Sally Azar, first female Palestinian pastor in the Holy Land
Last Sunday, Sally Azar became the first Palestinian female pastor in the Holy Land after being ordained in a ceremony at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.
Sunday, January 22 in Jerusalem, Sally Azar, 26, became the first Palestinian female pastor to be appointed to the Holy Land during a ceremony at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land in the heart of the old city.
The Middle East Council of Churches indicates that the new pastor was ordained by her father, Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar.
According to with the BBC, in her new role Sally Azar will lead the English-speaking congregation of the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem as well as services and Bible studies in Beit Sahour, West Bank, for English-speaking congregations.
The young woman, born in Jerusalem, performed a degree in theology from the Near East School of Theology from Beirut to Lebanon. Upon graduation in 2018, the Bishop Emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), Dr. Munib Younan, encouraged her in his commencement address, urging her to continue “to serve the mission of our triune God in order to advance the Kingdom of God in our world”.
Rev. Azar is the first Palestinian woman ordained to serve as a pastor in the Holy Land. Her ordination took place in the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem today. pic.twitter.com/zSDVoUfvOY
—The Lutheran World Federation (@lutheranworld) -
The 26-year-old Palestinian then pursued her higher education in theology in Göttingen, Germany. In May 2017, she was elected youth representative on the board of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
“The rite of ordination is an honor. The chance to be ordained as a woman in my church is an added honor. I am happy to be a part of history and gender equity in my church. It's exciting, but there's also some uncertainty. I don't expect it to be an easy road,” she told the Lutheran World Federation last week ahead of her ordination.
Sally Azar is the first Palestinian to hold such a post and the fifth woman to be appointed pastor in the Middle East.
Salma El Monser
