Jerusalem Patriarchs Condemn Christian Zionism as Harmful

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem have publicly condemned Christian Zionism, describing it as a damaging political ideology that threatens the unity of Christian communities in the Holy Land and serves external political agendas at the expense of indigenous Christians.

In a strongly worded joint statement, the church leaders warned that Christian Zionist actors, both inside and outside the region, mislead the public, sow confusion, and interfere in the internal life of local churches. They accused these groups of presenting themselves as supporters of Christianity while advancing a political project that wounds the unity of the faithful and undermines the pastoral mission of the historic Churches entrusted with the care of the Holy Land.

“These undertakings have found favour among certain political actors in Israel and beyond,” the statement said, adding that such efforts aim to promote political agendas that risk harming the Christian presence in the Holy Land and across the wider Middle East.

The statement directly challenged attempts by pro-Israel evangelical networks to involve themselves in ecclesiastical affairs in Jerusalem, efforts that church leaders say have become increasingly visible and politically influential over the past decade.

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches reaffirmed that they alone hold legitimate spiritual authority over Christian religious, pastoral, and communal life in the Holy Land. They expressed serious concern that Christian Zionist figures continue to receive official recognition at local and international levels despite promoting views the churches described as theologically and politically dangerous.

Church leaders warned that such endorsement emboldens interference in pastoral governance and disregards centuries of continuous Christian presence rooted in the land.

Christian Zionism, primarily associated with evangelical movements in the United States, promotes a political theology that links biblical prophecy to the return of Jews to historic Palestine and calls for unconditional political support for the State of Israel. Palestinian theologians and church leaders have long rejected the ideology, describing it as a form of theological colonialism that distorts Christian teaching, marginalises Palestinian Christians, and supports Israeli settler expansion.

In their statement, the Jerusalem church leaders affirmed their unity and spiritual mandate over the sacred Christian sites “where our Lord lived, taught, suffered and rose from the dead.” Quoting the Apostle Paul, they stressed that “we, though many, are one body in Christ,” and warned that any external claim to authority undermines the faith and burdens the mission of local Christians.

The leaders concluded with a pastoral appeal, asking God to grant wisdom to protect His people and safeguard the Christian witness in the Holy Land.

The statement marks the latest in a series of warnings from Jerusalem’s Christian leaders about the growing instrumentalisation of Christianity by external actors seeking to advance political agendas that ignore the lived reality of Palestinian Christians under Israeli occupation.