Holy Land patriarchs denounce ‘Christian Zionism’ as a ‘damaging ideology’

(LifeSiteNews) — The Christian Patriarchs of the Holy Land have condemned “Christian Zionism” as a “damaging ideology” that threatens the unity of Christians.

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem issued a statement dated January 17, in which they stressed that only the Christian Churches represent Christians in the Holy Land. The group consists of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant bishops in Jerusalem, including the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

“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,” the statement reads. “These undertakings have found favor among certain political actors in Israel and beyond who seek to push a political agenda which may harm the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the wider Middle East.”

“Holy Scripture teaches us that ‘we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another’ (Romans 12:5),” the group continued. “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 Patriarchs and Heads of Churches further note 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.”

“The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem reiterate that they alone represent the Churches and their flock in matters pertaining to Christian religious, communal, and pastoral life in the Holy Land,” the patriarchs stressed.

READ: ‘Faith in a Time of Genocide’: Holy Land Christians call for solidarity, repudiation of Zionism

While the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem did not specify which Christian Zionists “have been welcomed at official levels both locally and internationally,” they may be referring to an event organized by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in early December last year, where a delegation of 1,000 Protestant pastors from the U.S. met in Jerusalem. The goal of the event was to strengthen the “Judeo-Christian alliance” and the U.S.-Israel alliance in the face of the growing opposition to Zionism in the United States and other Western nations.

In their statement, the Christian patriarchs of Jerusalem stressed that it is only they, and not Christian Zionists from the U.S. or elsewhere, who represent the Christians in the Holy Land.