By Patricia Lynn Morrison

The scrappy prophet Elijah—revered in the scriptures of the three Abrahamic religions—was a man of faith and action who also was not afraid to take on the establishment and condemn injustice and oppression where he saw it. An Arab Israeli priest who shares the prophet’s name embodies some of those same qualities. Over the years, Elias Chacour has gone head-to-head with local politicians, Israeli government officials and even leaders of his church who stood in the way of his vision and his projects to better the lives of his people. He has led marches to Jerusalem protesting treatment of Palestinians, faced down Israeli military, stubbornly continued to re-plant uprooted olive trees and to proceed with construction plans for his school despite government refusals for permits.

In February that same priest became the first native Palestinian who is also an Israeli citizen to be named the Melkite Catholic archbishop of Israel. Perhaps even more newsworthy is the fact that the Holy Land’s newest Christian leader is an internationally known peace activist and three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize (1986, 1989 and 1994).

Father—or, in the local usage, Abuna—Elias Chacour, 65, was chosen Feb. 8 by the synod, or church decision-making body, of the Melkite Catholic Church to be archbishop of the Galilee. In the post he will have jurisdiction for the church in Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and all of Israel. The Vatican announced on Feb. 17 that Pope Benedict XVI had approved the appointment.

The Melkite Catholic Church, which counts over 1 million members, is one of more than a dozen self-governing Eastern churches that are in union with the Roman Catholic Church. These churches have their own laws and rituals and elect their hierarchy, normally submitting a list of names to the Vatican for the pope to make the appointment. In an interesting shift, however—perhaps due to Chacour’s international prominence—this time the process was reportedly reversed: The priest’s appointment was submitted by the Vatican and then endorsed by his own church’s synod, which was convened in Lebanon.

There are several native Palestinians, or Palestinians who have lived in Jordan or Lebanon, currently heading Christian churches of various denominations in the Holy Land and other Middle Eastern nations. But Chacour is the first Israeli citizen to head a Christian church in the Galilee, which is within Israeli territory. His archdiocese includes nearly all of Israel, but excludes East Jerusalem, Bethlehem and other Israeli-occupied territories. Christian communities in these areas have their own dioceses.

Chacour, who is a popular speaker around the world and was awarded Japan’s prestigious Niwano Peace Prize in 2001, was the first Arab to study the Talmud and Bible at Hebrew University in Jerusalem (1968) and the first Arab Israeli Christian to be honored by Lions International in Israel as Man of the Year.

A lifetime proponent of interfaith dialogue and peace among Christians, Muslims, Druze and Jews in the Holy Land, Chacour typifies the respectful diversity and nonviolence he encourages. He was born in the Christian village of Biram in 1939 and raised there with Muslim and Druze neighbors. In 1951, three years after Israel was founded, young Elias, his family and all the residents of Biram—and 460 other Palestinian villages—were “temporarily” deported by the new Israeli army. They were promised that they could return in two weeks. When they did, they found the entire village bulldozed, all the homes demolished. Today villagers, many still holding the keys and deeds to their family homesteads, are still embroiled in court battles with Israel to be permitted to return.

Growing up with the experience of occupation—and seeing the smoldering rage and despair of Palestinians of all religions—made Chacour even more resolved to work for peace and tolerance.

“I was brought up believing that violence only breeds violence and that it is impossible to achieve peace by hurting your neighbor. In my own village, we had to decide whether to despair or go beyond despair,” Chacour told a Washington, DC, audience in October 2003 at the 5th international conference of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation.

Although he holds Israeli citizenship, the priest is proud and outspoken about his roots in the Galilee—his family traces its roots in Biram to the 16th century—and Christianity’s roots in his native region. “What am I first? An Israeli citizen? No. I’m older chronologically than Israel. I did not immigrate,” he told the HCEF audience. As he also points out, Christianity’s founder, Jesus, came not from Jerusalem or Rome, but from Nazareth in the Galilee.

In addition to his Talmudic studies in Israel, Chacour earned degrees in theology and scripture at Saint Sulpice and the Sorbonne University in Paris. He also holds a doctorate in ecumenical theology from the University of Geneva and numerous honorary degrees.

Ordained a priest in 1963, Chacour was appointed in 1965 to be pastor of St. Joseph Church in the village of Ibillin, near the Golan Heights. He has been there ever since. Recognizing the lack of educational opportunities for young Palestinians of all faith traditions, the priest in the early 1980s launched an ambitious educational project in Ibillin founded on the principles of nonviolence and interfaith understanding.

What began with one class of 20 students has become an impressive educational complex—the Mar Elias Educational Institutions—serving students from kindergarten to college. (The schools are named after the prophet, not the priest.) The next phase of Chacour’s dream is to start an accredited university on the campus.

In an interview with Catholic News Service in Jerusalem, the new archbishop emphasized that his continued focus will be on the importance of education.

“We need to build schools, churches, youth movements,” he said, “and find funding to provide better education”—which he sees as imperative if the next generation of Palestinians, in Israel and Palestine alike, are to move beyond grinding poverty and the violence it generates.”

In a Feb. 13 statement released from Ibillin, Chacour said he had not expected the appointment as archbishop. “At 65 years of age,” he explained, “my ambition was to dedicate the rest of my life to prayer, reading and writing.” But, he noted, God had other plans. Chacour said he is committed to continuing the work of reconciliation and peace-making with “all my brothers and sisters, Muslims, Jews and Druze,” as well as the Christian community.

Archbishop Chacour takes over church duties from Bishop Georges Haddad, who has been serving as administrator for the past four years. Chacour was formally consecrated archbishop Feb. 25 in Ibillin.

Elias Chacour is the author of two books (available in English from the AET Book Club): We Belong to the Land, and Blood Brothers, which has been translated into more than 20 languages. A documentary film on his life, “Elias Chacour: Prophet in His Own Country,” directed by Claude Roshem-Smith and Andre Chapel, made its debut in 2004.

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For more information about Chacour and his work, visit his Web site at
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Patricia Lynn Morrison has covered the Middle East, especially the Holy Land, extensively for 10 years and has received numerous awards for her reporting. She writes from Saint Cloud, MN.