Many ethnicities have lived in the area of Mandate Palestine dating back thousands of years. Consequently, Palestinian Christians are the descendants of the many peoples who have lived in the area.[3]
Today, the majority of Palestinian Christians live abroad. In 2005, it was estimated that the Christian population of the Palestinian territories was between 40,000 and 90,000 people, or 2.1 to 3.4% of the population. Most are in the West Bank, but there is a community of 5,000 in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Christians in Israel number between 144,000 and 196,000, or 2.1 to 2.8% of the total population,[5] and about 9.8% of the non-Jewish Arab population.[6]
According to the CIA world factbook, as of 2009, the following statistics are available on Palestinian Christians.[7][8][9]
| Population group | Christian population | % Christian | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Bank* | 167,000 | 8 | ||||
| Gaza Strip | 10,000 | 0.3 | ||||
| Arabs in Israel | 123,000 | 9.1 | ||||
| Non-Arabs in Israel** | 29,000 | 0.4 | ||||
| Total (only Arabs) | 302,000 | 6.0 | ||||
| Total (including non-Arabs) | 331,000 | 3.0 | ||||
| * The figure includes Samaritans and other unspecified minorities.
** Non-Arabs in Israel do not necessarily identify as Palestinian.
| ||||||
Around 50% of Palestinian Christians belong to the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, one of the 16 churches of Eastern Orthodoxy. This community has also been known as the Arab OrthodoxChristians. There are also Maronites, Melkite-Eastern Catholics, Jacobites, Chaldeans, Roman Catholics (locally known as Latins), Syriac Catholics, Orthodox Copts, Catholic Copts, Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Quakers (Friends Society), Methodists, Presbyterians, Anglicans(Episcopal), Lutherans, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Nazarene, Assemblies of God, Baptists and otherProtestants; in addition to small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and others.
The Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theófilos III, is the leader of the Palestinian and JordanianOrthodox Church of Jerusalem, but Israel has refused to recognize his appointment.[10] If confirmed, he would replace Patriarch Irenaios, whose status within the church became disputed after a term surrounded by controversy and scandal given that he sold Palestinian property to Israeli Orthodox Jews.[11] Archbishop Theodosios (Hanna) of Sebastia is the highest ranking Palestinian clergyman in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, is the leader of the Roman Catholics in Jerusalem, Palestinian territories, Jordan, Israel and Cyprus. The Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem is Suheil Dawani,[12] who replaced Bishop Riah Abou Al Assal. Elias Chacour, a Palestinian refugee, of the Melkite Eastern Catholic Church is Archbishop of Haifa, Acre and theGalilee. Bishop Dr. Munib Younan is the president of the Lutheran World Federation and the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).
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