The patriarchs and heads of Christian churches in Jerusalem published a joint statement Tuesday, condemning the city government’s attempts to seize properties of the Orthodox Armenian Patriarchate — the latest chapter of controversy between Israeli authorities and Christian communities in the region.
In the Feb. 18 joint statement, the churches condemned the “unjust foreclosure order issued by the Municipality of Jerusalem. The actions taken against the Armenian Patriarchate, based on an unverified and exorbitant Arnona Tax debt, are legally dubious and morally unacceptable.”
The arnona tax is a property tax levied by municipalities in Israel. The tax calculation is based on the size of the property and is one of the main sources of income of Israeli municipalities.
Although seemingly a local dispute between one church and a municipal government, rising tensions in Jerusalem have pushed other Christian communities, including the Latin patriarchate to involve itself in the issue, as they fear they might suffer a similar fate.
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The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is part of the Armenian Apostolic Church, an Oriental Orthodox Church and the largest religion in Armenia, accounting for 97% of the population.
In 301, Armenia became the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as an official religion.
The Armenian Apostolic Church severed ties with the Catholic Church in 610 after rejecting the Christological formula of the Council of Chalcedon.
Like other Oriental Orthodox churches, such as the Coptic Church, it is also not in communion with the Eastern Orthodox churches.
Although the Armenian presence in the Holy Land dates back to the fourth century, the patriarchate itself started in the seventh century when the Armenian Apostolic Church started appointing its own patriarchs of Jerusalem, making it the longest uninterrupted Christian community in the Holy Land.
Even if it leads a small community of around 6,000 Armenians throughout Israel and Palestine, the patriarchate’s historical presence has left its mark. For example, the patriarchate was the first to open a pilgrim house in Jerusalem in the 1830s and opened the first girls’ school in the Holy Land in the 1860s. It is also credited with making the first pictures in the Holy Land in the late 1800s.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem owns a significant number of properties in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem.
The Armenian Quarter comprises one-sixth of the Old City of Jerusalem, and occupies its entire southwest corner.
Historically, the Armenian patriarchate funded itself through pilgrim donations. However, during the Crimean War in the 1850s, the flow of pilgrims stopped, which led to the economic collapse of the community during the war.
Patriarch Hovhannes X of Smyrna realized after the war that the community could not be at the mercy of foreign wars for its sustenance. The patriarchate started using pilgrims’ donations to buy and develop properties in the Armenian Quarter, a policy that has continued to this day.
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According to the municipal government, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem owes a arnona debt accrued since 1994. But the patriarchate has said the debt has been unfairly and opaquely determined, that there are not clear explanations of the city’s figures, and that calculations didn’t consider the statute of limitations or follow the right procedures for notification.
The patriarchate has described the debt as “astronomical and illegal,” and observers allege it’s part of a pattern of such demands leveled against churches in the city.
If a court rejects the patriarchate’s appeal on Feb. 24, the municipality will seize and auction the properties, some of which have been owned by the patriarchate for centuries.
“It is inconceivable that Christian institutions, whose mission for centuries has been to safeguard faith, serve communities, and preserve the sacred heritage of the Holy Land, should now face the threat of property seizure under Israeli administrative measures that disregard due process,” the statement adds.
Although the dispute involves only the Armenian Orthodox patriarchate, other Christian communities fear they may face a similar fate – in 2018, the municipality tried to enforce a similar debt collection against all Christian churches in the Holy Land, but the push was eventually stopped.
According to The National, the Latin patriarchate and other Orthodox patriarchates fear that the current push in the Armenian Quarter could set a precedent that would be applied to other Christian communities in the Holy Land.
Moreover, tensions between Christian communities and Israeli authorities have increased because an increase in the number and intensity of attacks against Christians.
An Aid to the Church in Need report said that attacks on Christians have increased in Israel since 2023, including a “a worrying increase in severe property and physical assaults”
The churches allege that the municipality has not followed due process in its attempts to collect the debt, and intends to proceed with the seizure before a judicial appeal is heard on Feb. 24.
“Particularly alarming is the municipality’s attempt to enforce a debt determination without judicial scrutiny, and in defiance of the governmental committee established to negotiate such matters in good faith. This reckless move jeopardizes the Orthodox Armenian Patriarchate and sets a perilous precedent that could imperil Christian institutions throughout the Holy Land,” the statement says.
“Through a confiscation of assets, attempts to the right of existence of the Orthodox Armenian Church, depriving it of the necessary economic resources to live and operate and depriving the local Armenian people of the pastoral care of their Church,” it adds.
The statement called upon the Israeli government to “immediately intervene, freeze all foreclosure proceedings, and ensure that negotiations resume within the above-mentioned governmental committee in order to reach an amicable solution regarding this issue in the spirit of justice.”
“The targeting of one Church is an assault on all, and we cannot remain silent while the foundations of our Christian witness in the land of Christ’s ministry are shaken.”
In a separate Feb. 18 statement, the patriarchate said that “If, God forbidding, the patriarchate’s petition is denied, the Jerusalem municipality will seize real estate properties belonging to the Patriarchate and put them up for auction in order to collect allegedly disputed debts that have never been proven in judicial proceedings, and through customary practices heretofore, have never been enforced.”
The patriarchate itself alleged that the municipality actually owes it a significant amount of money in rental fees.
“The conduct of the Jerusalem Municipality in this matter is especially inappropriate, as it initiated this aggressive process despite the municipality itself owing the patriarchate millions of shekels in overdue rental fees. However, the patriarchate has refrained from taking legal action to enforce payment and, instead, has been engaged in prolonged negotiations with the municipality in an effort to resolve the debt amicably.”
