Salaam and peace in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and greetings from Jerusalem.

As I speak to you from the city of the Holy One which embraces the three Abrahamic religions, let me invite you to share with me in our corporate calling to a new ministry of love and compassion, and reconciliation.

I remember with gratitude St. James, who occupied the first See in this, our mother city of Christianity. But I recognize that there are three great faiths that connect to Jerusalem and I am reminded of St. Paul, who stressed the importance of accepting diversity.

In 1st Corinth. 3:20, Paul said: “Therefore let no one glory in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul, Apollos or Cephas or the world, or life or death, all things present or all things to come are yours, and you are Christ\'s and Christ is God.”

All is God and God is all in all. He lives in every generation. God is never absent. God is with us, above us and for us.

John the Baptist said when he was asked about the identity of Christ, He (meaning Christ) must increase and I (John) must decrease. Equally, it is my vision, my desire, and my calling, that Christ might increase in the Diocese, in the city of Jerusalem, and in the country, while we decrease.

Dear colleagues, dear heads of the Churches in Jerusalem and the Galilee, dear delegates of sister faiths, dear representatives of Palestinian and Israeli authorities, dear ladies and gentlemen of the three Abrahamic faiths, we have faced critical times since the year 1948. Our Holy Land is passing through another Via Dolorosa, and we are still searching for justice, peace, and hope.

I doubt if there are any here today who have never suffered hurt or offence at some point in their lives - similarly, that anyone here has never given hurt or caused offence towards others. That is part of what it is to be human.

Therefore, when things press hard upon us, we need to focus afresh upon the marks of our shared pain, upon those scars, which were caused by the mutual suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis. These scars remind us of the cost of the failure to love, to accept each other and to forgive.

It is in this situation we are now all called to serve. Jesus himself declared:

“I have come to serve, not to be served.” “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; behold, all things have become new.”

Jesus has given us the ministry of reconciliation. There is no doubt at this time, that all parties and faiths are called to a new ministry of reconciliation based on justice, peace and human dignity.

Reconciliation is best served by dialogue, not debate. The Christian mission is best achieved by dialogue. St. James of Jerusalem, together with the Apostles, resolved the crisis of Jew and Gentile in the first Church of Jerusalem by dignified dialogue. The Old Testament calls for dialogue. Islam calls for dialogue. It states that there is no compulsion in religion.

The ministry to which I am called demolishes walls of hatred and separation, and builds bridges of peace. Thus, I am delighted to declare the establishment of the Diocesan Department of Peace, Reconciliation and Interfaith Dialogue for the service of all peoples, and for coexistence among us all.

In concluding, let me with gratitude recognize the sacrifices of our predecessors. Our history of Anglicanism goes back to the year 1841. The establishment of the first Palestinian Native Council of the Church took place in the year 1905. The year 1976 witnessed the restructuring of the Province joining four Dioceses into one autonomous Church.

I wish to thank all the Bishops who have laid a strong foundation for this great Diocese. I also want to express deep gratitude to our partners in mission namely all over the world. And I wish to thank all my colleagues, clergy, and the laity. The late Archbishop George Appleton praised the laity of Jerusalem as the strongest in the Anglican Communion. I am proud of you. I appreciate your support.

To our friends, I thank you and extend my invitation to visit us in the land of the Holy One. Our homes, hearts and arms are always open to you.

May the Lord bless you all as we walk with Him who is the way, the truth, and the life.

In Christ,

+ The Rt Revd Suheil Dawani
Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem