Archbishop of Canterbury – HolyLandJustice.org

gbd_abc-justin-welby-abp-jerusalem-suheil-dawani-old-city — Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Archbishop of Jerusalem Suheil-Dawani in the Old City of Jerusalem. (photo: Gavin Drake / ACNS)

The Archbishop of Canterbury praised the Archbishop of Jerusalem’s “bridge-building” between Israelis and Palestinians.

By Anglican Communion News Service
May 15, 2017

“If you come to the Holy Land for two weeks, you think you understand the situation. If you come for two years, you understand that you know nothing about the situation.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has concluded his longest pastoral visit to a diocese outside the Church of England by praising the Archbishop of Jerusalem’s “bridge-building” work between Israelis and Palestinians.

Archbishop Justin’s 11-day “pastoral pilgrimage” was designed to provide an opportunity for him to hear from beleaguered Christians in the Middle East and to witness the Diocese of Jerusalem’s work in the area of reconciliation.

The diocese, in the province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, includes Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. Archbishop Justin began his visit in Jordan, where King Abdullah assured him that the country would continue to speak out for the presence of Christians in the region. After that meeting, Archbishop Justin asserted that Christians “are the past in the Middle East, they are the present, and they must be the future.”

Continue reading “Praise for “Bridge Building” in Jerusalem”

3394 — Archbishop Justin Welby described his short visit to Gaza, the densely populated and impoverished Palestinian territory, as “extraordinary.” (photo: Ariel Schalit / AP)

Justin Welby’s sermon in Jerusalem talks of anger and fear in “probably the world’s most complicated region of conflicts.”

By Harriet Sherwood / The Guardian
May 7, 2017

Gaza was “genuinely breathtaking, something I’ll never forget,” Welby told the Sunday programme on BBC Radio 4. Aides said he had been struck by the physical devastation of the region, the “collective trauma” of its people and their anxiety about the future. He was also inspired by the resilience of those he met, including medics who have committed to staying in the Strip.

The archbishop of Canterbury has spoken of the suffering and persecution of Christians and others in the Middle East, saying he has heard voices of anger, fear and insecurity while on a 12-day trip to the Holy Land.

Justin Welby was preaching to a packed congregation at St George’s Anglican cathedral in Jerusalem on Sunday morning before being installed as an episcopal canon later in the day.

In his 10-minute sermon, he said Christians in the region had belonged to a “suffering church for centuries. Sometimes life has been better, sometimes it is less bad. But the nature of suffering is that when it is happening it is all-consuming.”

Continue reading “Archbishop of Canterbury Visits Israel and Palestine”