Church Leaders to Make Pilgrimage to Bethlehem
Wednesday 6th December 2006
Christian leaders have called today for prayers throughout Advent for Christians in the Holy Land as they prepare for a pilgrimage to the birthplace of Jesus Christ.The four heads of Churches will undertake the pilgrimage in solidarity with Christians living in the Holy Land in the week leading up to Christmas. The pilgrimage is in response to invitations from Christian Churches in the Holy Land.
The call for prayer in the Advent season is for the pilgrims, but especially the Christians ("the living rocks") who have practised Christianity in that land throughout the last two millennia.
The heads of Churches are the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor; the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Dr Rowan Williams; Primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian; Free Churches Moderator, the Reverend David Coffey.
The pilgrims will arrive in the Holy Land on 20 December 2006 and travel to Jerusalem to meet local Church Leaders. The following day they will travel to Bethlehem where they will visit the Grotto of the Nativity and an ecumenical service will take place.
The focus of the pilgrimage will be pastoral visits and meetings with local Christians in both Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The pilgrimage will be based on prayer and reflection on the scriptures and opportunities for shared worship with members of the local Christian communities.
After two days in Bethlehem the pilgrimage will return to Jerusalem and return to the UK on 23 December.