JERUSALEM, Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem today expressed fear that, for various reasons, Christians in the Holy Land are diminishing in number.
They said in their annual Christmas message, that in recent years, “Christians have increasingly faced assaults on their Free Exercise of Religion, including attacks against their person, defamation of their churches and cemeteries, unwarranted restrictions against their attendance in worship, and legal threats against their possession and management of church properties.”
They expressed concern that the political situation and Israeli occupation have left a toll on the few Christians who remain in the Holy Land.
“Such a disheartening atmosphere has led to a lack of hope, especially among our Christian youth, who increasingly feel unwelcome in the land where their ancestors have dwelt since even before the birth of the Church on Pentecost. As a result, many are leaving the region for places of greater opportunity, thereby diminishing the Christian presence further below its tiny two-percent minority of the general population.”
They called on Christians around the globe “to support adherence to the religious Status Quo, and to continue to work and pray for a just and lasting peace” in the Holy Land.
Source: Palestine News & Info Agency