Holy Land church patriarchs say Zionism not compatible with Christianity

CALGARY — The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem have issued a statement warning that Christian Zionism is incompatible with authentic Christianity and poses a serious threat to the survival of local Christian communities in the Holy Land.In the statement, the leaders of the Apostolic Churches rejected “recent activities undertaken by local individuals who advance damaging ideologies, such as Christian Zionism, mislead the public, sow confusion, and harm the unity of our flock.”These undertakings have found favour among certain political actors in Israel and beyond who seek to push a political agenda that may harm the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the wider Middle East,” the statement added.The Patriarchs and Heads warned that no individuals or groups acting independently of the historic churches can legitimately claim to speak for Christians in Jerusalem, Israel, or the Palestinian territories.Church leaders further noted with concern that these individuals have been welcomed at official levels both locally and internationally. Such actions constitute interference in the internal life of the churches and disregard the pastoral responsibility vested in the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem.Such actions, the church leaders said, constitute interference in the internal life of the churches and disregard the “pastoral responsibility” vested in the Heads of the Churches.Christian Zionism — largely an evangelical movement rooted in North America — views the modern State of Israel and its territorial claims as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.The Church leaders argue that this ideology not only distorts Christian theology but also marginalizes Palestinian Christians, whose existence complicates the narrative of an exclusively Jewish-Israeli divine claim to the land.“To claim authority outside the communion of the Church is to wound the unity of the faithful and burden the pastoral mission entrusted to the historic churches in the very land where our Lord lived, taught, suffered, and rose from the dead,” the statement reads..The Last Christians of the Holy Land.In December, Western Standard publisher Derek Fildebrandt travelled to Israel and the West Bank at the invitation of the Israeli government and, after meetings with Jewish and Arab Israelis, said the experience reinforced his view that Western political narratives — both left and right — fundamentally misunderstand the conflict.Western conservatives and Christian Zionists tend to romanticize Israel’s founding and its struggle against Islam, while overlooking the dispossession of Palestinians and the impact of settlement expansion.At the same time, Western leftists frame the conflict through post-colonial politics, portraying Palestinians as oppressed victims and Israelis as colonizers.Regardless of policy from either side of the political spectrum, the danger for the churches of Jerusalem lies not only in policy outcomes but in the continuing theological endorsement of those policies by foreign Christian movements, particularly from the US.In their closing appeal, the Church leaders reaffirmed their exclusive role as custodians of Christian life in the Holy Land and urged governments and churches alike to respect their authority.“May the Lord, who is the Shepherd and Guardian of souls, grant wisdom for the protection of His people and the safeguarding of His witness in this sacred land,” the statement concludes.