A talk at the International Round Table for the Security of the Holy Sites of Palestine, Istanbul, Sept 11, 2025
Recently Israel bombed two old venerable churches of Gaza: the Greek Orthodox church of Saint Porphyrios and the Catholic Holy Family Church. Thus, we were reminded that the Holy Land is called the Holy Land because it is the cradle of Christianity; this is the land where Jesus Christ was born and lived and died on the Cross, and was Resurrected. Where the Church was formed, where the Empty Tomb of Christ is located. This land was fought for in numerous Crusades, the flower of European chivalry died on its fields and hills fighting Muslim warriors. After the Crusades, for the last thousand years, her churches, shrines and relics remained safe and accessible for Christian pilgrims. And they are not museum pieces: every day there are many thousands of Christian Palestinians who worship in the churches and venerate its relics. Things began to change with advent of the Jewish State.
Without going into deep theology, let us sum it up: historically the Jews are, and always were hostile to Christ and Christians. You can learn that from the New Testament, or from the Talmud, Jewish holy text, or from the news, where you can see Jews daily spit on Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem.
