Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
April 13, 2002

COMMUNIQUE

Regarding the tragic bloodshed in the Holy Land, and especially regarding the conflict in Bethlehem, around the Basilica of Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ the Saviour as well as in the very Basilica, we would like to appeal to the parties in conflict and to all the citizens of the Holy Land of Palestine and of Israel to stop any kind of violence and try to find a peaceful solution for the existing disagreements.

The Holy Land and the holy cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem have through the history been the focuses of dramatic histories of individuals, communities and peoples, but they have also been – especially for the three world religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam – holy and blessed places. God came to the Earth thereat and therefrom man ascends to Heavens. According to our, Christian faith, the Son of God became embodied there and the Spirit of God abundantly effused over all people and peoples, every God’s matter right there. In Bethlehem – whose name means the House of Bread, not accidentally at all – angels and shepherds chanted to the glory of God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill toward men (Luke 2:14). Wise men from the East came to show their reverence to the embodied Son of God Whose Nativity was foretold by the saint prophet Isaiah (7:14), and through the centuries other wise and peace-loving people from the East, West, North and South have constantly been coming. Therefore it is very painful for all of us to see that the Church of the Christ’s Nativity in Bethlehem is sieged today by army, experiencing attacks and open fire which prevent priests and monastics of the oldest Church in the world, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, from performing their regular services.

With equal sorrow do we sympathise both with innocent Jewish children suffering afflictions in streets and crossroads of the Holy City of Jerusalem and other Israel cities, and with innocent Palestine children killed in the besieged parts of Judea, Samaria and Galilee. We would like to remind: those are all lands where the prophets of God, Christ and the Apostles and many righteous people, virtuous people, confessors of the love of God, advocates of peace and humanity used to walk. There are many true believers and honorable people there today – both among the Jews, among the Christians and among the Moslems. We have recently undergone the horrors of war and devastation, the horrors which, unfortunately, still happen in the land of our vows – Kosovo and Metochia, so we know the afflictions of humans as well as afflictions of the Lord’s and people’s shrines – churches, houses of worship, monasteries....Therefore, with sadness do we receive the news about such afflictions throughout the Holy Land.

We pray for mercy, justice, love of God and peace of God for all the citizens of Israel/Palestine and we appeal both to the authorities in that country and to the powerful people in the world to do their utmost so as to return peace in the Biblical lands and thus enable the children of God live together in the Land of God. We especially express our sympathy, our compassion and solidarity to His Beatitude Kyr Irinei, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and to all the honorable hierarchs, Fraternity of the Holy Sepulchre, clergy, all the monastics and the faithful of the ancient Church of Sion.