The Rt. Rev. Dr. Munib A. Younan

The Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) is The Rt. Rev. Dr. Munib A. Younan. He was consecrated as the third Palestinian bishop of the ELCJHL in January 1998.

Bishop Younan was educated in Palestine and Finland and has been very active in the Middle East Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation and the Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC). 

Bishop Younan made the first translation of the Augsburg Confession into Arabic and was a key initiator of several dialogue initiatives among the three monotheistic religions in Palestine. At present he is Vice President of the Lutheran World Federation, the President of the FMEEC and president of the Board of Managers of the International Christian Committee (ICC) of Jerusalem, serving with the three patriarchs and nine other bishops of Jerusalem.

The Bishop is an active member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), having participated as a member of the youth committee and advisor to the LWF Council and currently as a voting member of the Council; vice president of the board of trustees of the Ecumenical Institute, Strasbourg, France; vice chair of the LWF Department for Mission and Development; and chair of the Asian Regional Church Leaders Conference.

He also works with the Middle East Council of Churches, and the World Council of Churches, among others. He is a recipient of the 2001 Finnish Peace Prize from the Finnish Christian Peace Movement, and of the Human Rights Award from the United Nations Association, Washington, D.C.

Bishop Younan holds an honorary doctor of divinity from Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, an ELCA higher education institution. He is author of numerous articles on the church in the Middle East and has been a presenter at several conferences.

He and his wife, Suad, have three children, Annaliza, Andria and Martha. They reside in Jerusalem.

Appointments within the ELCJHL

1998 - Pres.                 Bishop (Consecrated Jan. 5, 1998)

2007 – Pres                 Chair of the Board of Al Diyar

2004 – Pres.                Chair of Abraham's Herberge in Beit Jala

1998 – Pres.                Chair of Evangelical Lutheran School Board

1990 – 1998                Synod President of the ELCJHL

1984 – 1998                Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hope, Ramallah
1979 – 1984                Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation, Beit Jala
1976 – 1979                Assistant Pastor of the Church of Redeemer, Jerusalem

1977 – 1988                Youth pastor of the ELCJHL
1976 – 1997                Teacher and coordinator in Christian Education in Lutheran schools
Ordained May 30, 1976 at the Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem, by Bishop Daoud Haddad

Education
1988                Study and research at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, Illinois

1972 – 1976    Theological study at the University of Helsinki, Finland

Graduated with a Master’s Degree; Dissertation: “Election in Deutero Isaiah”
1969 – 1972    Study of Deaconry at Luther Opisto College in Järvenpää, Finland
1968                High School Certificate, the Tawjihi, from Al-Ahlia College, Ramallah
1955 – 1967    Lutheran schools in Jerusalem and Beit Jala

Family
Born 18 September 1950 in Jerusalem to Andria Younan, originating from Beersheba, and Alice Qandalaft from West Jerusalem (both refugees from 1948). Still holder of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) refugee status card.

Married:    1980 to Suad Yacoub (born 23 Oct 1959) from Haifa, originally from Kfar Bir'im 
Children:
           Annaliza (born 1982)   Working at the US Consulate in Jerusalem, recently married

Andria (born 1984)    Studying for masters degree in biomedical engineering at the Technon in Haifa

Martha (born 1991)     In high school at St. Joseph's School in Jerusalem