Lutherans ordain first Palestinian woman pastor in Holy Land
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation is applauded by clergy after she was ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation is applauded by clergy after she was ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation checks her collar before the procession for her ordination as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation is applauded by clergy after she was ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A member of Lutheran Christian clergy walks in a procession for the ordination of Sally Ibrahim Azar, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation, the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)
Lutheran Christian clergy walk in a procession past a Palestinian scout band for the ordination of Sally Ibrahim Azar, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation, the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, foreground, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation reacts to a scout band at a procession before she is ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation is applauded by clergy after she was ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation is applauded by clergy after she was ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation is applauded by clergy after she was ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation is applauded by clergy after she was ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation checks her collar before the procession for her ordination as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation checks her collar before the procession for her ordination as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation is applauded by clergy after she was ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation is applauded by clergy after she was ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A member of Lutheran Christian clergy walks in a procession for the ordination of Sally Ibrahim Azar, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation, the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)
A member of Lutheran Christian clergy walks in a procession for the ordination of Sally Ibrahim Azar, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation, the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)
Lutheran Christian clergy walk in a procession past a Palestinian scout band for the ordination of Sally Ibrahim Azar, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation, the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Lutheran Christian clergy walk in a procession past a Palestinian scout band for the ordination of Sally Ibrahim Azar, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation, the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, foreground, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation reacts to a scout band at a procession before she is ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Sally Ibrahim Azar, foreground, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation reacts to a scout band at a procession before she is ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
JERUSALEM (AP) — A Lutheran church ceremony in Jerusalem on Sunday ordained the first Palestinian female pastor in the Holy Land.
Sally Azar will head the English-speaking congregation at the Church of the Redeemer, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land said.
Her ordination was held before a packed crowd inside the church in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The West Bank and Gaza Strip were home to around 47,000 Christians as of 2017, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Most Palestinian Christians belong to denominations that do not allow female clergy.
A very small minority belong to Protestant congregations that have women as ministers.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church says 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.