Haifa, City of Many Faiths

The city of Haifa, located along the northern coast of Israel between Jaffa and Akka, may not get as much attention as a pilgrimage stop as such cities as Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem, but it is every bit as important to understanding the unique patchwork of peoples and faiths that make up the Holy Land.

With its twin climates of balmy Mediterranean coastline and breezier hilltop of the expansive Mount Carmel, Haifa has long been a popular location for human habitation, with known human settlements existing back to at least the Bronze Age. Its Biblical claim to fame firmly rests with the Prophet Elijah, who triumphed over the false prophets of the Caananite deity Baal on Mount Carmel as recalled in the Book of Kings.

Haifa is known for having one of the most diverse communities in Israel, with a large population of Arab-speaking Israeli citizens, Russian-speaking emigrants from the Soviet Union and their Israeli-born children and grandchildren, and a center for three unique religious communities: the Druze, an Arab-speaking community who are not considered to be Muslim, the Ahmadiyya, a messianic sect of Islam from India, and the Ba’hai, a faith founded in 19the century Persia, whose spiritual headquarters, the famous Ba’hai Gardens on Mount Carmel that overlooks the sea. At another time, a community of devout German Protestants known as the Templers (not to be confused with the Knights Templar Crusaders) made their home in Haifa, leaving a legacy of European-style architecture and village planning at the foot of Mount Carmel.

Whereas the majority of Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem district and the West Bank belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, approximately 60% of the Arab-speaking Christians in Israel are members of the Greek Catholic Melkite Church in the Holy Land, most of whom reside in the coastal cities, Nazareth-Cana, and villages and towns in the Galilee. The Melkites maintain liturgical practices that are almost identical to the Greek Orthodox Church, but are considered a semi-autonomous branch of the Roman Catholic church, and commemorate the Pope in their services. While a Melkite cathedral with a titular Patriarch is located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, St. Elijah Cathedral in Haifa is the defacto center for the tens of thousands of Melkite Christians of the northern parishes and communities of the Holy Land.

Most pilgrims, however, visit Haifa to visit the Carmelite convent of Stella Maris (meaning, "by the sea" in Latin) which is built around the cave of the Prophet Elijah that overlooks the Meditteranean. As the spiritual home of the centuries-old Discalced Carmelites, the convent has endured conflicts and dispossession over the centuries but is today a peaceful stop along the pilgrimage trail, where pilgrims can visit the cave for prayer and reflection, and may also choose to venture on to another chapel to the north and inland, built to commemorate the triumph of the Prophet Elijah over the pagans. Every month of May, the convent of Stella Maris becomes a center of Marian devotion as the local Catholic community leads regular processions through the city.

While it will never become the most popular pilgrimage destination in the Holy Land, Haifa has a beauty and charm all of its own and hints at a possible future of coexistence between peoples of different beliefs across the region. May it prove to be so!

Be Not Afraid!

Good Shepherd Travel offers pilgrimages to Haifa as part of their Holy Land tours. Rome, Lourdes, Fatima, Ireland, and many other destinations are among our most popular programs. For more information on how to begin preparing for a pilgrimage in late 2020 or in 2021, contact Tony AbuAita at Tony@goodshepherdtravel.com. We will return to pilgrimage – and we hope to see you with us!