The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem ( ar, أبرشية القدس الأنغليكانية) is the
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
jurisdiction for
Israel, the
Palestinian territories,
Jordan,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Lebanon. It is a part of the
Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, and has diocesan offices at
St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem.
Today, Anglicans constitute a large portion of Jerusalem's Christians. The diocese has a membership of around 7,000 people, with 35 service institutions, 29 parishes, 1500 employees, 200 hospital beds, and 6,000 students.
[Suheil Dawani: The new Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem]
/ref> The bishop of the diocese was styled Bishop in Jerusalem from 1976 until 2014 and from 1841 until 1957, and since then has been styled Archbishop in Jerusalem, as he was between 1957 and 1976.
History
The Evangelical Revival and the Restoration of Israel
The Evangelical Revival of the early nineteenth century began in contrast to the "saucy rationalism" of the 18th century: the "atheistic" French revolution providing a convincing argument for the propertied classes of England, hoping to avert a similar fate, to rediscover their faith absolutely.
Important to us (and as the name suggests) is that the Evangelicals
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
were a missionary movement, committed to bringing everyone to the same faith – especially the Jews. The restoration of the Jews to Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, in convention with prophecy, was therefore obvious.
Lord Shaftesbury was the principal champion of the movement: self-proclaimed "an Evangelical of the Evangelicals" he set about to turn his vision of a restored and converted Israel into official government policy. Important in this is the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews (familiarly called the Jews' Society) which was a popular platform from which Shaftesbury and other enthusiasts focused their efforts.
In this way the setting up of the Anglican bishopric in Jerusalem is inextricably entangled with Lord Shaftesbury's efforts towards the restoration and conversion of Israel. Jewish resettlement in Palestine and the creation of an Anglican church in Jerusalem, "if possible on Mt. Zion itself," would come hand in hand. But first was the creation of a consulate in Jerusalem, the appointed vice-consul "to afford protection of the Jews generally" in Palestine. This was achieved in March 1838.
The Damascus Incident of 1840 provided interest and motive for more concrete British intervention on behalf of the Jews in Turkey. Under the influence of Lord Ashley (as Shaftesbury was then) Lord Palmerston, the Foreign Secretary, called for the Porte to facilitate the settlement of Jews from all Europe and Africa in Palestine in addition to allowing Jews living in the Turkish empire "to transmit to the Porte, through British authorities, any complaints which they might have to prefer against the Turkish authorities." The latter was granted by the Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
in February 1841. Equality of treatment to Jewish subjects was guaranteed in April.
In all this, it must be said, is also the genuine policy of the British government to prop up the ailing Ottomans, the favourable state (if not Britain) to control the Middle Eastern gateway to India and the Far East. And admitting Jews to Palestine with "the wealth they would bring with them would increase the resources of the Sultan's dominions."
Creation of the Anglican Bishopric of Jerusalem
Meanwhile, the political landscape in England was exciting to the introduction of a Anglican bishopric in Jerusalem – the preoccupation of the Jews' Society since its inception. The bishopric had the support of the Protestant king Frederick William of Prussia: his envoy appointed to England, specifically to aid Lord Ashley in the project. Their joint efforts fell mainly to overcoming opposition from Anglo-Catholic groups in England, under the Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
, which was trying to reconcile the English Church with Rome.
Michael Alexander, a converted Jew and professor of Hebrew and Arabic at King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom:
*King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge
*King's College London, a constituent of the University of London
It ca ...
, is chosen by Palmerston (on the advice of Ashley) to be the first 'Bishop in Jerusalem.' The Bill creating the Bishopric of Jerusalem was passed by parliament and received royal assent on 5 October 1841. For the time being the diocese would be run in joint effort with the united Evangelical Church in Prussia which rejected the idea of Apostolic sucession, held by Anglicans.
Much like the general failure of the Jews' Society to bring about any considerable mass conversion of the Jews, the initial impact the diocese was disappointing. Elliot Warburton on visiting Bishop Alexander's church in Jerusalem found a total congregation of eight converted Jews and one or two tourists.
Nineteenth century
In 1849, Christ Church, Jerusalem near Jaffa Gate
Jaffa Gate ( he, שער יפו, Sha'ar Yafo; ar, باب الخليل, Bāb al-Khalīl, "Hebron Gate") is one of the seven main open Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The name Jaffa Gate is currently used for both the historical Ottoman gate ...
became the first Anglican/Lutheran church in the city, and in 1871 Christ Church in Nazareth was consecrated.
The Anglo-Prussian Union ceased to function in 1881, and no bishop was appointed between 1881 and 1887, and from 1887, the missionary effort continued solely under Anglican auspices.
In 1888, George Blyth established the Jerusalem and the East Mission which was instrumental in raising funds for projects and missions throughout the Middle East. Saint George's Cathedral was built in 1898 in Jerusalem as a central focus for the diocese.
Twentieth century
Although the diocese began as a foreign missionary organisation, it quickly established itself as part of the Palestinian community. In 1905, the Palestine Native Church Council was established to give local Arabs more say in the running of the church. This led to an increase in the number of Arab clergy serving the diocese.
