Elias Chacour

Elias Chacour (الياس شقور, אליאס שקור; born 29 November 1939) is a Palestinian Arab-Israeli who served as the Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 2006 to 2014.

Noted for his efforts to promote reconciliation between Palestinians and Jews, he is the author of two books about the experience of Palestinian people living in present-day Israel.

He describes himself as a "Palestinian-Arab-Christian-Israeli."

Elias Michael Chacour was born in the village of Kafr Bir'im in the Upper Galilee, Mandatory Palestine to a Palestinian Christian family of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.

His family took refuge in the neighboring village of Jish after Bir'im was occupied by Yishuv forces.

Chacour and his family became Israeli citizens in 1948, after the establishment of the state.

He attended a boarding school in Haifa and then a high school in Nazareth.

He studied theology at St. Sulpice Seminary in Paris.

Returning to Israel in 1965, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop George Selim Hakim of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee, who became Patriarch Maximos V two years later.

He later studied Bible and Talmud as well as Aramaic and Syriac at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, becoming the first Arab to gain a higher degree there.

Chacour came to the village of Ibillin in the Galilee as a young priest in 1965.

In the early 1980s, on an empty hillside now known as the Mount of Light (Jebel an-Nour), a classroom building was begun.

The newly formed high school moved from temporary quarters in the community center to the new building as soon as it was ready.

The original high school has expanded considerably and now includes a kindergarten, primary school, high school and gifted program.

The co-educational Mar Elias Educational Institutions enroll 2,750 students from age 3 through 18, including Muslims, Christians, and Druze.

This village was the birthplace of the most recent saint of the Melkite Church, Blessed Miriam Bawardy, a Discalced Carmelite mystic of the 19th century responsible for the Carmel of Saint David's Tower in Bethlehem who was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 13 November 1983.

Elias, seeing the lack of educational opportunities for Arab youth beyond the 8th grade, set about creating a school open to all local children, regardless of religious affiliation.

In 2001 Chacour was named "Man of the Year" in Israel.

In 2001, Chacour gave an address at commencement at Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, where he accepted an honorary degree.

An excerpt from his speech:

"You who live in the United States, if you are pro-Israel, on behalf of the Palestinian children I call unto you: give further friendship to Israel. They need your friendship. But stop interpreting that friendship as an automatic antipathy against me, the Palestinian who is paying the bill for what others have done against my beloved Jewish brothers and sisters in the Holocaust and Auschwitz and elsewhere.

And if you have been enlightened enough to take the side of the Palestinians -- oh, bless your hearts -- take our sides, because for once you will be on the right side, right?

But if taking our side would mean to become one-sided against my Jewish brothers and sisters, back up.

We do not need such friendship.

We need one more common friend.

We do not need one more enemy, for God's sake."

On February 7, 2006, Chacour was elected by the Melkite Holy Synod as Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee.

The main city of his diocese is Haifa, the great city of northern Israel.

He was consecrated a bishop in the church of Saint Elias in Ibillin and his enthronement in the Haifa Cathedral was broadcast by the Melkite Ecumenical television station "Noursat" which originates in Beirut, Lebanon.

Chacour is vice president of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center.

From a 9 February 2006 speech regarding becoming Archbishop of Galilee:

"I did not dream of this responsibility and this great honor. My dreams were different. At sixty-five years of age my ambition was to dedicate the rest of my life to prayer, reading and writing, but like Paul on the way to Damascus the Lord seems to tell me that he is the one in control. My answer is, "Here I am Lord.

I am your servant to continue the ministry of reconciliation and to proclaim more forcefully the Good News about the Empty Tomb and the Risen Lord." No doubt my first reaction was tears of awe, of joy and of gratitude."

Chacour is the winner of the Niwano Peace Award and has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

On 27 January 2014 Pope Francis announced that he had accepted a request from Chacour, to retire a year early.

The resignation came after an accusation of alleged sexual harassment made by a former staff member.

No charges were filed.

An advocate of non-violence, Chacour travels often between the Middle East and other countries around the world.

In addition, many visitors, fact-finding missions, and pilgrims have come to Ibillin.

In recognition of his humanitarian efforts he has received honors including the World Methodist Peace Award, the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, the Peacemakers in Action Award from the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, and the Niwano Peace Prize (Japan) as well as honorary doctorates from five universities including Duke and Emory.