VIOLENCE IN THE HOLY LAND

Beloved hierarchs, monastics, clergy and people of the Orthodox-Catholic Church of America; grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The ongoing struggles between the Israeli and Palestinian governments lead us to pause and consider how we may properly respond to the heartbreaking political situation that has been so difficult for all these holy children of the one God. Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem. With the re-emergence of the threat of war in this beloved land, we are reminded of the long struggles of these people for peace. In our own time, there has been so much tension and discord, so much pain that we can barely stand to consider it. From the time of Allenby early in the twentieth century, through the long years of the British Mandate, the Israeli wars for independence and the leadership of Ben-Gurion, until our very day, the children of Isaac and Ishmael have lived in fear and terror of one another. Brothers and sisters, all children of our father Abraham, struggling for some portion, some place where they may live in peace.

Anger and irrational fear, fueled by human folly and inadequacy, have caused immeasurable pain, suffering and loss among these people. Traditional attempts like the arbitrary partitioning of territory, as we have seen in Ireland, Korea and Viet-Nam, simply do not work. Creating "zones" or "homelands" with some kind of "internal passport" can work no better that apartheid in South Africa, serfdom and the shtetls in Czarist Eastern Europe, or the ghettoes of Hitler's reign of terror. The American experience in Selma and Montgomery shows that "separate but equal" is not only unequal but violates human dignity. To presume that a just and lasting solution is humanly possible is not only foolish and arrogant, but dangerously naive. To presume that any political government -- Israeli, Palestinian, or even the United Nations -- can see clearly enough to develop and implement a lasting peace is likewise unrealistic. In the face of tremendous ethnic as well as religious diversity, the establishment of a just and equitable solution is both necessary and unlikely in human terms. All have sinned, all have fallen short, all have failed to love one another.

To be sure, the right of people to self-government is fundamental. Their right to live in peace with justice and human dignity is, or ought to be, inalienable. To the extent that national and international bodies can enable this, one can argue that ability implies duty. Limited ability, however, suggests limited duty. Political realities and cultural relativism suggest that no human solution, however well intentioned, can possibly meet the needs of this beloved region.

Listen to the words of King David. "I count Egypt and Babylon among those who know Me; behold, Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia: in Zion were they born. Of Zion it shall be said, "Everyone was born in her, and the Most High shall sustain her." (Ps 87: 3-4) And elsewhere he says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, their labor is in vain who build it. Unless the Lord watches over the city, in vain the watchmen keep vigil." (Ps 127: 1-2) Over and over, noble David calls us to remember, and it is in remembering that we may find it possible to re-member that war-torn and broken region. In remembering and in returning to the God of Abraham we may find it in our hearts to let God be God, so that we may be more fully human. In renouncing our own pride and greed, we can enter the service of the One God in Whom we live and move and have our being, and we can resolve with God's grace to serve God alone.

The terrors and strife in the beloved land of our spiritual ancestors will continue as long as people attempt to advance their own agenda without regard to the One Who loves us, the One Who is love. The Holy Apostle John reminds us that we are called first and fundamentally to "love one another," for "God is love." In working for a solution, the guidance and direction of God - the one God Who loves that land and her people - must be prayerfully and humbly sought by all parties. Xenophobia can be overcome only by love, education, openness, communication, and reparation. To find a common ground can only be done with tears, with sorrow and penitence, in humility, and in the presence of God.

All of the parties in this struggle must commit themselves to communication, for only in communication will they find their center, their common humanity. If they will apply their enormous energies, deep passion, and dogged determination, they can communicate with one another in charity and peace.

As Orthodox Christians, our call is to prayer, and to live as sojourners here on earth, ever remembering that our true home is in heaven with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Moreover, our call is to live here in peace, love, unity and prayer. Our call is to pray for one another and take care of one another. As Orthodox Christians in this time of terror and great need, we are called first to prayer. Let us pray daily for our brothers and sisters in the Greek Patriarchates of Jerusalem, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, the Antiochene Patriarchate of Antioch in Syria, and the Coptic Patriarchate of Egypt. Forasmuch as Christianity is the child of Judaism, let us keep our family among the children of Abraham and Sarah in our prayers. And finally, because the Palestinian people are children of Abraham and because the Arabic people gave hospitality to the Holy Family during their sojourn in Egypt, and in honor of the Middle-Eastern tradition of hospitality to all travelers, let us pray for these beloved children of the Most High God. Moreover, let us contribute of our wealth to charitable organizations, both Orthodox and secular, whose mission it is to relieve the suffering of those living in this region.