A Lutheran church ceremony in Jerusalem ordained the first Palestinian female pastor in the holy land on Sunday.
Sally Azar, a Palestinian from Jerusalem will now lead the English-speaking congregation at the church of the Redeemer, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan.
She was ordained by her father in Jerusalem’s old city before a packed crowd with hundreds of well-wishers from all over the world.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the West Bank and Gaza Strip were home to around 47,000 Christians till 2017.
Most Palestinian Christians belong to denominations that do not allow female clergy. However, Azar belongs to a small minority of protestant congregations that ordain women ministers.
The Lutheran church reportedly said that it has around 3,000 adherents in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Jordan.
Azar will be one of five ordained women in the Middle East, joining one in Syria and three in Lebanon, according to the Middle East Council of Churches.
The new pastor, following her ordination, said “I hope that many girls and women will know this is possible and that other women in other churches will join us.”
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