Jerusalem archbishop says ‘samud,’ or resilience, helped his people cope, minister during Gaza war

[Episcopal News Service] Jerusalem Archbishop Hosam Naoum on Oct. 19 spoke at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, preaching at one of the church’s services and taking part in a forum discussion afterward. During both events he said the Palestinian people he serves exemplify the Arabic term “samud,” meaning resilience.

In his sermon, which was based on the parable of the persistent widow found in Luke 18:1-8, Naoum said the pleading of the widow for help from an unjust judge describes the miracle “that even a corrupt man can be pushed to do the right thing by strong, never-ending persistence.”

The gospel’s encouragement to trust that prayers will be heard “is something we in the Holy Land deeply understand,” he said. Samud, or what he described as a “quiet, active and strong will to stay to the last,” is characterized by the staff of the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, which he said has faced great danger and suffering the past two years. Some of the staff were killed, some were imprisoned and some lost homes and loved ones, and yet “as a team, as a community, they persevere.”

He said he hopes the Gaza Peace Deal, which was agreed to on Oct. 13, will hold since it already has allowed large quantities of food to be brought into Gaza and people to begin returning home.

But what really needs to be restored in the days ahead, beyond clearing tons of rubble and rebuilding thousands of homes, is trust between Palestinians and Israelis. He urged those listening to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” a phrase from Psalm 122:6.

The Very Rev. Winnie Varghese, the cathedral’s dean, kicked off the forum after the service by asking Naoum where he is from.

He is from a town outside Nazareth, “so I am a Galilean,” he said. “I am a son of a carpenter, and I am a fisherman as well – that’s what I do for fun,” he added, to some laughter from those attending.

When asked about the work of the Diocese of Jerusalem, he said he does what the bishop of every diocese does – engages in pastoral work and looks after his diocese’s clergy and people. But two things make Jerusalem unlike others.

One is the number of institutions it runs, including hospitals, medical clinics, rehabilitation centers and institutions for people with disabilities. But beyond the scope of its work, its location makes it unique.

“We do all these things in the place where it all happened,” Naoum said. “Christianity started in Jerusalem, with the ministry of Jesus, and from Jerusalem to the end of the earth.”

The diocese is entrusted with the people of the Holy Land, who he called “living stones, the living witnesses.” But it also takes place among what he called the “ancient stones,” the places where Jesus walked and ministered.

“We read the Gospel of the entry into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives” on Palm Sunday, Naoum said. “We process down into the Old City. We go to the Holy Sepulcher to worship on the day of the Resurrection.”

Despite the region’s ongoing trouble, he encouraged people to come to his diocese, noting that welcoming pilgrims “to the cradle of our faith” is an important part of its ministry.

He noted that board members and staff from the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, a U.S.-based nonprofit that raises money to assist the work of the diocese, were present, and he said help from them and others who support the diocese is invaluable.

In addition to his ministry leading the Diocese of Jerusalem, which includes Israel and the Palestinian areas of Gaza and the West Bank, as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, he also is primate of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, which includes the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf Coast, and the Diocese of Iran.

Naoum is assisted by the Rev. Don Binder, an Episcopal priest from the Diocese of Southeast Florida, and an Episcopal missionary who serves at the Cathedral Church of St. George’s in Jerusalem. Naoum is secretary of the Council of the Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, an ecumenical group of Christian leaders, and also is vice-chair of the Anglican Consultative Council, which facilitates the cooperative work of the provinces of the Anglican Communion.

Most recently, he was a voting member of the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission, which recommended London Bishop Sarah Mullally as the next archbishop of Canterbury. He was one of five members from the Anglican Communion to serve on this commission, representing the region of Asia.

— Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.