CHRISTIANITY IN GAZA: For God’s sake, Church, stand out and speak up!
1 Corinthians 12:25-27: And so there is no division in the body, but all its different parts have the same concern for one another. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness. All of you are Christ’s body, and each one is a part of it.
John 17:21-23 (the final prayer of our Lord Jesus): I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me. I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one: I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me.
In his book Christians in the Crosshairs[1], Gregory Cochran paints the following hypothetical picture:
If a famine were to break out in the United States and food became so scarce that large numbers of people began dying of starvation, parents would suffer an enormous burden to feed their own children. While it might be heroic for a father to feed all the children in his neighbourhood, it would be strange indeed if in doing so he allowed his own children to starve. Such a man would not be herald as a hero. All would recognise that he should have cared for all kids in the neighbourhood, beginning with those of his own household.
Likewise, the covenant community of God, NOT Israel but the bride of Christ, should always be our first concern when we address the conflict in Gaza. Not the only concern, but the first concern. Not Israel but the Church. And yet, one of the less-discussed effects of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which erupted 18 months ago on October 7, 2023, is the threat to, and possible elimination of Christian communities in Gaza and throughout the Holy Land.
Standing with Israel in this season of death and destruction is neither heroic nor is it Biblical. Expressing solidarity with the Church in Gaza is.
Al Jazeera recently quoted several Christians from Gaza as saying that they think the current war will be the death blow for their community in the Holy Land. Mitri Raheb, an Evangelical Lutheran pastor and founder of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, said it was conceivable that the current conflict would spell the end of its long history in this strip of land. “This community is under threat of extinction,” Raheb said. “I’m not sure if it will survive the Israeli bombing, and even if it survives, I think many will want to emigrate.”
“We know that within this generation, Christianity in Gaza will cease to exist,” he added.
Please press the pause button for one second and read this statement again.
“We know that within this generation – our generation – Christianity in Gaza, – home to the oldest and most significant church in Christian history – will cease to exist,”
Palestine is the cradle of Christianity. Whether we would like to know it or not, the Church in the West is connected to the church in Gaza through the umbilical cord of faith. This umbilical cord, like with a baby in a womb, is a vital, life-sustaining structure that connects a developing foetus to the placenta, providing nutrients and oxygen and keeping the infant alive during pregnancy. If this cord is severed, the baby dies. If, where it all started, ceases to exist, that which exists might witness the start of the end as well. Christianity in Gaza existed before Christianity in the West. If we fail to recognise this, the consequential death of Western Christianity might begin at the same time as the destruction of the Church in Gaza – not a death by numbers but a death by association. If Christians choose to stand with Israel without acknowledging Israel’s role in suffocating the very breath of those who confess Christ, extinction is imminent. But it will not only be because Israel exerted force, it will be because of an ignorant Western Christianity that failed to speak up in defence.
If the slaughter of fellow brothers and sisters in Gaza and the bombing of Churches fail to awaken the conscience of the global Church, something profoundly troubling is at hand. Prioritizing concern for Israel over the plight of fellow believers in Christ calls for a serious reflection. A heart that prioritizes the brides-maid, so to speak, over the bride of Christ is in need of spiritual transformation. Publicly proclaiming unwavering support for Israel while neglecting to express solidarity with the suffering body of Christ is neither heroic nor Biblical. It raises the need to reevaluate one’s commitment to a crucial part of the body of Christ being crucified daily and is at the point of death.
Oh Lord, have mercy
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Christianity in Gaza dates back to the early days of the faith. The region is mentioned in the New Testament, such as in Acts 8:26, where Philip the Evangelist baptizes an Ethiopian man on the road to Gaza. Gaza is home to some of the oldest Christian sites, including the Church of Saint Porphyrius, built in the 5th century and later reconstructed by Crusaders. Another notable site is the Tell Umm Amer monastery, a 4th-century structure that included churches, a baptism hall, and a cemetery.
In early Christianity Gaza was a hub of Christian missionary activity, when it grew in prominence due to its position astride several of the major trade routes of late antiquity. Like other port cities of the eastern Mediterranean such as Antioch (near modern-day Antakya, Turkey), Berytus (modern-day Beirut, Lebanon), and Alexandria (in modern-day Egypt), Gaza was a gate between East and West. In these cities, religious and cultural currents from the Greco-Roman world to the west, the older Babylonian and Persian world to the east, and the (possibly) even more ancient Egyptian civilization to the south met, clashed, and often harmonized in unpredictable ways.
Gaza itself was located on the coastal road, known as the Derech Hayam in the Bible and as the Via Maris by the Romans. The port was a major center of the incense and spice trade and during the Christian period, Gaza, with its connection to the earliest years of Christianity, contributed a great deal to the development of Byzantine spirituality and monasticism.
According to University of Tennessee Professor of Religious Studies Christine Shepardson, Gaza itself was “a center of Greek learning,” to which Christianity spread after flourishing in the nearby port city of Maiuma: “In the early fifth century, the small Christian community of Gaza found a zealous leader in Bishop Porphyry, whose forceful efforts to Christianize the city are commemorated by the historical church building dedicated to his memory today.” Sadly, this historic church has now been destroyed by Israel bombs, leaving one of the pillars of the Christian faith in ruins, with little outcry from the Christian West.
CURRENT CHALLENGES
While the Christian presence is dwindling in Gaza, equally worrisome is the exodus of the larger community in the West Bank.
According to censuses taken in 2007 and 2017, respectively, there were 3,000 Christians living in Gaza, while 47,000 were residing in the West Bank. Today, having endured the catastrophic effects of the Israeli genocide since October 7, 2023, the people of Gaza continue to grapple with its devastating consequences. More than 160,000 people—most of them women and children—have been killed or injured, and over 14,000 are still missing. The destruction is unparalleled, touching every facet of life. Amid this horror, Gaza’s Christian population, around 1,100, before the war started, has dwindled to an estimated 600-700, as many fled their homes in search of safety.
Many found refuge in three churches: the Church of the Holy Family for Latin Catholics, the Saint Porphyrius Church for Greek Orthodox, and the Baptist Church located within the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. However, these places of sanctuary too became targets for Israeli airstrikes. These bombings resulted in the deaths and injuries of several displaced civilians, a tragic blow to the community.
George Anton, head of the emergency committee at the Church of the Holy Family and operations manager for Caritas Jerusalem’s Gaza branch, shared his experience with WAFA[2]:
“The church has faced several Israeli attacks during the recent war, resulting in significant damage to the building. On December 16, 2023, my aunt Naheda Khaleel Anton and her daughter Samar Kamal Anton were killed inside the church by Israeli sniper fire. Seven others were wounded while attempting to rescue them. Additionally, on October 19, 2023, Saint Porphyrius Church was bombed, killing 18 people, including ten from a single family.”
Despite these attacks, the Church of the Holy Family has never ceased its humanitarian mission.
“The church has sheltered nearly 700 displaced individuals and continues to host 450 to this day,” says Anton. “In addition, our Love and Peace Center, which cares for children and elderly people with disabilities, was also severely damaged by an airstrike.”
We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of prayer with the Christians in Gaza. “We always pray for an end to this war, for the return of peace to the land and that our children, loved ones and friends remain unharmed,” one believer shared. “Please pray that peace will return to the land, that an end will come to the bloodshed. Pray also that the city will be restored and life will return.”
Please pray with your family in Gaza, Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon and other regions impacted by this war:
Sources:
https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/155375
https://www.opendoorsus.org/en-US/stories/dont-forget-pray-christians-gaza/
[1] Published by LEXHAMM PRESS. Available on Logos.com
[2] https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/155375