The EMS Partner church in Jordan
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The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, Diocese of Jerusalem
Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon belong to the jurisdiction of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, Diocese of Jerusalem. The church’s centre is located in Jerusalem. St. George’s Cathedral near the Damascus Gate is the main church and the seat of Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal. The history of this Anglican diocese dates back to 1841, when Anglicans from Great Britain and Lutherans from Prussia founded a general Protestant church for visitors and inhabitants of the Holy Land. In 1849, the Swiss Samuel Gobat was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem. He was a Basle missionary in the service of the British Church Missionary Society. In 1886, the Anglicans and Lutherans split due to disagreement on issues of belief. In former times, most of the members of the Episcopal Church were Palestinians mainly from Orthodox churches. At present, the Episcopal Church performs interdenominational work with the whole of the Christian community in the Middle East. Like other Protestant churches the Episcopal Church stresses Christian upbringing and schooling, disseminating theological literature and increasing awareness of social issues. Although the church is very small, it has 33 institutions with a total workforce of over 2.000 employees. It supports hospitals, 17 schools, kindergartens and guest houses. The Christians are a small minority in the Middle East. Therefore the dialogue between Christians and Muslims as well as Christians and Jews is a major concern of the Episcopal Church. What is most important is to lay the basis for communication. The church is aware of its reconciliatory role in the Middle East Conflict. It calls for justice and peace and considers mediation between the conflicting parties one of its major tasks. It fulfils this task through the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), which was founded in 1974 by Orthodox and Protestant churches.
