hosted a PBS documentary, "Jerusalem: The Center of the World," which gave viewers a historical look at the city where Jews, Christians and Muslims have come for centuries to look for God. His presentation in Philadelphia highlighted the process of making the film and his observations about the disputed city and its fate.

Those observations, he acknowledged, stem in part from his faith and thus present a greater challenge than does his reporting of other stories during which "by professional habit and by temperament and by a lifetime's practice I keep careful arm's distance to all of it."

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_130129_ENG_HTM.htm