2009 News from Archbishop Chacour and two fellow bishops visited Gaza - after earlier denials of permission by Israel.

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- After three attempts in five weeks, three bishops from Jerusalem were allowed to enter the Gaza Strip March 10 to visit churches and humanitarian projects. The three were the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), the Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani, Anglican bishop in Jerusalem, and Greek Catholic Archbishop Elias Chacour, according to an ELCJHL news release.

Read the whole article from the ELCA's website here.

  About Archbishop Elias Chacour

Elias Chacour, a Melkite Catholic priest, was born to a Palestinian Christian family in the village of Biram in Upper Galilee in 1939. Along with his whole village he experienced the tragedy of eviction by the Israeli authorities in 1947 and became a refugee in his own land. He and all his family members became citizens of Israel when the state was created in 1948.

In 1965, Father Chacour was appointed as priest of the village church, the Church of St. George, in Ibillin.  He was there until 2006 when he was elevated to become Archbishop and moved to Haifa. Ibillin is a small Arab village in the Galilee region, near Nazareth, where Christians and Muslims have lived together peacefully for many generations.

Father Chacour realized early on that his work in Ibillin would require more than routine priestly duties. His vision was, and is, that through education, children, youth, and young adults of different faith traditions will learn to live and work together in peace. That vision is a reality in the schools of the Mar Elias Educational Institutions (MEEI). As Father Chacour's dreams became reality, schools were established in Ibillin over 30 years.  The cluster of schools now serve students from Kindergarten through University.

In February 2006 the peasant priest from Biram was consecrated as the Archbishop of the Melkite Catholic Church of Haifa, Akko, Nazareth, and the Galilee.

Many international groups and educational institutions have honored Archbishop Chacour for his work on behalf of peace. He has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize (1986, 1989, 1994). In 1994 he received the World Methodist Peace Prize. In May 2001 he received the Niwano Peace Prize awarded by a prestigious Buddhist group in Japan. In May 2001, Emory University and University of Indianapolis recognized the work of Father Chacour with honorary doctorates.

Archbishop Chacour is the author of two books: Blood Brothers (1984, updated in 2002) and We Belong to the Land (1990).  Blood Brothers has been translated into more than twenty different languages.  A 23-minute video about the priest and his work, A Man of Galilee (2003), is also available in DVD format.  

A brand-new 12-minute DVD, "Building Peace on Desktops," shows how Mar Elias prepares students to see "the Other" as neighbor.  Professionally made by documentary film company Re:Act Media, this new DVD tells how the Mar Elias schools continue to live out the vision of their founder, Archbishop Elias Chacour.

Watch the video online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eoQ9stT7HU. Be among the first to own your own copy! Suggested donation: $15.

Both books and DVD's are available from Pilgrims of Ibillin for a suggested contribution of $15.00 each, including shipping and handling.  Send check payable to Pilgrims of Ibillin to Joan Deming, Development Director, 1541 Comanche Glen, Madison, WI  53704.  Please specify titles and formats desired.  Download and print a book/dvd order form by clicking here.