Speech at ecumenical dinner in Bethlehem

Patriarch, Archbishops, Bishops, dear guests,

I am happy and honoured to welcome you, distinguished church leaders in the Holy Land, to our table here in Bethlehem this evening, in my capacity as Prime Minister of Norway and as a brother in Christ.

It is moving once more to visit Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity, and to have taken part in the evening service with the Lutheran congregation in Beit Sahour.

It was here nearby that God in mysterious ways became man, and a few kilometres away that the Church was born. As Christians in this land, you are links in a chain unbroken for two thousand years. Coming from a Nordic country, we are links in a chain only half as long.

Fifteen years ago, a priest here in Beit Jala said the following when he was asked by a reporter about the future of Jerusalem:

”Jerusalem is the city of hope, the city where all religions and peoples can learn to live together. If we manage to create such a future for Jerusalem, we will also be creating a better future for the world – for Jerusalem is the centre of the world”.

Yes, to all the three religions that sprang from these lands – Judaism, Christianity and Islam - Jerusalem is a holy city. And you, dear guests, are proofs of this – representing here in the Holy Land the world-wide communions of Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant believers.

History teaches us that in order for Jerusalem to be a city of peace and reconciliation, it cannot belong exclusively to one people or to one religion. The Holy City of Jerusalem must be open to all, shared by all. Those who govern the city should make it the capital of all humankind.

In my talks this morning with President Yasir Arafat, I brought to attention this matter. Arafat assured me that the independent status of Christian churches and institutions in the Palestinian Area, will be safeguarded also in the future.

Everyone, among them members of the local Christian communities, should enjoy full freedom of access to Jerusalem’s holy places. This is not always the case. In my meeting tomorrow with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, I will raise this issue.

These are matters that also will be touched upon in my talks with His Majesty King Abdullah in Amman on Tuesday, and with Egyptian leaders in Cairo on Thursday.

Also from our parts of the world have pilgrims come here for centuries. Proofs of this are the – now barely visible – pictures of Norway’s and Denmark’s patron saints, Olav and Knud, on two of the columns in the Church of the Nativity.

These pictures of St. Olav and St. Knud first of all speak of the ancient and unbroken spiritual links between the Holy Land and our parts of the world. But the pictures also remind us that even today’s small and peace-loving Nordic countries have their shares in the darker parts of the history of European Christians here. Thus, it is with humbleness I stand before you tonight.

Today, the spirit of the crusades has been converted into a wish to walk in Christ’s footsteps, or to a secular interest in cultural tourism.

Pilgrims and tourists leave the Holy Land with strong experiences of holy places, buildings and memorials. It is my hope that we also take home memories of the brothers and sisters who are walking the road of faith there today – the ”living stones” of whom Christ’s church here is built.

We are now less than a year away from the opening celebrations of the third millennium after the birth of Christ. I understand preparations are well underway for ecumenical events both here in Bethlehem and in Jerusalem.

To Western Christians, today is the First Sunday of Lent, while Eastern Christians celebrate Sunday of Forgiveness on their Last Sunday before Lent. In the hope that this meal will become you all well, I once again extend my warmest welcome to you all.

We pray that the Lord will bless this meal and our time together at this table. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us raise our glasses to the fellowship of Christians of all peoples and confessions.