Elias Chacour
Encyclopedia
Elias Chacour is the Archbishop of Akko, Haifa
, Nazareth
and All Galilee
of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church
. Noted for his efforts to promote reconciliation between Arabs and Israelis, he is the author of two books about the experience of Palestinian people
living in present-day Israel
. He describes himself as a "Palestinian-Arab-Christian-Israeli."
in Upper Galilee
in the British Mandate of Palestine to a Palestinian Christian
family, members of the Melkite Catholic Church. His family took refuge in the neighboring village of Jish
after Bir'im was occupied by Yishuv
forces.Chacour and his family became Israeli citizens in 1948, after the establishment of the state. He attended a boarding school in Haifa
and then a high school in in Nazareth
. He studied theology at St. Sulpice Seminary in Paris
. Returning to Israel in 1965, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop George Selim Hakim
of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee, who became Patriarch Maximos V two years later. He later studied Bible
and Talmud
at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem as well as Aramaic and Syriac, becoming the first Arab to gain a higher degree there.
as a young priest in 1965. This village was the birthplace of the most recent saint of the Melkite Church, Blessed
Miriam Bawardy, a Discalced Carmelite mystic of the nineteenth century responsible for the Carmel of Saint David's Tower in Bethlehem who was beatified by Pope John-Paul II on November 13, 1983. Elias, seeing the lack of educational opportunities for Arab youth beyond the 8th grade, set about creating a school open to all local children, regardless of religious affiliation.In the early 1980s, on an empty hillside now known as the Mount of Light (Jebel an-Nour), a classroom building was begun. The newly formed high school moved from temporary quarters in the community center to the new building as soon as it was ready. The original high school has expanded considerably and now includes a primary school and a community college. The co-educational Mar Elias Educational Institutions
enroll 4,500 students, including Moslem, Christian, and Druze
.
Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center.
and other countries around the world. In addition, many visitors, fact-finding missions, and pilgrims have come to Ibillin. In recognition of his humanitarian efforts he has received honors including the World Methodist Peace Award, the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, and the Niwano Peace Prize
(Japan) as well as honorary doctorates from five universities including Duke
and Emory
. In 2001 Chacour was named "Man of the Year" in Israel.
In 2001, Chacour gave an address at commencement at Emory University
, in Atlanta, Georgia
where he accepted an honorary degree.http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_MAGAZINE/summer2001/commencement.html . An excerpt from his speech:
From a February 9, 2006 speech regarding becoming Archbishop of Galilee:
His second book, We Belong to the Land, recounts his work in the development of Mar Elias Educational Institutions, from humble beginnings to major schools for educating Palestinian young people and for helping to bring about reconciliation in a land of strife. This book has been translated into 11 languages.
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
and All Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Syria, of...
. Noted for his efforts to promote reconciliation between Arabs and Israelis, he is the author of two books about the experience of Palestinian people
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
living in present-day Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He describes himself as a "Palestinian-Arab-Christian-Israeli."
Biography
Elias Michael Chacour was born in the village of Kafr Bir'imKafr Bir'im
Kafr Bir'im, also Kefr Berem , was an Arab Christian village in Palestine located south of the Lebanese border and northwest of Safed. The village was situated above sea level, with a church overlooking it at an elevation of . The church was built on the ruins of an older church destroyed in an...
in Upper Galilee
Upper Galilee
The Upper Galilee is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period, originally referring to a mountainous area overlapping the present northern Israel and southern Lebanon, its borders being the Litani river in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Beit...
in the British Mandate of Palestine to a Palestinian Christian
Palestinian Christian
Palestinian Christians are Arabic-speaking Christians descended from the people of the geographical area of Palestine. Within Palestine, there are churches and believers from many Christian denominations, including Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholic , Protestant, and others...
family, members of the Melkite Catholic Church. His family took refuge in the neighboring village of Jish
Jish
Jish is an Arab town located on the northeastern slopes of Mt. Meron, north of Safed, in Israel's North District. The population is predominantly Maronite Christian and Greek Catholic with a Muslim minority....
