Church Leaders in Jordan Denounce the Aggression in Gaza, Call for Peace and Cancel Christmas Celebrations to Pray and in Respect for the Innocent Victims
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The Council of Church Leaders in Jordan announced the cancellation of all Christmas celebration events and activities this year, out of respect for the innocent victims and their blood in Gaza and all of Palestine, so that celebrations will be limited to prayers and church rituals. They denounced the barbaric acts committed by the aggression against Gaza, in violation of all international norms. They also announced that all church donations for next Sunday will be proceeds for the benefit of the Gaza Strip, calling for the initiative to donate through the official channels that some churches have provided for the same purpose.
Below is the full text of the statement:
Our dear spiritual daughters and sons
Our noble, blessed subjects in this country and abroad
Everyone who hears our voice in this world
Greetings and then,
The Council of Heads of Churches in Jordan held on Thursday, November 2, 2023, at the Greek Orthodox Archbishopric of Jordan, and discussed many issues, the most important of which is what is happening on the scene now.
Therefore, we turn to your attention during this difficult time that is passing through the Gaza Strip and all of Palestine, where innocent blood is being shed. The wailing, starvation and thirst, the bombing of residential buildings, schools, hospitals, churches and mosques, and the intentional displacement of our Gazan people in front of the eyes of the helpless international community.
As we denounce in the harshest and strongest terms the barbaric acts committed by the Israeli aggression against humanity, in violation of all international norms, and accordingly we unite behind the upright opinion represented by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, led by His Majesty King Abdullah II, the voice crying out for truth in this world, appreciating all Jordanian efforts. Uninterrupted efforts to silence the voice of war. We also salute all free Arab and international positions that did not engage in humanitarian and political double standards .
We announce to your love that all church offerings for next Sunday, corresponding to November 12, 2023, the proceeds will be for the benefit of the Gaza Strip and its people in accordance with the rules and regulations. We also urge everyone to take the initiative to donate through the official channels that some of our churches have provided for the same purpose, addressing your love of goodness and your belief in brotherhood and giving, and accordingly. Prayers are offered in all the churches of the Kingdom on that Sunday with the intention of peace and harmony .
Our distinguished subjects,
From this standpoint, we, the Council of Heads of Churches in Jordan, ask you to cancel all Christmas celebration events, activities, and manifestations for this year, including (Christmas bazaars, musical scout parades, gift distribution tours for children, and Christmas decorations), out of respect for the innocent victims and for the pure blood of our martyrs in Gaza and all of Palestine. Let Christmas be limited to church prayers and rituals .
Finally, we ask the Almighty to have mercy on us and the world, to preserve our people, our country, and humanity, and to support our King, the Mightiest God, in his rule for what is good and righteous.
https://www.abouna.org/
On October 10th the same council wrote:
The Council of Church presidents in Jordan has described as “bloody war” the tragic events in the Gaza Strip, including the killing, displacement, and starvation of women, children, youth, and the elderly.
“These events are the result of marginalization and absence of justice, equality, persecution, and violence that generates a response of violence in return, as we have observed in recent days the absence of peace and dialogue, and the language of the gun has become and murder is the spoken language, and violence is met with violence,” the Council said Tuesday, October 10, in a statement.
“We call on the international community to look at the just and historic Palestinian issue with a view of justice and balance, and to recognize the right of the Palestinian people to their land and to their future decent livelihood. With our spiritual and national responsibility in our blessed Jordan, we fully support His Majesty King Abdullah, who came forward to warn the world off the danger of the absence of just solutions with regard to the Palestinian cause, which is the central cause in the Middle East and who in every international forum warns of the danger of harming the status quo in the holy sites, especially in Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as the Church of the Resurrection, and all churches, shrines, and monasteries,” the Council added.
Concluding the statement, the Council appealed to all influential and peace-loving countries to intervene directly to stop the war in order to spare bloodshed, to activate the language of dialogue and possible assistance to the wounded and afflicted, and to preserve the right to live and equality, which are among the most important principles of international legitimacy.
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