The bishops and heads of Churches in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan organized a silent candle march on Wednesday, December 13, to express rejection of the decision undertaken by the US Administration to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize the city as the capital of Israel.
The march set off from the Church of the Greek Orthodox Entry of Jesus into Temple Church in Sweifieh and proceeded towards Mary of Nazareth Church in Sweifieh. The march was led by Metropolitan of Philadelphia Bishop Benedict, Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan Bishop William Shomali, Bishop Yasser Ayyash, heads and representatives of various churches in Jordan, a number of Christian clergyman, heads of Christian institutions in Jordan, and a number of nuns.
Among the participants in the march were Minister of Public Works Sami Halaseh, Lower House of Parliament Members Tariq Khoury and Nabil Ghishan, in addition to some two thousand people from various churches in the Kingdom.
The participants, who raised pictures of His Majesty King Abdullah II as well as Jordanian and Palestinian flags, stressed that Jerusalem will remain an Arab capital for all Muslims and Christians. They condemned the irresponsible decision undertaken by the US president towards the Palestinian issue which undermines all international efforts conducted during the past seventy year of the conflict in the Holy Land.
When the march reached Mary of Nazareth Church, Director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan Fr. Rif’at Bader read out the statement by the bishops of Churches in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which also represents their respective parishioners, that expresses their categorical rejection of the decision undertaken by US President Donald Trump as being unfair to the Palestinians and contrary to the resolutions of the international legitimacy.
The bishops valued in their statement the positions undertaken by His Majesty King Abdullah II Ben Al Hussein in international forums in defence of the Holy City, the latest of which was his address at the Islamic conference in Istanbul is his capacity as custodian of the Islamic and Christian sanctities. Jerusalem is in the heart of all Muslims; it is also deep-rooted in the hearts of Christians.
Source: Abouna.org
