The World Evangelical Alliance adds its voice to those around the world who were dismayed by the prevention of the Latin Patriarch and the Custodian of holy Places from performing Palm Sunday services in the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem particularly since Palm Sunday marks the start of the Holy Week, a sacred time for Evangelicals and the broader Christian community worldwide.
The situation is particularly distressing as the four persons wishing to hold prayer in the sacred Church had a prior arrangement with the police and in any case are well within the 50 persons cap number allowed for gathering in Israel. Rev. Adv. Botrus Mansour Secretary General of the WEA said “This act is a violation of the 18th article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guaranteeing the right of worship.”
The ban on entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the very location where our Lord was buried and rose again, is a snub to our faith. It comes at the same time that Christian leaders and lay people are feeling pressure and lack of accountability to violations of attacks whether from radical Jews attacking priests and defaming churches in Jerusalem, or settlers destroying property in the West bank including inthe Christian village of Taybeh.
We ask for respect and our freedom of religion especially during this sacred week.
Established in 1846, the WEA unites, serves and speaks as a trusted voice for over 600 million evangelical Christians in more than 160 countries.
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