wfn.org | Episcopalians: More religious leaders endorse Alexandria Declaration

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

March 27, 2002

2002-078

Episcopalians: More religious leaders endorse Alexandria 
Declaration

by Jan Nunley

(ENS) Support is growing among U.S. religious leaders for a 
declaration signed in January by leaders of the three Abrahamic 
faiths which calls for a "religiously sanctioned cease-fire" in 
Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

The First 
Alexandria Declaration of the Religious Leaders of the Holy 
Land was originally issued in Alexandria, Egypt, on January 
21. In addition to a cease-fire "respected and observed on all 
sides," it also calls for "the implementation of the Mitchell 
and Tenet recommendations, including the lifting of restrictions 
and return to negotiations" on the part of Israelis and 
Palestinians.

Signers of the Alexandria Declaration include the Sephardi Chief 
Rabbi in Israel, a representative of Israel's Chief Rabbinical 
Council, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel, the sheik who 
heads the Palestine Authority's religious courts, the sheik who 
leads the world's supreme Sunni Muslim institution, the 
Orthodox, Armenian, and Latin (Roman Catholic) Patriarchs, and 
the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem.

Bishops affirm Alexandria Declaration

At a recent meeting of the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops, 
79 bishops signed a statement affirming the Alexandria 
Declaration and urging "the leadership of the warring factions 
and the United States to move immediately to end the futile and 
immoral bloodshed and violence in Israel and Palestine."

The statement read: "We, the undersigned bishops of the 
Episcopal Church, meeting in Navasota, Texas, March 7-12, 2002, 
personally affirm the principles of The First Alexandria 
Declaration of the Religious Leaders of the Holy Land, and we 
implore the government of the United States of America to use 
all peaceful methods at its disposal to encourage this 
initiative for peace in the Holy Land in this period of 
escalating, mutually destructive violence."

The statement was sent to President George W. Bush, Secretary of 
State Colin Powell, John Sununu, Charles F. Bass, Judd Gregg, 
Robert C. Smith, Palestinian Liberation Organization ambassador 
Hasan Abdel Rahman, the Permanent Observer, Mission of Palestine 
to the United Nations, the Permanent Mission of Israel to the 
United Nations, and Ambassador David Ivry.

"While (this statement) breaks no new ground for us as the 
Episcopal Church, the bishops who have endorsed it welcome its 
contribution to the ongoing search for peace in the Holy Land 
and particularly appreciate the breadth of interfaith support it 
enjoys," said Bishop Christopher Epting, the Episcopal Church's 
deputy for ecumenical and interfaith relations.

Unprecedented collaboration

Meeting on March 26 at St. John's Episcopal Church in 
Lafayette Square, the "Church of the Presidents" not far from 
the White House, a group of Washington religious leaders 
endorsed the Alexandria Declaration and commended it to their 
constituents during Passover, Holy Week, and Islamic 
observances.

Allen Bartlett, assisting bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of 
Washington, who convened the gathering, said, "The Alexandria 
Declaration is an unprecedented collaboration in which the most 
senior Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders from the Holy Land 
are calling for an end to the bloodshed and violence, have 
recognized the sanctity of the Holy Land for all three faiths, 
and pledged to work together to ensure a just peace."

In addition to its endorsement of the Declaration, the 
Washington gathering announced a major interfaith Vigil for 
Peace, to be held at the Washington National Cathedral on 
Sunday, May 5 at 7:30 PM.  This will be done in conjunction with 
similar observances in Jerusalem the same day, arranged by 
signatories of the Alexandria Declaration.

------

--The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director of Episcopal News 
Service.