Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land
Lutheran
PolityEpiscopal
LeaderSani Ibrahim Azar
AssociationsLWF, Middle East Council of Churches, WCC
RegionJordan, Palestine
Origin1959
Jordan
Congregations6
Members2,500
Primary schools4
Official websitehttp://www.elcjhl.org/

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) is a Lutheran denomination that has congregations in Jordan and State of Palestine. First recognized as an autonomous religious community by King Hussein in 1959,[1] the church currently has 2,500 members[2] in six congregations.

The current bishop is Sani Ibrahim Azar,[3] who was elected in 2017 and consecrated as bishop on 14 January 2018. The bishop emeritus, Munib Younan, retains an official role. Younan is the former president of the Lutheran World Federation (2010–2017),[4] and remains a member of the ELCJHL Council.[5]

History

Early history

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land has its origins in the arrival of

King of Prussia, Frederick William IV sent his diplomat, Christian von Bunsen to present a proposal to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom for the establishment of a joint Protestant bishopric under the protection of both Prussia and the United Kingdom.[7]

An agreement was reached to establish a joint bishopric of the

Michael Solomon Alexander
, who arrived in 1842.

Early Lutheran mission

In 1851,

civil war in the region.[1]

A provisional chapel for the use of the Prussian Protestants was erected in 1871 on land granted by

social work and education while the Anglicans focused on evangelism.[1]

In 1898, the newly constructed

Kaiser Wilhelm II
and served as the headquarters of the Evangelical mission.

Autonomy and independence

After the Second World War the

King Hussein of Jordan. The church was then officially named the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ). The ELCJ had by then grown beyond Jerusalem and had set up congregations in Ramallah and Amman to serve Lutheran Palestinians who were refugees of the Arab–Israeli conflict.[1]

In 1974, the ELCJ joined the WLF and in 1979 the first Palestinian bishop, Daoud Haddad, was elected to lead the church. In 2005, the Synod of the ELCJ decided to rename the church to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land to more accurately reflect the work and ministry of the church that spans Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.[1]

Other

Sally Azar was ordained on January 22, 2023 by the church,[9] in a ceremony at the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem, making her the first female Palestinian pastor in the Holy Land.[10][11]

Structure

Bishop

The ELCJHL holds episcopal polity. The Bishop leads the central church structures and is the chief pastor. Bishops are consecrated within the historic Apostolic succession.

Congregations

Christmas Church, Bethlehem
Church of Hope, Ramallah

At present, there are 6 congregations of the ELCJHL:[12]

  • Evangelical
    Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem
  • Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, Bethlehem
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hope, Ramallah
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation, Beit Jala
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church, Beit Sahour
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Amman

Schools and educational programs

The ELCJHL runs four primary schools and other educational projects that serve the broader educational needs of the Palestinian people as a whole. The four primary schools are:

  • Dar al-Kalima Evangelical Lutheran School, Bethlehem
  • The Evangelical Lutheran School, Beit Sahour
  • The Evangelical Lutheran School of Hope, Ramallah
  • Talitha Kumi Evangelical Lutheran School
    , Beit Jala

The ELCJHL also actively supports the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon.

Affiliations

The ELCJHL participates actively in ecumenical relationships through:[13]

The ELCJHL also works in partnership with:[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land: History and Mission Archived 2012-02-15 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ LWF Statistics - Israel Archived 2018-02-03 at the Wayback Machine The Lutheran World Federation
  3. ^ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land: The Bishop Archived 2021-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Lutheran World Federation: Who We Are - The President Archived 2011-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Bishop Emeritus Dr. Munib Younan". Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d Meyer, Philipp (1910). "Jerusalem, Anglican-German Bishopric In". In Jackson, Samuel MacAuley (ed.). The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (Encyclopaedia entry) (3rd ed.).
  7. ^ Anon (1895). Der Herr baut Jerusalem. Eine Denkschrift das Werk der evangelischen Kirchen in Jerusalem (in German). Berlin.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ISBN 3-374-01706-1
    .
  9. ^ "First female pastor in Palestine ordained". Presbyterian Mission Agency. 23 January 2023. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  10. ^ "First female Palestinian pastor ordained in the Holy Land". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 2023-01-23. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  11. ^ "First Palestinian woman becomes Lutheran pastor in Holy Land". Qantara.de - Dialogue with the Islamic World. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  12. ^ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land: Congregations Archived 2011-12-06 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land: The Ecumenical Witness of the ELCJHL Archived 2011-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land: International Partners Archived 2011-12-16 at the Wayback Machine

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_Jordan_and_the_Holy_Land&oldid=1194713881"