Rola Adel Sleiman, B.Th.C.E. [1] (born 1975) [2] is a Lebanese-Syrian female pastor, the first woman to be appointed to the Christian ministry in the Arab world. [3] She was ordained on 26 February 2017. [4]
Sleiman was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, to a Syrian father and Lebanese mother. [5] [6] She was brought up in the Evangelist Presbyterian Church of Tripoli, located in Rahibat Street, [2] and studied theology under the sponsorship of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, a church that has only 3000 members altogether. [7] She began to officiate at services in Tripoli when the regular pastor was away during 2006, and replaced him permanently in 2009. [4] The Synod eventually voted by a majority of 23 to 1 to ordain her as his replacement so that the church could host baptisms and other services that could only be presided over by an ordained minister. [8] She stated that she had needed "a lot of silence, patience and effort" to succeed in her vocation. [9]
In May 2017 a controversy arose when the UK government refused Reverend Sleiman's request for a visa in order to allow her to visit the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, at which she had been invited to speak. [10] The Home Office's decision was overturned a few days later, following representations from the Church of Scotland, but Sleiman was still not allowed to board a flight from Beirut to the UK. [11]