Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

Dear Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East,

I have just returned from visiting the Diocese of Washington and the Diocese of Virginia, where Fr.Hanna Mansour and I received a most gracious welcome.

This visit reminded me once again of the tremendous relationship that the Diocese of Jerusalem enjoys, not only with the Episcopal Church;but with the entire worldwide Anglican Communion.

The Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East is an open diocese, welcoming Anglicans from across the Communion, to come as pilgrims and visitors to the Land of the Holy One. Through our cathedral,parishes, institutions, college and guest houses we enable pilgrims to visit the historic holy sites associated with the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here one can be at the very locations where Jesus calmed the sea, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and shared the good news of the Kingdom of God. In the Holy City of Jerusalem and its environs one can experience the sacred places that framed the last week of our Lord's life here on earth, where he suffered, died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.

Visiting these holy places associated with our Lord Jesus Christ has rekindled the faith of thousands of pilgrims through the millennia and does so still today.

In addition to encountering 'ancient stones' at holy sites, we provide pilgrims and visitors with the unique opportunity to meet the Living Stones of the Holy Land, those indigenous Christians who have been here since the first Pentecost. For nearly two thousand years indigenous Christians have given witness to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate God, who walked the very ground they call home. Meeting these brothers and sisters in Christ is a blessing in and of itself as we meet in one another The One who binds us together.

The Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East is ideally equipped to be an Open Door through which Anglicans around the world can meaningfully experience the Land of the Holy One. Through our knowledge of the area, our expert facilitators and modern facilities, we provide pilgrims with an experience of the Holy Land that is intimate and profound.

I cherish the bond of affection between us and invite you to visit the Holy Land through the Open Door of the Diocese of Jerusalem. I am most thankful for your prayers, fellowship, solidarity and generosity.

Salaam and Peace,

The Right Rev'd Suheil S. Dawani
Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem