By Maria Khoury , Ed. D.

A champion of the Palestinian struggle for peace with justice and a devote Orthodox Christian supporting an end to the occupation is being stifled by the Israeli government and with the blessing of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He is beloved by the people, despised by the Israelis and feared as a threat by the Greek clergy due to his charismatic personality, deep wisdom and charm. At the moment, Archimandrite Dr. Theodosios Attalla Hanna is one of the only few highly educated clergy within the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem whom is of Palestinian origin; The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre consists of 200 Greek Orthodox monks, all of which are of Greek descent. Very few Orthodox Christians whom are of Palestinian descent are part of the mainstream patriarchate administration.

For his devotion and dedication to the Holy Land ministry, Abouna (Father) Attalla has received an honorary doctor of theology degree from the Sophia Theological Institute of Bulgaria. He also studied theology for seven years in Greece to serve the Church in Jerusalem but is currently confined to his room not able to contribute his gifts and talents from God to the community. The Israelis have technically put him under "house arrest" and have confiscated his Israeli passport and his Vatican passport obtained by the late Patriarch Diodoros I while Abouna Attalla was officially assigned as the spokesperson for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

All of Archimandrite Attalla's duties have been ceased and taken away from him for the last few years while the Israeli government was reviewing the decision to recognize the new Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. Sadly to say, the official recognition of the new patriarch came at a high price for the local community to lose a defender of the faith and human rights activist. Born (l965) in Al-Rameh (near Haifa) to Arab Israeli Orthodox Christian parents, Iacoub and Alice, Abouna Attalla has only one brother and one sister. He was ordained a priest (l991) at the Holy Sepulchre. He has represented the World Council of Churches at meetings on human rights during which the suffering of Palestinian people was discussed.

by Maria Khoury

It is not unusual to see Israeli soldiers outside my office window. Since they have re-occupied the Palestinian Territories in 2001, the Israeli army can attack anytime and any place. It is part of the instability and the unknowing that we try to accept every day. It can be a lovely sunny day with people at work and children in school but within seconds it could turn into a nightmare if the Israeli army invades Ramallah like last Wednesday (25 Feb) making the following day look like World War Three happened. The soldiers will pull in with their armored jeeps and guns and the Palestinian youth will start protesting their military presence by throwing rocks resulting in another outbreak of violence supported by American tax payers' dollars. And of course, innocent people always get hurt being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

By Maria Khoury

My home is Taybeh, a village between Jerusalem and Jericho, not far from Ramallah. Taybeh received its present name during Salahdin's visit in the 12th century. Its earlier name, Ephraim, is mentioned in the New Testament: "Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim." (John 11:54). Christians have lived here since the time of Christ.

As a child growing up in America, I didn't realize there were still Christians in the Holy Land -- I imagined only Jews and Muslims. It wasn't until I was a student at Hellenic College, where I met my husband, David Khoury, himself a Palestinian, that I began to hear about Christianity's living presence in the places mentioned in the Gospel.

By Maria Khoury , Ed. D.

September 2003 -- Jerusalem-With the loud chanting, the hand clapping and the young boys shouting and proclaiming their wishes to the beat of their tableh (small drum) I thought I was in the middle of Gaza at a funeral for another martyr during this Second Intifada (Uprising) but instead it was the middle of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem on the first Friday of September. A handful of young Palestinian Christian boys forming the Orthodox Youth Club in the Jerusalem area were participating in their own traditional way following the celebration of the name day of His Beatitude Patriarch Irineos I, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. The boys were proud to wish His All Holiness a happy name day in this very loud way by shouting in Arabic that in soul and in blood they are Christian while handing the Greek patriarch a large beautiful oversized bouquet of flowers.

These young boys with their youth leader, Nehleh Ateh, waited until the crowds left, until the speeches were over including the warm words afford by the Greek Consul General in Jerusalem, Mrs. Eleni Sourani, and began to declare and shout that Christianity will live forever in Palestine. I was amazed at the patience of the patriarch because he found a very diplomatic way to interrupt them by insisting to take a photo with these energetic young boys and told them how proud they make him by their mere attendance of this event. Certainly not large in numbers but strong in spirit and persistent that Christians belong in the Holy Land. At the end of the racket, I asked one young man, wearing a white T-shirt of the Resurrection Icon, if he feels Christian youth will even exist fifty years from now in the Holy Land and he responded in Arabic by saying "if there is love and faith" surely Christians will be present.

by Maria Khoury

The land between the Mediterranean and Jordan River was called by the Romans Palestina after the year 70 AD. Historically the land of Palestine has been dominated by various people starting from the Canaanites and currently by the Israelis.

The people who live in the land called Palestine from the Roman era who identify with the land, its people, and its history are called Palestinians. The words "Palestinian Christian" are used to describe the indigenous Christians of the Holy Land instead of the words "Israeli Christian" or "Arab Christian" because this group of people have been shaped culturally and to an extent religiously by a people and history called Palestinian. "Arab Christian" refers to any Christian from any of the thirty Arab countries whereas "Palestinian Christian" refers specifically to a Christian person who has origins in Palestine in the Holy Land where Christ was born.

By Maria Khoury , Ed. D.

April 2004 - The entire Christian community in Jerusalem today gathered to witness the greatest of all miracles-the Miracle of the Holy Fire. It was the first time I was not bothered by the soldiers, the police, the large crowds, the noise, the drums of the Boys Scouts and the Girl Scouts anxiously waiting to receive the Holy Fire from the Life Giving Tomb of Christ in the Holy Sepulchre.

It was an exciting day where representatives of many churches from all over the Holy Land come to receive the Holy Fire and carry it back in small lanterns to their particular churches for the Midnight Resurrection Service. Palestinians are not allowed to enter Jerusalem without a special permit thus this year many Christian Palestinians went to the extra trouble of getting permits in order to partake in this centuries old celebration that reflects our Christian heritage and deep roots in Palestine . Unfortunately there were three checkpoints inside the Old City so many people, although got a permit to enter Jerusalem , still got stuck outside the church of the Holy Sepulchre.

By Maria Khoury , Ed. D.

The Christian roots in Taybeh are traced to our Lord and Savior Christ Himself as stated in the New Testament. Jesus came to the village of Taybeh with his disciples after the decision was taken by the Sanhedrin to prosecute him. "Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim..." (John 11:54).

The village of Taybeh had the biblical name Ephraim. The biblical name was changed to the modern name Taybeh by the Islamic leader Salahdin around 1187. The folktale states that Salahdin visited the village Ephraim and found its people very hospitable and generous thus he made a statement that they are "Taybehn" people in Arabic meaning "good and kind," thereby since that day Biblical Ephraim took the modern name "Taybeh." However, there are three places called "Taybeh" in this region. One is "Taybeh Zaman" (original Taybeh) in Jordan , the other is "Taybeh", north of Israel and close to Jenin.