JORDAN, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a small Arab country of the Middle East, bordered on the south and east by Saudi Arabia, on the northeast by Iraq, and on the north by Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. To the west, the Jordan River provides a natural boundary with Israel and separates Jordan from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has been claimed as a Palestinian homeland since the mid-20th century. Largely comprised of arid desert that stretches westward from Saudi Arabia, Jordan's landscape rises to highlands in the west before descending to the Great Rift Valley lining the Jordan River. Al’Aqabah, a port city, is located in the south, on the coast of the gulf of ‘Aqaba. Despite the limited supply of fresh water, the country's rainy season allows for the production of wheat, barley, olives, and citrus fruits, while natural resources include phosphates, potash, and small amounts of shale oil. Among Jordan's main exports are fertilizers, phosphates, and manufactured goods.

After gaining independence from Great Britain in 1946, Jordan instituted a parliamentary government with

a hereditary monarch. The vast majority of the population is Arab, though there are small groups of Circassians and Armenians. Most residents of Jordan are Sunni Muslim.

Catholics in Jordan are divided between Greek Orthodox, the majority, and Latin-rite. Ecclesiastically, a vicariate for the Latin-rite located in Amman is governed by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with its seat at Palestine, while the Melkite Greek Catholic Church's Archdiocese of Petra and Filadelfia is located in Amman. A large part of the Promised Land of Biblical times as well as all of ancient Edom, Galaad, and Moab lies within the borders of the country. The spiritual capital of Jordan is the Old City of Jerusalem, sacred to Muslims and Christians alike. Wadi Al-Kharrar, a site on the east bank of the Jordan River that is thought by many Christian historians to be the site of the baptism of Jesus, was prepared by the Jordanian government and opened to the public as part of Jubilee 2000.

Until the 20th century, the lands of Jordan spanned both sides of the Jordan River, its western boundary extending to the Dead Sea. Amman, the nation's capital, was known in OT times as Rabbah or Rabbath-Ammon, capital city of the ammonites, and in the Greco-Roman period as Filadelfia, the southernmost city of the decapo lis. In 1998 archeologists working in Ayla discovered the remains of what was judged to be the oldest Christian church in the world, a Roman structure that dated to a.d.350. In a.d. 636 the region was invaded by the Muslims; the ottoman turks assumed control from 1517 to 1918. Between 1918 and 1949 the lands east of the jordan river were known as the Emirate—later the Kingdom of Transjordan—while those to the west, together with the modern State of Israel (created in 1948), formed the British-mandated territory of palestine.

On May 25, 1946, Jordan gained its independence from Great Britain. Between 1953 and 1999 the country was ruled by King Hussein, who guided the nation through several turbulent decades as pressures from the world's superpowers and the age-old tensions between Arab nations flared. In 1989 Hussein instituted parliamentary elections, after which the government grew increasingly liberal. In 1994 Jordan signed an historic peace treaty with Israel. Praised by the pope, the agreement

ended decades of armed conflict. Reconciliation of the status of the West Bank had yet to be decided, although the Vatican signed an agreement of recognition and enumeration of rights with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in February 2000.

Although Islam was declared the official state religion, Jordan's 1952 constitution guaranteed the freedom of most religious faiths and of the right to worship in the three recognized faiths: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. In 1976 Pope Paul VI's visit to the holy sites in Jordan did much to encourage stronger relations between King Hussein and the Vatican. In 1980 the Church was given the right to teach the faith in its own schools, and in 1997 the government began providing Christian education in public schools where it was requested. While Christian religious tribunals and other church-run programs operating in Jordan were extended the same rights and freedoms as were Islamic ones, evangelization activities were prohibited as in violation of Islamic law. In addition to Roman Catholics, Jordan had groups of Greek Orthodox, Greek Melkite Catholics, Armenian Orthodox, and Maronite Catholics living within its borders. A number of small evangelical Christian churches were denied classification by the Ministry of Justice as legitimate religions. Jordan established diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1994; in 2000 there were 64 Catholic parishes located within the country.

On Feb. 8, 1999, King Hussein died and was succeeded by his son, Abdullah II. The following September

the new Jordanian king traveled to the Vatican for an audience with Pope John Paul II, during which time a papal visit to Jordan was planned. On March 20, 2000, the pope arrived in Amman as part of a trip to the Holy Land. During a Latin-rite mass in Amman that was attended by over 35,000 people, the Pope honored both St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Jordan, and the late King Hussein for his efforts in advancing the Middle East peace process. He also spoke of his wish that all believers realize themselves to be "one people and one single family" and acknowledged each of the Catholic community's leaders by commending their "noble tradition of respect for all religions." As a country with large-scale external debt (estimated at $8.4 billion in 1998), Jordan was among those nations receiving the help of Pope John Paul II in encouraging wealthy nations to forgive a portion of these payments.

Bibliography: Bilan du Monde 2:540–545. Jordan Ministry of Economy, Department of Statistics, First Census of Population and Housing (Amman 1962—).

[a. a. di lella/eds.]