Jerusalem — Archbishop Atallah Hanna, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia, December 8, 2025: Jerusalem has in recent days witnessed a deeply provocative incident that struck at the heart of Christian values and the mission of the Church—a mission that has always been one of peace, love, and defense of the oppressed and suffering.
Nearly one thousand individuals, most of them from the United States and claiming to be pastors, arrived in Jerusalem.
Their visit was not intended to meet Palestinian Christians, nor to visit the holy sites of Bethlehem as Christmas approaches.
Instead, they came to express solidarity with Israel and its oppressive policies against the Palestinian people.
Such a stance strips them of any genuine Christian identity. How can one claim to be a pastor and a follower of Christ while standing with those who kill, dispossess, and degrade an entire people?
These visitors went to the Western Wall but ignored the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a site central to Christian faith.
Their itinerary was wholly aligned with the occupation’s narrative, blessing crimes and grave violations committed against Palestinians. Their presence was not pastoral but political, serving as a mouthpiece for propaganda.
They did not seek time to meet local Christian leaders, nor to visit the Church of the Nativity or the Holy Sepulcher.
Their focus was instead on illegal settlements and solidarity with colonizers—those who attack Palestinians in the West Bank and destroy olive trees, symbols of peace and of the deep-rooted Palestinian presence in this land.
How can anyone claim Christianity while siding with the oppressor against the oppressed, justifying crimes against humanity, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza?
This phenomenon is a manifestation of political Zionism, not Christianity. Those who cloak themselves in religion while endorsing injustice are not true Christians.
I call upon them to repent sincerely and correct their grave errors. As long as they remain complicit in this distortion of Christianity, they cannot be considered followers of Christ.
We do not condemn them—there is a just Judge we believe in—but we urge them to turn away from complicity in crimes. To justify or bless such acts is to share responsibility for them.
These individuals do not represent Christianity or the Church. Their rhetoric and actions are hostile to the faith, seeking to distort its message and principles.
Those who disregard the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Nativity while prioritizing political agendas at the Western Wall cannot claim to be Christians. They are serving colonial interests, not the Gospel.
We pray for them, and for all who are lost, knowing that their visit was not only an affront to Palestinians but also an insult to the churches and Christian communities of this land. To support the occupation is to become part of its violent, colonial machinery.
This dangerous phenomenon undermines the purity of Christian values and true faith. Churches everywhere must rise to their responsibility: to proclaim authentic Christianity, to stand with the oppressed, and to reject the distortion of the Gospel for political ends.
Their visit left no mark on the Christian presence here, nor on the justice of the Palestinian cause. Palestinian Christians remain steadfast in their faith, their identity, and their homeland, while the justice of Palestine endures despite propaganda and distortion.
The Holy Bible is divine and must not be manipulated for political agendas. It is a book of love and mercy, not of violence, racism, or oppression.
To twist its teachings into a justification for injustice is to betray its heavenly message of God’s boundless compassion for humanity.
We pray that these individuals return to their senses and rediscover their humanity, so they may become true Christians rather than enemies of Christianity in its name.