In 1920, the Diocese of Egypt and the Sudan was formed, separate from the Diocese of Jerusalem, with Llewelyn Gwynne
Llewellyn Henry Gwynne (11 June 18639 December 1957) was a Welsh Anglican bishop and missionary. He was the first Anglican Bishop of Egypt and Sudan, serving from 1920 to 1946.
Early life
Llewellyn Henry Gwynne was born in Britain on 11 June ...
as its first bishop. In the 1920s the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem founded St. George's College as a training seminary for local clergy.
In 1957, the Bishop in Jerusalem was elevated to the rank of an archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
, albeit under the primatial authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. The Archbishop of Jerusalem had metropolitan oversight of the entire area of the current province with the addition of the Sudan (five dioceses in all). In that same year, Najib Cubain was consecrated Bishop of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, the first Arab bishop, assistant to the Archbishop of Jerusalem. During the 1950s, political unrest in Egypt left the diocese in the care of four Egyptian clergy under the oversight of the Archbishop of Jerusalem.
In 1976, the structure of the Anglican church in the region was overhauled, with the Diocese of Jerusalem becoming an ordinary bishopric, and one of four dioceses forming the Province of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East. The Archbishop of Canterbury ceased to have metropolitan authority over the diocese, which came to be held by a rotating Presiding Bishop of the Province and the Central Synod
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...
, comprising the four dioceses. When a bishop reaches the age of 68, a coadjutor bishop is required to be elected to work alongside the bishop for two years, before the bishop's retirement at age 70.
Also in 1976, Faik Haddad became the first Palestinian Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem.
Diocese of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
In July 1957, the Diocese of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria was carved out of the existing Diocese of Jerusalem. Its only bishop (the area's first Arab bishop) was Najib Cubain; the diocese was reabsorbed upon the provincial reorganisation of 1976.
Bishops and Archbishops
From 1957 to 1976 the ordinary
Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to:
Music
* ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast
* ''Ordinary'' (Every Little Thing album) (2011)
* "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016)
* "Ordinary" (Wayne Brady song) (2008)
* ...
held the rank and title of Archbishop of Jerusalem. In 1976 the new province of Jerusalem and the Middle East was created, with four dioceses, and a Presiding Bishop elected from amongst them, but the Bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem also bore the title Bishop in Jerusalem as a representative in the Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
of the Anglican Communion.
In 2014 the synod debated this international representative role, and determined that it was sufficiently important to restore the status of an archbishopric, with the bishop to be re-styled Archbishop in Jerusalem.[ The Anglican Communion office subsequently re-titled the Bishop of Jerusalem in its directory as Archbishop in Jerusalem.][ This is a non-metropolitan archbishopric, although the holder is eligible (with the other diocesan bishops of the province) to be elected as metropolitan.
]
Current archbishop
The current, fifteenth, bishop of the diocese and Archbishop in Jerusalem is Hosam Naoum, who was previously Dean of St George's Cathedral, and on 14 June 2020 was consecrated a bishop, to serve as coadjutor Bishop of Jerusalem, to succeed Dawani as Archbishop in Jerusalem automatically upon his retirement in 2021.
List of Anglican Bishops in Jerusalem
Bishop in Jerusalem (under the joint auspices of the Church of England and the Evangelical Church in Prussia):
*1841–1845: Michael Alexander. Christ Church, Jerusalem dedicated in 1849.
*1846–1879: Samuel Gobat. He opened 42 schools and ordained the first two Palestinian priests at Christ Church, Nazareth
*1879–1881: Joseph Barclay
*1881–1887: ''vacant''
Bishop in Jerusalem (under sole Anglican auspices):
*1887–1914: George Blyth. Established the Palestine Native Church Council
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...
in 1905 and the Jerusalem and the East Mission
**1908–1914: Llewellyn Gwynne, the sole Bishop suffragan of Khartoum (later the first Bishop of Egypt and the Sudan
The Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria is a province of the Anglican Communion. Its territory was formerly the Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa. On 29 June 2020 the diocese was elevated to the status of an eccles ...
)
*1914–1931: Rennie MacInnes
*1932–1942: Francis Graham Brown
George Francis Graham-Brown (27 January 1891 – 23 November 1942) was an Anglican bishop in the second quarter of the 20th century.
Life
Graham-Brown was educated at Monkton Combe School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge.
After World Wa ...
*1943–1957: Weston Stewart
Archbishop in Jerusalem:
*1957–1969: Campbell MacInnes
Angus Campbell MacInnes (18 April 1901 – 29 April 1977) was an Anglican bishop in the third quarter of the twentieth century.
Angus Campbell MacInnes was born into a distinguished ecclesiastical family: his father, Rennie MacInnes, would be B ...
*1969–1974: George Appleton
*1974–1976: Robert Stopford served as vicar general. The province/diocese were substantially reorganised during Stopford's time.
