Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) attends liturgy for Orthodox Christmas in the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem January 7, 2008.
References:
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· Christian leaders warn against Palestinian infighting
· Arab threats against Theophilus III, a new round between the Patriarch and his predecessor
· Christians stream out of Gaza for Christmas
· Rival monks clash at Bethlehem
· Greece: Women protest Mount Athos monks
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Posted on Wed Jan 09 2008
Associated Press
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: Gaza's dwindling Eastern Orthodox community attended Christmas services in the ancient church here Monday, their holiday darkened by the killing of a Christian activist several months ago.Only 200 worshippers sang Christmas hymns and lined up to receive communion at the 4th-century Greek Orthodox Church of St. Perfidious. Youths milling around the church saluted relatives and lamented the small size of the gathering this Christmas.
The tiny Christian minority in Gaza, estimated at no more than 3,000, has been unsettled in recent months by attacks on their churches by Islamic extremists. In October, a Greek Orthodox activist, Rami Khader Ayyad, 32, was killed.
Christian community leaders said emigration has accelerated following Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in June.
Some 400 Christians, fearing persecution under Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers and hoping to escape economic hardship, left the territory to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem last month, some planning not to return.
The Christian community has never publicly accused Hamas of persecution, and its leaders have reassured the Christian community that it is safe in Gaza. But Christians say they fear radical Islamic groups will feel impunity under Islamic rulers. No one has been arrested yet in Ayyad's death.
Israel's sealing of its border with Gaza, and the privation that has caused, also marred the celebration, as did continued clashes with Israeli troops, which killed two civilians and three militants on Sunday. Infighting among rival Palestinian factions deepened the holiday gloom.
Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land, Russia and other Eastern Orthodox churches that use the old Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Roman Catholics and Protestants.
Outside the chapel door, Leena Dabbagh said the Christmas spirit had been all but extinguished in Gaza. Dabbagh, 19, traveled to the West Bank town of Bethlehem last month to celebrate Christmas there, and bought new clothes, chocolate and holiday items back to Gaza to guarantee herself some Christmas cheer.
"It is as if there is no feast here," Dabbagh said.
Majd and Amir Shaheen, 6-month-old twins, came to church dressed in miniature Santa Claus costumes.
"We are trying to feel the Christmas," their father, Samer Shaheen, said.
With Christians leaving the area, and rising fear of Gaza's Islamic radicalization, Rizk Suri, a worshipper at the church, said the community was concerned.
"We are a small community," Suri said. "We want to live in peace with all. We always pray for peace."
Discussion: Gaza tiny Christian community prays for peace in Orthodox Christmas liturgy
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