Anglican Communion News Service

At 26, Hosam Naoum is the youngest Anglican priest in the Diocese of Jerusalem, and also its most recent. He was ordained priest in September 1999 and works in the West Bank parishes of Rafedia/Nablus and Zababdeh.

He can claim to be Christian, Arab, Palestinian and Israeli, but says he doesn't have an identity crisis! His background is both Christian and Arab, his family have lived on the West Bank for generations in the area still called Palestine, and he carries an Israeli passport.

"Our family has been Anglican since 1800," Hosam says of his background. "Prior to that it was Greek Orthodox." He insists he doesn't have an identity crisis! He uses his own mix of cultures to draw a parallel with how Muslims, Christians and Jews can live peacefully side-by-side in the Middle East. "I believe these three faiths together can make it; Jerusalem can serve as an example to the whole world."

Hosam is one of a new generation of young and passionate clergy in the Diocese of Jerusalem. He trained in South Africa before returning to his home land to work in parish ministry.

"We are very outward looking," he says of his parishes. "We don't just focus on our own small world, but on outreach. We try to make Church relevant to everyone." In an area where evangelism cannot be carried out directly, the congregations are involved in local community work. "Evangelism for us lies in showing Christ in action - in helping the needy and the poor and, through the United Nations, those in refugee camps."

In Nablus, the 700 Christians come from four traditions - Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic and Anglican. Although there are different calendars in use for the ecclesiastical year, locally major festivals are celebrated at the same time. Eighty children attend an ecumenical Sunday School from all traditions. However, the Christian population is tiny in comparison with the 250,000 Muslims, including people in refugee camps.

"It's the people who make a place holy," says Hosam, explaining why he dislikes the term Holy Land, "not the place that makes the people holy. Those who go on pilgrimage to this land must be aware of its living stones - they have to make a pilgrimage to the living land as well as to the past."

Hosam asks for prayers for the peace of Jerusalem. "Don't just think of the Jerusalem of the past, but of the present," he says. "We as Christians are one family. We pray for others in the family, and we feel supported by knowing you are praying for us. That gives us motivation for the future."

Article from: Melbourne Anglican