Orthodox Christian Archbishop Calls For Conference on Jerusalem

By Shawn L. Twing

"I am calling for an Orthodox summit conference on Jerusalem," His Eminence Archbishop Philip Saliba told the Washington Report, because "I can't understand the silence of the Orthodox patriarchs about this most important and most pressing issue." On a recent visit to Washington, DC, the Lebanese-born, U.S.-educated church official said the status of Jerusalem, a holy city for Jews, Christians and Muslims, has become an increasingly inflammatory topic during recent months, particularly since the Israeli government announced, and then suspended under domestic political pressure, plans to expropriate more Arab land in East Jerusalem for Jewish housing and a police headquarters.

Complicating the issue are moves by Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R‚KS) and House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich (R‚GA) to introduce a bill to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which would give de facto U.S. support for Israel's claim that Jerusalem is the "eternal and undivided capital of Israel." Archbishop Saliba and other Christian leaders wrote a letter to President Clinton urging him to place the status of Jerusalem higher on the U.S. agenda in the peace negotiations, and most importantly to pressure the Israelis to stop their aggressive settlement policy in East Jerusalem.

Of particular concern to Archbishop Saliba is the status of the Orthodox Christian community in Jerusalem. During the last 25 years, the number of Orthodox Christians in Jerusalem has decreased dramatically, from 50,000 in 1970 to fewer than 2,000 today. The Archbishop attributes this to what he calls the "Israeli plan to Judaize Jerusalem at the expense of the Christians and Muslims" through the building of settlements and expropriation of land.

The significance of Jerusalem to the three Abrahamic faiths...Judaism, Christianity and Islam...is cited frequently, but often there is little discussion about why it is so important beyond references to the Temple Mount, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Dome of the Rock. As Archbishop Saliba points out, Jerusalem is not merely "an archeological site," but a city central to understanding the origins of the monotheistic religions. Abraham, the patriarch from whom Jews, Christians and Muslims trace their religious roots, traveled to the Holy Land from 'Ur (in present-day Iraq) some two thousand years before the birth of Christ. According to the Bible, Abraham encountered native peoples there‚‚the Canaanites, Jebusites and Hittites. The name Palestine is derived from one such group, the Philistines. The book of Genesis relates how the patriarch Abraham insisted on paying a Hittite for a cave in which to bury his wife Sarah. Upon such biblical sources Orthodox Christians base their own claims in Palestine. The Orthodox reject the notion that the land of Israel is holy only for the Jews. Archbishop Saliba often has commented that "God is no longer in the real estate business."

The Community's History

The history of the Orthodox Christian community is important in order to further understand the importance of Jerusalem. Orthodox Christianity has its roots in an 11th century schism between Rome and the other patriarchates at the time (Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople and Alexandria). The Christian churches had geographic allegiances (e.g., the Church of Rome, the Church of Greece), but overall hierarchical power was shared equally among them, with Rome viewed as the "first among equals." During the 11th century the Church of Rome sought to assert its authority unilaterally and raise itself above all of the others. The result was the split between the patriarchates that created Roman Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity. Branches of the Orthodox community still are identified in geographic terms, but the primary differences among them are the languages of the liturgies, not the liturgies themselves. Overall, Orthodox theology is united, even though the Orthodox churches themselves are not.

Archbishop Philip Saliba was introduced to the Orthodox church while he was growing up in Abou Mizan, Lebanon, 15 miles east of Beirut. His birth name was Abdallah, which means "servant of God" in Arabic, foreshadowing his life to come. From Abou Mizan, the Archbishop travelled to Syria, London and, eventually, the United States, where he enrolled at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Shortly after completing his Bachelor's degree, on March 1, 1959, Philip Saliba was ordained into the priesthood and began his formal career in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church.

After only six years as a priest, Philip Saliba was consecrated archbishop of what was then the archdiocese of New York and all of North America, and is now the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. As the youngest person ever to be consecrated archbishop of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian community in North America, his leadership has been nothing short of incredible. In 1966 Archbishop Saliba inherited a disorganized and factionally-divided organization with 65 parishes. Today he presides over a united Antiochian church with over 195 parishes. Since his consecration as archbishop, his contributions to the Orthodox Christian church have been impressive. He is, in the words of his biographer Peter Gillquist, a "dreamer and a doer."

Archbishop Saliba has been involved in Middle Eastern politics for many years. He has met with American Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan to express the views of the American Orthodox community as they relate to the Arab-Israeli conflict. His views on the subject are presented concisely by Peter Gillquist, who writes, "The quarrel of Middle East Christians in [the Arab‚Israeli] dispute is not with the existence of the nation Israel, nor is it with the historic religious tradition of Judaism, but rather with the political agenda of Zionism." When asked by the Washington Report what should be done about Jerusalem, Archbishop Saliba said, "I wish that Jerusalem could be depoliticized and become just an international city where Jews, Muslims, and Christians could go and feel at home."

Shawn L. Twing is the features editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.