Join us for a conversation with Mr. Samuel Munayer, a Palestinian Christian theologian and humanitarian practitioner from Jerusalem, as he discusses his recently co-edited volume, The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology Amid Gaza.
Representing a new generation of theological voices, Munayer will share insights from this collection of essays, which explores how liberation theology offers a tool for survival, resistance, and collective action. Rather than focusing on abstract or academic theories, the book centers on "lived theology"—using metaphors like olive picking to describe a community-rooted spirituality that allows people to persevere, resist, and affirm their humanity.
Munayer will discuss how Palestinian liberation theology provides the language and tools to not only critique empire, but to imagine and build an alternative future rooted in hope, justice, and reconciliation.
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Mr. Samuel Munayer
Samuel Munayer is a Palestinian Christian theologian and humanitarian practitioner from Jerusalem who represents a new generation of Palestinian theological voices. He holds degrees from Durham University and the University of Exeter, and his academic and professional work focuses on the intersection of theology, justice, identity, and humanitarian advocacy in Palestine and the wider Middle East.
Samuel is co-editor of the recently published volume The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology Amid Gaza, a significant contribution to contemporary Palestinian Christian thought.
Through this work and his broader scholarship, he seeks to amplify Palestinian Christian perspectives and to explore how theology can respond faithfully to the realities of war, displacement, occupation, and human suffering while remaining grounded in hope, justice, and reconciliation.
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The Rev. Dr. Fadi Diab
The Rev. Dr. Fadi Diab is a Palestinian priest, theologian, writer, and advocate for justice and peace. He serves as the rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Ramallah and St. Peter’s Church in Birzeit and provides pastoral leadership across multiple institutions in the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, including the Episcopal School, Medical Centre, and Evangelical Home for Children.
A key figure in interfaith and justice movements, he co-authored the Kairos Palestine Document and serves on the board of Kairos Palestine, the Palestine-Israeli Theologians Forum, and the Al Ahli Arab Hospital (Gaza) board. Fr. Diab holds degrees from the Near East School of Theology, Chicago Theological Seminary, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and Virginia Theological Seminary.
About the artwork
The artwork used to promote this course and it's associated EDS colloquia was adapted from Palestinian artist, Malak Mattar’s Shelter. It is used with permission and compensation. You can explore more of Malak’s work on her website: malak-mattar.com and Instagram: @malakmattarart.