1st Palestinian female pastor aspires to become bishop

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – After a long academic journey, Palestinian Sally Azar has made her lifetime dream of becoming the first female pastor in Palestine.

Now, she is pursuing another dream of becoming the first female bishop in the Palestinian territories.

"I am the first female pastor in Palestine," Azar, 26, told Anadolu in an interview at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Old City of East Jerusalem.

Azar grew up in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is very close to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and studied at the Schmidt School located near the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City.

She is the daughter of Archbishop Sani Ibrahim Azar of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, who impressed her since childhood by his religious role.

"I grew up in the church and I used to see my father as a pastor. I always thought it was beautiful. I loved being like him. I love theology and I want to become a pastor," Azar said.

"When I was studying theology, I was not sure if I would become a pastor or not, but later my mission became clear, and this became vivid during my studies."

- Studying theology

Azar is one of three daughters in the family, and each one of them chose a different study field.

"My father did not interfere in our choices. We are three daughters at home, each one studying a different field. One is looking to become a doctor and the other eyes social work. As for me, I studied theology."

Azar spent the last seven years studying theology outside Palestine before returning home to officially become a pastor.

"I studied four years in Lebanon, before completing my postgraduate studies in Germany and training there," she said.

"Studying theology is difficult,” Azar said. “I started studying when I was 18 years old. We learn all the concepts that our church and other churches follow, and thus we learn everything."

Azar recalled that the church council decided to ordain women pastors ten years ago.

“There were six candidates before me who started studying, but did not succeed,” she said.

"I was sent to study theology and it was clear that I would return to the country and become a pastor. I was happy, but I did not expect to be the first. The feeling was unbelievable," Azar said.

- First woman ordained

Lazar was ordained as a pastor at the end of January 2023 at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem.

"When I returned to Jerusalem in January, the reception was beautiful and the encouragement from the church was great, and they supported me," Azar said.

"The concept of ordaining female pastors was unacceptable 10 years ago, and for this reason, we met with women and talked about equality between men and women. The decision at the time was important until we reached this point," she noted.

As part of her obligations as a pastor, Azar leads prayers in the Lutheran Church.

"My duty as a pastor is like my counterparts. Pastors are servants of God, and therefore we pray on Sundays, baptize, pray, and preach to the members of the sect," she said. "I lead prayers for everyone, including men and women, in the Lutheran Church here in Jerusalem and in the Beit Sahour Church (south of the West Bank)."

"In the future, every pastor has the right to become a metropolitan, and the church council is authorized to choose a metropolitan, and he or she must have experience, and therefore, after years, when my experience accumulates, the council can choose me as a metropolitan," she said.

Azar encourages girls from her congregation to follow her example. “This is a general message for equality between women and men.”

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara