First Palestinian female pastor ordained in the Holy Land

Post author:California18
Post published:January 23, 2023
Post category:News
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sally random became the first shepherdess palestine in Holy Land after being ordained at a Lutheran Church ceremony in Jerusalem.

Azar will lead the English-speaking congregation at the Church of the Redeemer, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) said. His ordination on Sunday took place before a packed crowd inside the church in the Old City in occupied east Jerusalem.

Sally Azar will lead the English-speaking congregation

Norwegian church leaders attended the ordination of Sally Azar in the Old City of Jerusalem today. Rev. Azar is the first woman to be ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. alf mabrouk!
��@albinhillert pic.twitter.com/YwWexE5hNI

— Torunn Viste (@Tvistee)
January 22, 2023

“The rite of ordination is an honor. The opportunity to be ordained as a woman in my church is an added honor. I am happy to be part of the history and gender equality in my church. It’s exciting, but there’s also some uncertainty. I don’t expect this to be an easy road,” Azar told the Lutheran World Federation last week before her ordination.

In 2018, Azar graduated from the Near Eastern School of Theology in Lebanon before traveling to Germany, where he studied Intercultural Theology at the University of Göttingen.

The occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip were home to some 47,000 Christians in 2017, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Most Palestinian Christians belong to denominations that do not allow female clergy.

It was a joyful privilege to be present at the ordination of the first ever Palestinian female pastor. Revd Sally Azar will serve in the Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land. It is an encouraging sign of change happening in churches of the region. pic.twitter.com/4V8TL6QWgW

—Richard Sewell (@sgcjerusalem)
January 22, 2023

A very small minority belong to Protestant congregations that have women as ministers. The Evangelical Lutheran Church says it has approximately 3,000 adherents in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Jordan.

Azar will be one of five women ordained in the Middle East, joining one in Syria and three in Lebanon, according to the Middle East Council of Churches.