Internationally acclaimed peace-maker, the Rev. Dr. Elias Chacour, will be the special guest of honor for dinner and a presentation Tuesday, September 22, 6:30 PM, in the Galax Dining Room at Montreat Conference Center’s Assembly Inn, Montreat, NC. “I am honored to invite the public to join me for this evening with Archbishop Chacour,” said conference center president Pete Peery. “Following dinner, the Archbishop will speak to us about his ministry through his schools as well as his unique perspective on the way of peace in his war-torn and conflicted part of the world.”Chacour, a Palestinian Israeli citizen and Archbishop of Galilee of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times (1986, 1989, and 1994) and has been an international ambassador for Middle East peace through non-violence for more than 30 years. He is president and founder of Mar Elias Educational Institutions, a school for young people from a variety of faith traditions in Ibillin, a small Arab village in the Galilee region of Israel.
Born in Arab Palestine in 1939, Chacour became a deportee and refugee at the age of 8 when his entire village was evicted by Israeli authorities. He was granted Israeli citizenship in 1948. He, along with his Palestinian Christian family, was a member of the Melkite Catholic Church, an Eastern Byzantine Church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1965, Chacour was appointed priest of the village church, the Church of St. Joseph, in Ibillan. At the time, there were few educational opportunities for Palestinian youth beyond the eighth grade. Chacour responded to this need by creating Mar Elias Educational Institutions in the early 1980s.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in theology and Bible studies at Saint Sulpice and the Sorbonne University in Paris. In 1968, Chacour became the first Arab to study Bible and Talmud at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He earned a doctorate in Ecumenical Theology at the University of Geneva in 1971 and has received a number of honorary degrees from several prestigious universities. The recipient of many international peace awards, Chacour is also the author of two books, Blood Brothers, which has been translated into more than 20 languages, and We Belong to the Land.
The cost of dinner with Archbishop Chacour is $15.00 for adults and $7.50 for students. Reservations may be made by contacting Judy Smith, judys[at]montreat.org or 828.669.2911, ext. 365. The Archbishop’s presentation following dinner is free of charge.
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