Yohanna Katanacho
Unleashing Palestinian Christian Orthopathos:
Empowerment & Missional Justice Amidst Suffering
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 @ 12:00 PM
Abstract
This lecture unveils the transformative power of Palestinian Christian Orthopathos – a potent understanding of suffering that fuels empowerment and missional justice. The lecture will delve into the Sermon on the Mount, explore the profound suffering of the Apostle Paul, and illuminate other scriptural insights. The exploration forges a powerful connection between missional justice and radical peacemaking within the crucible of Palestinian suffering, revealing Christ’s suffering and teachings as a vital orthopathic worldview for navigating immense challenges.
Biography
Yohanna Katanacho is currently the academic dean at Nazareth Evangelical College in Israel. He is a Palestinian Israeli Evangelical Christian who studied at Bethlehem University (B.Sc.), Wheaton College (M.A.) and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Master of Divinity & Ph.D.). He has taught at colleges and seminaries in many countries. He has authored or contributed to dozens of books and numerous articles in Arabic and English. Professor Rev. Katanacho is also the Lead Translator of the Colloquial Galilean Bible which is in the North Levantine Arabic dialect.
Summer Course at Regent College 2026
Palestinian Theology in Context
Jun 1-5 • 8:30AM – 11:30AM
Taught by a Palestinian Evangelical Christian, this course is for all who seek to understand Scripture from a Christ-centred point of view. After unpacking some of the big questions of theology in the Palestinian context, this course offers theological reflections on major theopolitical concerns, including theology of the land, the Zionist project, war and peace, and the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
Response by Ron Dart
Ron Dart taught in the Department of Political Science-Philosophy-Religious Studies for 35 years at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia. He was on staff with Amnesty International in the 1980s with the focus Religion and Human Rights in the Middle East. Ron was featured in the 2010 film With God on our Side (dealing with the Christian Zionist-Palestinian tensions) and his book Canadian Christian Zionism: A Tangled Tale is one of the first books on Canadian Zionist ideology. Ron has published 42 books and multiple articles, many dealing with Jewish-Christian Zionism and the Palestinians. Ron now teaches Classics at St. Stephen’s University which offers an MA with Bethlehem Bible College.
Summary of Dr. Katanacho’s Talk from Nazareth
The stance of Orthopathos is a dedicated refusal of revenge and the promotion of unconquerable resurrection hope amidst the tears of the oppressed and disenfranchised. We were asked to go deep into the very heart of God on the cross. Employing the Sermon on the Mount, Yohanna displayed how suffering servant Palestinians have learned to love their enemies and bless those who persecute them. Christ taught us that love is stronger than evil and hatred. Making peace is a countercultural stance in a war-making environment. Christian agape love offers a new civilization to restructure relationships between Palestinians, Christians, Jews, and Muslims. We are called to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are the heroic peacemakers: Christians are called to be great lovers, replacing the culture of hate with that of love. Orthopathos to Yohanna means suffering for his Kingdom of Peace. He wants Palestinian Christians to realize that they are not victims but missionaries of justice and righteousness. God is weeping over this tragic situation. In Israel as a whole, the biggest problem today, says Yohanna, is ethics: i.e., there must be a renewed vision of the common good across all sectors of society: media, medicine, education, business, and politics.
“The Holy Spirit carries our sorrows into the presence of God and imparts a unity with Christ through which we experience both the fellowship of his sufferings and the power of his resurrection. ‘Suffering rightly’ is defined as suffering in communion with God and his people for the sake of his kingdom. Love is the motive behind justice, and peace is its fruit.” (Rev. Dr. Yohanna Katanacho)
Poem by Yohanna Katanacho
This is a season of weeping and mourning, but it is not void of hope.
Our tears are the bridge between brutality and humanity.
Our tears are the salty gates for seeing a different reality.
Our tears are facing soulless nations and a parched mentality.
Our tears are the dam preventing rivers of animosity.
For the sake of the mourning men, cry with us to reflect your amity.
For the sake of the poor children, cry with us demanding sanity.
For the sake of lamenting mothers, refuse violence and stupidity.
Love your enemies and cry with them is the advice of divinity.
Blessing those who curse is the path to genuine spirituality.
Pouring tears of mercy and compassion is true piety.
Pray with tears, for the sake of spreading equity.
Followers of Jesus: crying is now our responsibility.
But don’t cry for your friends only—cry also for your enemy.
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