Church leaders in Jerusalem have taken the unusual step of closing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in a protest against moves to collect property tax on some church-owned properties and proposed legislation which they fear would let the state expropriate church-owned land.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Church leaders – custodians of the site – said the church, which draws thousands of pilgrims each day, would be closed until further notice.
The leaders said that they had watched with “great concern” a systematic campaign against churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land.
“Recently, this systematic and offensive campaign has reached an unprecedented level as the Jerusalem municipality issued scandalous collection notices and orders of seizure of Church assets, properties and bank accounts for alleged debts of punitive municipal taxes,” the statement reads.
The church leaders described the move as “contrary to the historic position of the Churches within the Holy City of Jerusalem and their relationship with the civil authorities” and said it breached existing agreements and international obligations in “what seems as an attempt to weaken the Christian presence in Jerusalem”.
The targets of the protest include a change to the municipal tax policy which would mean that while churches remain exempt from taxes, other church-owned assets, such as hotels and businesses, could be taxed. Jerusalem’s Mayor Nir Barkat has already said authorities are owed the equivalent of $US186 million in uncollected taxes on church assets.
The other subject of the protest – and its immediate trigger on Sunday – is proposed legislation which its supporters say will protect people living on former church land which has been sold to private developers from the risk of not having their leases renewed but which church leaders fear would allow the state to claim church-owned property.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built over the site said to be where Christ was entombed following His death on the cross and where He was resurrected.
