It is impossible to imagine the Church without the laity, because they and the clergy form the one body of Christ. For the first time, the Latin Patriarchate Seminary in Beit Jala is holding courses open to the laity on the Christian faith, together with seminarians. Father Bernard Poggi Rector of Beit Jala Seminary This initiative was born in the 2023-2024 school year following the wish of Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who asked us to open the seminary to the laity, to organize a forum between laity and seminarians. Some of the educational programs we offer bring together clergy and laity. The number of teaching hours is 18 hours per week, teaching materials include an introduction to the Old Testament, salvation history, Christian ethics, spiritual life, and family ethics. There are also lectures for tour guides on the spirituality of holy places, because this topic is not included in ordinary university teaching materials. Iyad shryadeh A tour guide from Nablus After the war we had a lot of free time to work as tour guides. The classes helped me in my job as a tour guide and strengthened my faith in Jesus. My wife is taking this family class with me, she was reluctant at first but she is glad she took it and hopes to take more classes. Welma Ejha Bethlehem I would like to hear priests in a variety of fields, whether Christian ethics, marital relationships, or biblical history in the New and Old Testaments. We read the same verses and characters, but each time with each priest we get new information that we did not know before. Courses also address contemporary difficulties in faith. Father Bernard Poggi Rector of Beit Jala Seminary Today we live in a relativistic world, and this relativism is contrary to the Christian faith. Christ said I am the way, the truth and the life, meaning that we have a fixed point of reference. On the contrary, relativism means that people should live the lifestyle they choose. Another contemporary difficulty in faith is religious indifference. Father Bernard Poggi Rector of Beit Jala Seminary People's lives today revolve around working, eating, drinking and sleeping. Most people have many difficulties in life and cannot find a place for God in their lives and do not care whether God exists or not. Father Bernard Bougie, rector of the seminary, said there is a third challenge to faith related to science, as some believe there is a competition between science and faith. Father Bernard Poggi Rector of Beit Jala Seminary One of our goals is to show that the truth we discover in science is the same truth that God wants to communicate to us: there are no competing truths, but truth is secondary; it originates from the same source, that is, the existence of the Lord, who is the cause of all that exists. Father Poggi believes that holding these courses for lay people in the seminary can also encourage priestly vocations because it opens the way for families to learn about the seminary lifestyle, which would eliminate the hesitation to send their children to an unfamiliar place. Father Bernard Poggi Rector of Beit Jala Seminary Today we are working on the impact of a new synod, not only at the diocesan level, but also worldwide, with the goal of sharing the work of priests, religious and laity, so that there are not two groups of people in one church, but we are all, truly, one people of God. Read More