10 Episcopal bishops visit Diocese of Jerusalem on ‘solidarity pilgrimage’ to the Holy Land

[Episcopal News Service] Ten Episcopal bishops are returning to their dioceses this week after what they have described as a “solidarity pilgrimage” to the Holy Land at a time when Anglican leaders in the Diocese of Jerusalem are responding to the needs of their war-torn communities.

The bishops traveled to the region on the invitation of Archbishop Hosam Naoum, who leads the Anglican province known as the Episcopal Church in the Middle East and Jerusalem, which includes the Diocese of Jerusalem. They joined Naoum in a worship service at St. George’s Cathedral on Jan. 5, the Sunday before the Feast of Epiphany. They also traveled around the diocese to meet with church members, ministry leaders, Jewish and Muslim experts and some of the Palestinians whose communities have been decimated by Hamas’ war with Israel.

“We’re here to meet with and listen to and bear witness to the incredible work that is happening in and through the diocese here, through schools and health care facilities and local parishes,” Connecticut Bishop Jeffrey Mello said Jan. 3 in a video shared online after arriving at St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem. “We know how critical that work is all the time, and particularly right now.”

The bishops also celebrated Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7 after meeting with the Diocese of Jerusalem’s ecumenical partners, including Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem.

“He explained to us that in the Holy Land, Christians see themselves as one, not in terms of denominations,” Maryland Bishop Carrie Schofield-Broadbent said in a Facebook post about the visit. “He spoke lovingly about Jerusalem as a model example of coexistence.  We’re praying for peace and at the same time, we know that peace isn’t easy.”

In addition to Mello and Schofield-Broadbent, the 10 pilgrim bishops included Maine Bishop Thomas Brown, New Jersey Bishop Sally French, former North Carolina Bishop Suffragan Anne Hodges-Copple, Minnesota Bishop Craig Loya, California Bishop Austin Rios, North Carolina Bishop Samuel Rodman, Bishop Suffragan for Armed Services and Federal Ministries Ann Ritonia and former Maryland Bishop Eugene Sutton.

“We thank our beloved bishop colleagues for standing with the church in the Holy Land during these extremely difficult times, and we look forward to sharing with them other special moments in the days ahead,” the Rev. Don Binder, a pastor at St. George’s Cathedral who also serves as Naoum’s chaplain, said in a Facebook post about the bishops’ visit.

Episcopal News Service contacted the archbishop’s office by email seeking comment for this story, which will be updated upon receiving a response.

The Diocese of Jerusalem has been on the front lines of the humanitarian response to the crisis in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel responded with deadly and relentless aerial bombardments before sending soldiers into the densely populated Palestinian territory. Al Ahli Arab Hospital, one of the Diocese of Jerusalem’s medical ministries, has remained open in Gaza despite the onslaught while tending to victims of the violence.

Early in the Israel-Hamas war, Ahli Hospital, while dealing with power outages and food and water shortages, continued to provide emergency treatment to Gazans displaced by violence as Israel ordered Palestinians in Northern Gaza to evacuate south.

Brown shared video and photo highlights from the bishops’ trip on Instagram while summarizing some of what the bishops heard there. “Every person with whom we’ve met, spoken or listened,” Brown wrote, “has communicated a version of these phrases: Thank you for coming here. You haven’t forgotten us! Please tell others so they’ll come to visit too.”

Brown, in a Jan. 10 interview with Episcopal News Service, said planning for the pilgrimage began in June 2024 during conversations between Episcopal leaders and Naoum while they attended the 81st General Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. Naoum was interested in bringing pilgrims back to the Holy Land after the onset of war had nearly ground such trips to a halt.

Pilgrimages and other tourism make up a significant part of the local economy, and while parts of Israel and the West Bank are again safe to visit, Brown told ENS that he and his fellow bishops often were among only a few visitors at the sites on their itinerary.

That said, “this was ultimately not about economics but about the importance of showing the archbishop and the archbishop’s people that they are seen, and they are not forgotten,” Brown said, especially given the complexity of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. “I’m really clear I don’t have the capacity to fix or suggest solutions, but I can support the archbishop and assure him that the people of Maine – and, I think, the people of the whole Episcopal Church – care.”

The places visited by the bishops included Jerusalem’s Old City, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mount Scopus overlooking the Judean desert, Chapel of the Shepherds’ Field and Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Christ Church in Nazareth, Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor and the Princess Basma Center, the Anglican diocese’s medical ministry in East Jerusalem.

Celebrating the Feast of Epiphany at St. George’s Cathedral, also in East Jerusalem, was a particularly memorable highlight for the bishops. Ritonia, in a Facebook post, called it “a wonderful day with fellow bishops and lots of reasons for hope even in the darkest of times here in the Holy Land.”

Broadbent-Schofield said in a post Jan. 10, as she and Sutton were making their way back to Maryland, that many of the people they spoke with were glad to be able to welcome pilgrims back to the Holy Land.

“I believe what I was sensing was a collective sigh of relief that the people of the Holy Land could once again live out their vocations of sharing with others the distinctive wonders of this land,” Schofield-Broadbent said. “In this land of the Holy One, God has uniquely equipped the people of the land to tell their stories, share the blessings of this place and spread the good news.”

– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.