Merry Christmas: Orthodox Edition from Gaza’s Saint Porphyrios Orthodox Church

Merry Christmas to all those Celebrating Christmas on 7 January eve around the world above them in Egypt and a very Merry Christmas to the Christians celebrating it in Gaza and the Armenian quarter in East Jerusalem.

You might not be aware, but the Saint Porphyrios Orthodox Church in Gaza recently held a Christmas mass. The service was attended by the remaining Palestinian Christians who could participate, sending a powerful message of resilience.

The third oldest Church in the world still stands high in the old Gaza district mostly destroyed by the Israeli shelling.

Following the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Church survived a deadly Israeli shelling on 19 October where at least 18 Palestinian people were killed.

Over 450 Christian and Muslim Palestinians, mostly women and children were taking shelter in the Church thinking that it was safe during then.

On 3rd January, it was announced that a Palestinian Christian man named Shoukry El-Soury passed away at the Holy Family Church due to worsening health conditions.

Shoukry El-Soury had survived a bombing on 19th October but was severely injured and transferred to the Holy Family Church.

He tragically lost his brothers and up to ten family members in the bombing. According to Christian Palestinians, Shoukry was the last surviving member of his family. 

The El-Soury family is yet another Palestinian family whose bloodline has ended in this war.

No wonder the people at the Christmas Mass in St. Porphyrios Church are not that happy. The hit that the Christian Palestinian community took in this war was hard.

Historically, this isn’t the first time that St. Porphyrios Orthodox Church has survived an Israeli bombing. It was previously shelled by Israeli tanks in July 2014, during which only its water tanks were destroyed, along with a neighbouring house.

Christian Palestinians are considered the oldest Christian groups in the world. They have been forced to leave their land because of Israel as they were forced to be displaced. What happened 75 years ago in West Jerusalem was an example.

75 years ago, Christian Palestinians were holding a Christmas Eve celebration at the Christian-owned Semiramis Hotel in the Katamon neighborhood when a huge bomb blew up the famous hotel killing 25 Palestinians including a child.

Zionist terrorist paramilitary group Haganah was responsible for the attack despite Israeli historian Illan Pappe says that it was Irgun. “Hell to both terrorist organizations and their founders who are considered as the founding fathers of Israel and its army.”

Following this attack, Zionist troops managed to ethnically cleanse the neighborhoods of Qatamon, Talbiyeh, Baqaa and Musrara aka West Jerusalem forcing the Christian Palestinians just like Muslim Palestinians to start their own Palestinian alienation.

Now why did the Zionist terrorists bomb the Semiramis Hotel in West Jerusalem?

Because the Zionist terrorists thought that Semiramis Hotel was the headquarters of the Palestinian resistance in the city. Needless to say, they were proven wrong.

Nothing changed in 75 years.