Dr. Maria Khoury is a Greek American living in Palestine in a small Christian village by the name of Taybeh. She comes to the US once a year to visit with parishes and deliver a presentation on the Christian presence in the Holy Land. Born in Greece and raised and educated in the United States, Dr. Khoury moved to Palestine with her husband, David Khoury, Mayor of Taybeh, shortly after the Oslo Peace Accords of 1993. She is also the author of the “Christina” children’s book series. Through her role as First Lady of Taybeh, Dr. Khoury has been instrumental in creating projects to sustain Taybeh’s infrastructure, essentially saving the small city. From establishing Taybeh’s Educational Fund to promoting the One Dollar Campaign for Holy Land Housing to writing children’s books about the Holy Lands, Dr. Khoury remains an active figure and powerful voice for Palestine’s Christians.

Christ Economos is hosting her this year and has agreed to have Dr. Khoury come to Our Savior on March 12th to speak to us about the Christian Presence in the Holy Land. She will speak in Marros Hall after the Salutations Service. We have been blessed to host a guest speaker for one of the Salutation Services during the Great Lenten Period and thank God this worked out.

Dr. Maria Khoury, First Lady of Taybeh, Palestine

For her tireless efforts in the protection of oppressed Palestinian Christians, author and activist Dr. Maria Khoury makes 2009’s list of notable human rights champions.
Taybeh, which is completely surrounded by the Israeli West Bank Barrier Wall, is Palestine’s last Christian city. As a result of the West Bank Barrier Wall’s confinement compounded by Israel’s occupation over Palestine, most of Taybeh’s residents have emigrated to escape. Over fifty percent of Taybeh’s remaining residents are unemployed and all face restricted freedoms of movement and religious worship. (You can learn more about the plight of Palestine’s Christians here.)

Here is a website that will give you more information on Dr. Khoury and her work. http://www.saintgeorgetaybeh.org/index.html