after Bir'im was occupied by Yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
forces.Chacour and his family became Israeli citizens in 1948, after the establishment of the state. He attended a boarding school in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and then a high school in in Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
. He studied theology at St. Sulpice Seminary in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Returning to Israel in 1965, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop George Selim Hakim
Maximos V Hakim
Maximos V Hakim was elected Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch in 1967 and served until 2000. He guided the church through tubulent changes in the Middle East and rapid expansion in the Western hemisphere.-Life:...
of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee, who became Patriarch Maximos V two years later. He later studied Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
at the Hebrew University
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
of Jerusalem as well as Aramaic and Syriac, becoming the first Arab to gain a higher degree there.
Educational activitism
Chacour came to the village of Ibillin in the GalileeGalilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
as a young priest in 1965. This village was the birthplace of the most recent saint of the Melkite Church, Blessed
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
Miriam Bawardy, a Discalced Carmelite mystic of the nineteenth century responsible for the Carmel of Saint David's Tower in Bethlehem who was beatified by Pope John-Paul II on November 13, 1983. Elias, seeing the lack of educational opportunities for Arab youth beyond the 8th grade, set about creating a school open to all local children, regardless of religious affiliation.In the early 1980s, on an empty hillside now known as the Mount of Light (Jebel an-Nour), a classroom building was begun. The newly formed high school moved from temporary quarters in the community center to the new building as soon as it was ready. The original high school has expanded considerably and now includes a primary school and a community college. The co-educational Mar Elias Educational Institutions
Mar Elias Educational Institutions
Mar Elias Educational Institutions are constituted by a kindergarten, elementary, junior high, and high school as well as a college and a recently established university. The institution is under the direction of the archbishop Elias Chacour. The institutions are located in Ibillin, an Arab village...
enroll 4,500 students, including Moslem, Christian, and Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
.
Theological career
Chacour currently serves as Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee. The main city of his diocese is Haifa, the great city of northern Israel. He was consecrated a bishop in the church of Saint Elias in Ibillin and his enthronement in the Haifa Cathedral was broadcast by the Melkite Ecumenical television station "Noursat" which originates in Beirut, Lebanon. Chacour is vice president of the SabeelSabeel
Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center is a Christian liberation theology organization based in Jerusalem. It was founded by Palestinian Anglican priest, Rev. Naim Ateek, the former Canon of St...
Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center.
Views and opinions
An advocate of non-violence, Chacour travels often between the Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and other countries around the world. In addition, many visitors, fact-finding missions, and pilgrims have come to Ibillin. In recognition of his humanitarian efforts he has received honors including the World Methodist Peace Award, the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, and the Niwano Peace Prize
Niwano Peace Prize
Niwano Peace Prize is given to honor and encourage those who are devoting themselves to interreligious cooperation in the cause of peace,and to make their achievements known...
(Japan) as well as honorary doctorates from five universities including Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and Emory
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
. In 2001 Chacour was named "Man of the Year" in Israel.
In 2001, Chacour gave an address at commencement at Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
where he accepted an honorary degree.http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_MAGAZINE/summer2001/commencement.html . An excerpt from his speech:
From a February 9, 2006 speech regarding becoming Archbishop of Galilee:
Published works
Chacour is the author of two best selling books, Blood Brothers and We Belong to the Land. Blood Brothers covers his childhood growing up in the town of Biram, his development into a young man, and his early years as a priest in Ibillin. This book has been translated into more than twenty languages.His second book, We Belong to the Land, recounts his work in the development of Mar Elias Educational Institutions, from humble beginnings to major schools for educating Palestinian young people and for helping to bring about reconciliation in a land of strife. This book has been translated into 11 languages.
External links
- Twelve Days to Jerusalem website
- Biography of Archbishop Elias Chacour by Giga-Catholic Information
- Pilgrims of Ibillin website