MEETING BETWEEN THE KING OF JORDAN AND HEADS OF CHURCHES ON THE OCCASION OF CHRISTMAS 2013
On Monday the 10th/23rd of December 2013, a meeting took place between His Majesty, King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein, and the Heads of Churches of the Holy Land and their retinue, on the approaching feast of Christmas. The meeting was held in the city of Madaba, Jordan, at the Hall of the American University.
During the meeting, which is indicative of the stance of the Royal family and the Jordanian Government towards the Christians of Jordan, the speaker addressed guests to the event by pointing out that the Christian society constitutes an inseparable part of the country of Jordan and of the Jordanian land. Here, Christianity draws its beginnings through the baptismal of our Lord Jesus Christ in the river Jordan by John the Baptist; it therefore coexists with the Jordanian society to the benefit, progress and prosperity of the Jordanian homeland.
In the context of this meeting, which is indeed an honour for Christians, His Beatitude made a speech in Arabic, which may be reached here: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/ar/2013/12/23/2994
Both His Beatitude during His address, as well as subsequent speakers, i.e. the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, Mr Fouad Twal, the former Minister of Water and Irrigation of Jordan, Mr Munther Haddadin, the Mayor of Madaba and others, underscored the affluent and diverse tradition of the city of Madaba, the center of which is the Byzantine mosaic map. The map, which has been dated to the 6th century, provides a precise and miraculous geographic representation of the Holy Land during the years of Christ’s life on earth.
From the Secretariat-General