Pilgrimage of English
Church Dignitaries to Bethlehem
 On
Thursday 21st December 2006, at 3:30 p.m.
four distinguished prelates representing
different Churches in England, visited the
town of Bethlehem invited by its Mayor Dr.
Victor Batarseh. A crowd of the Christian
Communities of Bethlehem were eagerly
waiting for the arrival of the visiting
dignitaries in the Nativity Square.
The guests
comprised the following:
a) Cardinal
Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of
Westminster.
b) Dr.
Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.
c) Reverend
David Coffey, Head of the Council of Free
Churches.
d) Bishop
Nathan Hovhannisian, Head of the Armenian
Church in Britain.
 The
Mayor of Bethlehem received his guests in
Bethlehem Peace Center and gave a welcoming
speech in which he expressed his deep
appreciation for the support and solidarity
of the visiting Church leaders to the people
of Bethlehem who have suffered greatly from
the occupation.
Archbishop
Rowan Williams then took the floor and
thanked Bethlehem Municipality and the
Bethlehem Community for their warm
reception. He spoke on behalf of the other
guests emphasizing the concern of the
Christian world for the welfare of the
people of Bethlehem and prayed for the
establishment of peace in the Holy Land.
His
Beatitude Mgr. Michel Sabbah, Patriarch of
the Latin Community in the Middle East, was
invited to say a word on the momentous
occasion. He referred in his speech to the
deplorable situation in the Holy Land and
stressed upon the fact that the country is
in need of immediate support morally and
financially from the world community.
The
ceremony came to an end when the Mayor of
Bethlehem offered each of the dignitaries an
Honorary citizenship of Bethlehem. The
visitors then left Bethlehem Peace Center
with the accompanying crowd and betook
themselves to the Church of the Nativity
where they visited the Holy Grotto.
Photo Gallery
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