Why doesn’t the Archbishop of Canterbury move to the Middle East and encourage other members of his community to do the same; leading by example is the only way… And after all, the Middle East is such a wonderful place to live, why wouldn’t he and many others want to move there? Nowhere in the world is there such a large concentration of intelligent, objective and forward-thinking people as there are in the Middle East. Obviously I’m being extremely sarcastic!
Quite frankly, if there were a larger number of Christians in the Middle East then there would be three crazy groups of people fighting each other over their so-called “Holy Land” instead of just two as is presently the case. People have been slaughtering one another over this “Holy Land” for thousands of years, and that land is about as holy as the dark side of the Moon. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
BAPTISMAL SITE, Jordan – The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams voiced grave concern Saturday over the eroding Christian presence in the Holy Land on the first stop of his four-day pilgrimage to the region.
Williams, the spiritual leader of the Anglican communion worldwide, held a sermon for hundreds of faithful at the River Jordan after dedicating the cornerstone of an Anglican church to be built at the site where tradition says Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
Williams said he “worried deeply” about the dwindling numbers of Christians in the Mideast, and stressed that it was the church’s duty to support Christians who face hardship due to regional conflicts.
Williams is also expected to visit Gaza and the West Bank, after traveling to Jerusalem for meetings with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel as part of an interfaith dialogue.
Christians make up only about 5 percent of Jordan’s 6 million people, and have a minor presence in most other countries in the Mideast.
Many Jordanian Anglicans rejoiced at Williams’ visit — his second official trip to the country.
Ghazi Musharbash, who cares for orphans in Amman, praised the archbishop for his stance on the Arab-Israeli conflict, saying Williams’ views have won him great respect among Jordan’s Christians.
Musharbash said the archbishop has pushed for “a just peace settlement,” showing support for Palestinians while also maintaining good ties with Israel.
“He is telling Israelis that as you want to live in peace, so should your neighbors live in peace,” Musharbash said, adding that a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict is crucial for Christians to remain in the Mideast.
“We don’t want to have our fellow Christians from the West coming to see only stones and museums,” he said.
