Honorary Canon Instituted at The Cathedral of St. Andrew:
​The Rev. Naim Stifan Ateek

[January 8, 2021]  On Sunday, January 3, 2021, Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick instituted the Rev. Naim Stifan Ateek as an Honorary Canon of The Cathedral of St. Andrew. The ceremony took place during their 10:00 AM service that also commemorated Queen Emma's birthday (January 2, 1830). This special event was originally to have taken place in March in conjunction with public talks and gatherings with the honored guest, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 lock down. ​ 

Although the ongoing pandemic has continued to limit public gatherings, the event took place through the power of the internet with the Rev. Naim Ateek taking part in the ceremony from Texas, through Zoom.  The Rev. Cn. Brian Grieves, who has been a staunch supporter and activist of Ateek's efforts, also joined in from California, and made the formal introductions.

With limited seating, social distancing and safety protocols in place, the Revs. Heather Patton-Graham and Malcolm Keleawe Hee of The Cathedral joined the Bishop for the service. 

The Cathedral's tech crew had everything set up for livestreaming on Facebook, and a projection screen was set up in The Cathedral so that viewers could see the Zoom feed with both Canon Ateek and Canon Grieves participating virtually.  To view the service in its entirety, visit The Cathedral's Facebook page HERE. 

​​Canon Ateek is a priest of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the co-founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem, whose mission is "To strive towards theological liberation through instilling the Christian faith in the daily lives of those who suffer under occupation, violence, injustice, and discrimination."  He served as its director for many years and continues to be actively involved.

Born in Beisan, Palestine, near the Sea of Galilee in 1937, his family was driven out of their home in 1948 war during which the state of Israel was created on May 15, 1948, Israel’s Independence Day. For Palestinians, the date is referred to as the Nakba--the  catastrophe-- when more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes, and is the birthdate of the long struggle for Palestinian justice. 

53 years later Dr. Ateek, a Palestinian, was the first person to articulate a Christian Palestinian theology of liberation in his 1989 book, Justice and only Justice (Orbis Books; July 1, 1989). He has authored and co-edited a number of other books in both English and Arabic.  

He received his Master of Divinity from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 1966 and his Doctorate of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1985, where he is also a Distinguished Alumnus.  He holds Honorary Doctorates from CDSP, the Virginia Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Divinity School.  He was ordained a priest in 1967, just two weeks before the 6 Day War that  ended in the occupation of Palestinian lands, which confounds a just resolution to this day.  

In his early ministry he was the pastor of several Episcopal congregations in Galilee and Haifa before becoming a Canon of St. George’s Anglican/Episcopal Cathedral in Jerusalem, which receives thousands of pilgrim visitors from around the world every year.  

Canon Ateek has himself traveled the world to work for Palestinian justice, from all the countries of Scandinavia to Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand, to Great Britain, to the continents of Africa and Europe, to Brazil, the Caribbean, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and North America, including preaching at the National Cathedral in Washington DC. He notes that while he has preached in many cathedrals, The Cathedral of St. Andrew, Honolulu, is the first to institute him as an honorary canon.  

He is married to Maha Aranki of Birzeit, Palestine, and they have three grown children, Stefan, Sari, and Nevart, and five grandchildren.

​ From the Bishop (taken from an announcement dated December 27, 2020):

I urge all Episcopalians in the Diocese to review the websites of the Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) and the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ). I also hope you will consider joining or making donations to FOSNA and AFEDJ.

• Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) is a nonprofit, tax-exempt Christian ecumenical organization seeking justice and peace in the Holy Land through nonviolent advocacy and education. Sabeel is an international peace movement initiated by Palestinian Christians, who seek a just peace as defined by international law and existing United Nations resolutions.

 

• American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ) is a nonpolitical, nonsectarian 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to raising financial support for schools, hospitals, centers for children with disabilities and other humanitarian institutions owned and operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon. These institutions serve everyone, irrespective of their religion, ethnicity or ability to pay. They build hope for all in the Holy Land. The Christian values of equity, justice, and respect for the dignity of all are at the heart of our efforts.

I also encourage you to read Canon Ateek’s most recent book: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation: The Bible, Justice, and the Palestine-Israel Conflict (Orbis Books, 2017).

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Many thanks to the Rev. Cn. Brian Grieves for the biographical information.
Pictured at top, Canon Ateek and his wife are adorned in lei that was shipped to them for this special occasion.
Photos by S. Nishioka