by Nathalie Raffray, Aid to the Church in Need
A Benedictine Abbot fears that with Christians declining in the Holy Land the historic quarters will become empty of families and Christian life.
Dom Nikodemus Schnabel offered a stark portrait of the situation of Christians in the region where only a “tiny” minority, remain due to war, economic hardship, uncertainty and a steady exodus.
Speaking with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) he said areas in the Holy Land risked becoming empty symbols devoid of witnesses.
He said: “There is no Annunciation without Nazareth, no Christmas without Bethlehem, no Easter without Jerusalem.”
He added: “If you think this is an Eldorado of Christianity, the reality is different.
“All Christians together are less than 2 percent. For us, dreaming of reaching 5 percent or 6 percent would already be a lot.
“If you think of the most secularised regions in Europe – like the Czech Republic or the former East Germany – even there Christians are much more numerous than here”
Abbot Nikodemus said that Jerusalem’s Christian presence is marked by profound pluralism rather than a single, unified voice, with 13 historic Churches. The Holy Sepulchre, for example, is shared by six different Churches.
The Abbot said: “It is very, very colourful with many different Churches and traditions.”
But he added: “The paradox is clear – the place where the most important events of our Faith occurred risks losing its indigenous Christians.
“My fear is that the Holy Land could become a kind of ‘Christian Disneyland’. The holy places will remain, with monks and priests. But there might be no Christian families, no young Christians, no ordinary Christian life.”