Bishop in Jerusalem:
*1976–1984: Faik Ibrahim Haddad, the first Palestinian Arab bishop. (Consecrated by Stopford, 29 August 1974, at St George's Cathedral, Jerusalem
St. George's Cathedral is an Anglican (Episcopal) cathedral in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, established in 1899. It became the seat of the Bishop of Jerusalem of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, having taken the title from ...
, to be coadjutor-bishop.)
*1984–1997: Samir Kafity, the second Palestinian Arab bishop. He served two five-year terms as the Provincial President-Bishop and Primate.
*1997–2007: Riah Abu El-Assal
*2007–2014: Suheil Dawani
Suheil Salman Ibrahim Dawani (born Nablus, West Bank, 1951) is a Palestinian Anglican bishop.
He was the 14th bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem from 15 April 2007, and Archbishop in Jerusalem from the restoration of the post in 2014, u ...
(previously coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...
since 2006)
Archbishop in Jerusalem:
*2014–2021: Suheil Dawani
Suheil Salman Ibrahim Dawani (born Nablus, West Bank, 1951) is a Palestinian Anglican bishop.
He was the 14th bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem from 15 April 2007, and Archbishop in Jerusalem from the restoration of the post in 2014, u ...
*2021–present: Hosam Naoum
Controversies
The fourteenth bishop of the diocese was Suheil Dawani
Suheil Salman Ibrahim Dawani (born Nablus, West Bank, 1951) is a Palestinian Anglican bishop.
He was the 14th bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem from 15 April 2007, and Archbishop in Jerusalem from the restoration of the post in 2014, u ...
who was enthroned at St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem on April 15, 2007, having previously been coadjutor bishop. He was Archbishop in Jerusalem from the restoration of the archbishopric in 2014. In August 2010, Israel declined to renew the residency permits for Dawani and his family, claiming the bishop had been engaged in fraudulent land deals on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, an allegation strenuously denied by the bishop and the diocese. After legal proceedings were commenced, and following pressure from a number of Christian churches and leaders, the permits were renewed on 26 September 2011.
The thirteenth bishop of the diocese was Riah Abu El-Assal, who retired on March 31, 2007 at the prescribed retirement age of 70 years. The Diocese of Jerusalem was forced to take legal action against Riah following his retirement, over the ownership of the Bishop Riah Educational Campus
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, a school established by him when he was bishop.[Court ruling favors Jerusalem diocese, not former bishop, in dispute over school's ownership, Episcopal News Service](_blank)
Congregations
The parish churches of the diocese include:
* St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem
* St Paul's Church, Jerusalem
* Church of the Redeemer, Amman, Jordan
* Theodore Schneller Chapel, Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
, Jordan
* Saviour Church, Zarka, Jordan
* The Virgin Mary Episcopal Church, Irbid
Irbid ( ar, إِربِد), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of the Irbid Governorate. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in ...
, Jordan
* St Luke's Church, Marka, Jordan
* The Church of the Good Shepherd, Salt, Jordan
* St John the Baptist Church, Husn
Al Husun ( ar, الحصن, also Romanized as Al Husn, Hisn and Husn) is a town in northern Jordan, located north of Amman, and about south of Irbid. It has a population of 35,085. The region has fertile soil which along with the moderate clim ...
, Jordan
* Sts Peter & Paul Church, Aqaba, Jordan
* St Andrew's Church, Ramallah
Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
, Palestine
* St Peter's Church, Birzeit, Palestine
* Good Shepherd Church, Rafidia
Rafidiya ( ar, رفيديا) is a neighborhood in the western part of the Palestinian city of Nablus. It was a separate village until it was merged into the municipality in 1966. In 1961, Rafidiya had 923 inhabitants, rising to 1,200 in 1983.
Hist ...
, Palestine
* St Philip's Church, Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
, Palestine
* St Matthew's Church, Zababdeh
Zababdeh or Zababida ( ar, الزبابدة) is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank located southeast of Jenin and from the Arab American University.
History
Sherds from Middle Bronze Age II, Iron Age I & II, through to the B ...
, Palestine
* St Philip's Chapel, Gaza City
Gaza (;''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (1998), , p. 761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory in Palestine, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza...". ar, غَزَّة ', ), also referred to as Gaza City, i ...
, Palestine
* St Paul's Church, Shefa-'Amr, Israel
* Church of the Holy Family, Reineh, Israel
* Emmanuel Church, Ramleh
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
, Israel
* St John's & St Luke's Church, Haifa, Israel
* Christ Church, Nazareth, Israel
* Saviour Church, Kufr Yasif
Kafr Yasif ( ar, كفر ياسيف, ''Kufr Yaseef''; he, כַּפְר יָסִיף) is an Arab town in the Northern District of Israel. It is located northeast of the city of Acre and adjacent to Abu Sinan and Yarka. The population of Kafr Yas ...
, Israel
* All Saints' Episcopal Church, Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
, Syria
* All Saints' Episcopal Church, Beirut, Lebanon
See also
*Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem
The Anglo-Prussian bishopric in Jerusalem was an episcopal see founded in Jerusalem in the nineteenth century by joint agreement of the Anglican Church of England and the united Evangelical Church in Prussia.
Background
As a result of more tha ...
*Church Mission Society
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
* Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East