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Baraka Bible Presbyterian Church is a reformed and fundamental Bible Presbyterian church located in Bethlehem and Shepherd's Field. [1] The first and only Bible Presbyterian Church in Israel, it is often attended by Pilgrims who visit the Holy Land. The sale of its original compound, Beit El Baraka, has been the subject of an international fraud case. The pastor is the Rev George Awad. [2]
Baraka Bible Presbyterian Church was established in 1946 by Dr Thomas Alexander Lambi (1885–1954) of the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions of the United States. He and his wife established a sanatorium with 90 beds in Aroub, about 13 kilometres (8 mi) south of Bethlehem. At the same time they built a church in the town and a church in Bethlehem. [3] The church adheres to the Westminster Confession and the Apostles Creed. [4]
In 1954, the first service in the new building was conducted by Tabra Khalil, one of the local Arab elders. [5] Recently, land was purchased for building a church center in Shepherd's Field Town.
In 1985, the church's pastor the Rev George Habeeb Awad was ordained by the Bible-Presbyterian Church of Singapore. [2]
The old church compound is made up of eight buildings built from Jerusalem yellow stone.
Beit El Baraka operated first as a hospital and then as a pilgrim hostel from 1995. When this proved to be unsustainable, the property was sold. [6]
The Scandinavian Seamen Holy Land Enterprise, which claimed to be a church group based in Haifa and pretended to be a Swedish company, was established in 2007 in Stockholm. They claimed that their plan was to restore the church and revive it as a place of worship. Once purchased, the group registered the building with the Civil Administration and received all necessary approvals. Following this approval, the Swedish group announced its dissolution, with the church being its only asset. [7]
The sale was condemned by Swedish officials. [8]
An investigative report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz in May[ when? ] alleged that an American millionaire, Irving Moskowitz, purchased the site through a Swedish company in 2012 with the intention of turning it into a settlement outpost. Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna was among a number of political and religious leaders who protested. [9] [10] [11] [12]
Bethlehem is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about 10 km south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000, and it is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. The economy is primarily tourist-driven, peaking during the Christmas season, when Christians make pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity. The important holy site of Rachel's Tomb is at the northern entrance of Bethlehem, though not freely accessible to the city's own inhabitants and in general Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank due to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
Palestinian Christians are Christian citizens of the State of Palestine. In the wider definition of Palestinian Christians, including the Palestinian refugees, diaspora and people with full or partial Palestinian Christian ancestry this can be applied to an estimated 500,000 people worldwide as of 2000. Palestinian Christians belong to one of a number of Christian denominations, including Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, other branches of Protestantism and others. Bernard Sabella of Bethlehem University estimates that 6% of the Palestinian population worldwide is Christian and that 56% of them live outside of historic Palestine. In both the local dialect of Palestinian Arabic and in Classical Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic, Christians are called Nasrani or Masihi. Hebrew-speakers call them Notzri, which means Nazarene.
Beit Jala is a Palestinian Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at 825 meters (2,707 ft) altitude. In 2017, Beit Jala had 13,367 inhabitants according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. About 80% of the population were Christians and about 20% Muslims.
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Har Homa, officially Homat Shmuel, is an Israeli settlement in southern East Jerusalem, near Beit Sahour. The settlement is also referred to as "Jabal Abu Ghneim" which is the Arabic name of the hill. One purpose given for the decision approving of its establishment was to obstruct the growth of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem.
Gevaot is an Israeli outpost located in the West Bank, in the westernmost area of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc. It is named for the hills from which Balaam spoke, according to Numbers 23:9, just like the neighbouring settlement Rosh Tzurim.
Al-Khader is a Palestinian town in the Bethlehem Governorate in the south-central West Bank. It is located 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) west of Bethlehem. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 11,856 in 2017. The area around al-Khader is marked by vineyards, and olive and fig trees.
The Saint George's Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery in the Palestinian town of al-Khader, near Beit Jala and Bethlehem in the central West Bank. The town of Al-Khader is named after Saint George who in Arab culture is known as "al-Khadr."
The Feast of Saint George is a Palestinian holiday commemorating Saint George, known as Mar Jeries or Jirjis and al-Khader, in Palestinian Arabic. The feast occurs annually on 5 May, and although it is originally a local Christian holiday, both Palestinian Christians and Muslims participate. The feast is held in the Palestinian town of al-Khader, just south of Bethlehem.
Tourism in the Palestinian territories is tourism in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. In 2010, 4.6 million people visited the Palestinian territories, compared to 2.6 million in 2009. Of that number, 2.2 million were foreign tourists while 2.7 million were domestic. In the last quarter of 2012 over 150,000 guests stayed in West Bank hotels; 40% were European and 9% were from the United States and Canada. Major travel guides write that "the West Bank is not the easiest place in which to travel but the effort is richly rewarded."
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, the church currently has 2,500 members in six congregations.
Bethlehem Bible College is a Christian evangelical college, founded in 1979 in Bethlehem, under Israeli military occupation. It was created to prepare Christian leaders to serve Arab churches and society in the Holy Land. It trains students to model Christ-centeredness, humility and biblical wholeness. The College uses Arabic as its primary language of instruction, and all courses are accredited through MEATE, the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education and several international theological organizations.
Tent of Nations is an educational and environmental farm covering 400 dunams next to the village of Nahalin, on a hill top southwest of Bethlehem. The farm has been in Daoud Nassar's family since 1916 when his grandfather purchased the land known as Dahers’ Vineyard. The farm is now surrounded by the Gush Etzion settlement bloc.
William Hanna Shomali is an auxiliary bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Born in 1950 and ordained priest on June 24, 1972, he has served for eight years in the parishes of Jordan, 19 years as professor then as rector of the Seminary of Beit Jala, and then became General Administrator.
The Shepherds' Field Chapel is a Roman Catholic religious building. in the area of Beit Sahour, southeast of Bethlehem in the West Bank in Palestine. The chapel marks the place where, according to Catholic tradition, angels first announced the birth of Christ.
Timeline of events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict during 2016.
Rev. Steven Naim Khoury is a Christian Arab pastor and author. He is the pastor of The First Baptist Church in Bethlehem and Calvary Church in Jerusalem. Khoury is the president of the "Holy Land Missions" organization.
Beer in Palestine is manufactured by three Palestinian microbreweries – Taybeh Brewery, Birzeit Brewery and the Wise Men Choice Brewery. There is at least one Israeli-operated brewery in an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Several beer festivals are held annually in Palestine, including an Oktoberfest-style event hosted by the Taybeh Brewery.