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4 From Britain to Visit Holy Land / Pilgrimage to Bethlehem and Jerusalem
20-Dec-06
Zenit.org
A pilgrimage in solidarity with the churches of the Holy Land is being undertaken by four religious leaders from England and Wales.
They are Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop of Westminster; Rowan Williams, Anglican archbishop of Canterbury; David Coffey, Baptist minister and Free Churches moderator; and Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian, primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain.
The leaders have called for prayers throughout Advent for Christians in the Holy Land -- "living stones" who have practiced Christianity in that land for 2,000 years -- as they prepare for their pilgrimage to the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
The pilgrimage is an expression of solidarity with Christians living in the Holy Land, as well as a response to the invitation of the faithful of the churches in that part of the world.
The pilgrims will arrive in the Holy Land on Wednesday. They will go to Jerusalem to meet with the local church leaders, according to the Catholic Communications Network, of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.
The following day they will travel to Bethlehem and visit the Grotto of the Nativity, where an ecumenical service will take place.
After two days in Bethlehem the pilgrimage will return to Jerusalem. The church leaders will travel back to the United Kingdom on Saturday.
Currently, Archbishop Paul Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," is visiting the Holy Land to express Benedict XVI's closeness to the Christian communities and to give them financial aid in the Pope's name.
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