There is a historical truth that no one has the right to ignore or distort: the message of pure Christianity began in Palestine. Our holy land is the birthplace of Christianity. It is the land of the Nativity, the Incarnation, and the Redemption.
From Palestine, Christianity spread to all corners of the world—especially to sister Antioch, where Saul of Tarsus went and, on the Straight Street that leads to Mary’s Church in Damascus, became Paul, the chief among the apostles. It also reached sister Alexandria, where the Evangelist Mark established its church.
The Churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria form a spiritual triangle from which the light of faith spread to the world. Among them, the Church of Jerusalem remains the mother of all churches. This is a historical reality that no one should ignore.
Due to the occupation and its policies, and the suffering imposed on the Palestinian people, among other factors, the number of Christians in Palestine has declined. Not long ago, they made up about 1% of the population. Today, they are even fewer.
These Palestinian Christians are the children of this sacred land. Even if they are small in number due to the circumstances we mentioned—and others—they are still called to be the salt and the leaven of this land. They should not be seen as a minority, even if their numbers are small.
We are not minorities in our homelands—not in Palestine, nor anywhere else in this region. Our language is Arabic, and our identity is Arab. There is no contradiction between being Arab and belonging to any of the historic churches rooted in this land.
We, the Greek Orthodox, are part of this region. So are the Syriac Orthodox, the Coptic Orthodox, the Catholics, the Evangelicals, the Maronites, and others. All of these churches are Arab, their language is Arabic, and Arab identity, as we understand it, is not based on race. It does not contradict the cultural or linguistic uniqueness of any church. To be Greek Orthodox does not mean you are not Arab. Arab identity embraces all the peoples of this region, with their different religious, ethnic, doctrinal, and national backgrounds.
Arabism is a unifying space for everyone, even if it is now going through a difficult and painful phase—fragmentation, sectarianism, conflict, and division have led some to question or abandon their Arab identity, replacing it with narrow sectarian or factional loyalties.
To the Christians of this region—from the Greek Orthodox, Syriac, Coptic, Maronite, Catholic, and others—I say: your attachment to your church, to your cultural identity, to your ecclesiastical language does not cancel your Arab belonging. Arabism brings us together, even if today it is weakened, fractured, and burdened by decline.
And in this state of weakness, I see that some foreigners who support our Arab causes—chief among them, the cause of Palestine—are more faithful to Arab identity than some of those who claim to belong to it.
Arabism is thought, culture, language, humanity, and civilization. It is not backwardness, decline, sectarianism, or division.
I know this issue deserves deeper study and research. But I wanted to say, simply and clearly, that I am proud to belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, and I am proud to be both Palestinian and Arab. I do not see any contradiction between these identities.
When I visited the Church of the Archangels of the Greek Orthodox in the Al-Daher district of Cairo, I noticed a sign that read: “The Church of the Arab Greek Orthodox.” That phrase caught my attention.
I realize that in our current Arab context, this topic may provoke debate. That is natural—and even necessary. But I say to those who will discuss and engage in this dialogue: we Christians of the East are not living through an identity crisis, as some want to suggest. We belong to all our churches—with their names, traditions, histories, and languages—but we are also Arabs. We are united by one language, and by a true Arab identity—not a distorted or fake one.
And our compass remains Palestine—the land of the Nativity, the Incarnation, and the Redemption. It is the beating heart of Christianity and the beating heart of humanity. There can be no Arab identity without Palestine, which must remain the central cause of the Arab world—and the cause of all free people everywhere, from all religions and backgrounds.
*Archbishop Atallah Hanna is the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia in Jerusalem.
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