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The
Heads
of
the Churches
of
Jerusalem
The
History
of
the Church
of
Jerusalem
Crusaders
Palestinian
Christians:
Challenges
and
Hopes
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© Alexander
Deriev
Foreword to the First Edition
Every biographic dictionary
has its own future. One becomes interesting only for
experts, another satisfies
the pride of popularity-lovers and their admirers, while the
third takes a place on shelves
of libraries of intelligence services. The purpose of
this book is quite different
because it includes biographies of people who are con-
cerned with God. These
people, according to poet Regina Derieva, “are called to
give continuous witness to
Christ in order to help save others from conceit. One
saved from conceit becomes
a man of God, than which there is no higher rank.” In
other words, this book includes
biographies of real people of God who live in
Jerusalem and work for the Church
of this holy city.
The Church
has existed in the Holy Land since the time of Jesus Christ. There
have been times of persecution
from outside and division within. The Church has
had power and has been externally
weak, has been united and divided, has repre-
sented the majority and a
small minority. At the same time, through all centuries
and under all circumstances,
the Church has preached the Risen Lord through
liturgy, hymns, sermons, prayers,
and fellowship. From the Church of Jerusalem,
the Mother Church, the Gospel has
spread towards all corners of the earth. All
Christians, therefore, are related
to the Church of Jerusalem. Whatever Church
tradition one is a member of, the
Church of Jerusalem is the root of the family tree
of his own Church.
This book
serves as guide to the Church of Jerusalem by highlighting the rich
traditions everyone, as a
Christian, is a part of. Nowhere else in the world can one
encounter his Christian heritage
to such an extent as one can in Jerusalem. In
addition to visiting the
holy sites, meeting with the Church in the Holy Land, that
is, with the local Christians whose
biographies are included in this book, gives an
enriching perspective to
a pilgrimage.
Of course,
this book cannot determine who are all the well-known people of the
Jerusalem Church. During
the compiling of this book, some of those whose
biographies are not included
left Jerusalem on a mission. Others have been just
appointed to Jerusalem and
were on their way here. Still others refused to take part
in this book, following either
orders of canons or their own reasons. At the same
time, all of them are represented
in this book, either visibly in pictures, or invisibly
in their prayers and benedictions.
Alexander Deriev
Jerusalem, 1998
This Web site also will
try to be a "virtual visit"
to this most sacred Christian
site of Jerusalem.
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The first edition of
Who is Who
in the Churches of Jerusalem
was published in 1998
in Jerusalem.
The second edition
was published one year later
in Moscow.
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