Rola Adel Sleiman, B.Th.C.E. (born 1975) is a Lebanese-

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

female

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

, the first woman to be appointed to the Christian ministry in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. She was ordained on 26 February 2017. Sleiman was born in

Tripoli, Lebanon Tripoli ( ; , , ; , ; see #Names, below) is the largest and most important city in North Lebanon, northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated north of the capital Beirut, it is the capital of the North Governorate ...

, to a Syrian father and Lebanese mother. She was brought up in the Evangelist Presbyterian Church of Tripoli, located in Rahibat Street, and studied theology under the sponsorship of the

National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon The National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) represents the Protestant Reformed movement in the Middle East, initiated in the 16th century by the Augustinian monk Martin Luther. Reformed in theology and Presbyterian in governance, NES ...

, a church that has only 3000 members altogether. She began to officiate at services in Tripoli when the regular pastor was away during 2006, and replaced him permanently in 2009. The Synod eventually voted by a majority of 23 to 1 to ordain her as his replacement so that the church could host baptisms and other services that could only be presided over by an ordained minister. She stated that she had needed "a lot of silence, patience and effort" to succeed in her vocation. In May 2017 a controversy arose when the UK government refused Reverend Sleiman's request for a visa in order to allow her to visit the General Assembly of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

, at which she had been invited to speak. The Home Office's decision was overturned a few days later, following representations from the Church of Scotland, but Sleiman was still not allowed to board a flight from Beirut to the UK.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sleiman, Rola 1975 births Living people People from Tripoli, Lebanon Lebanese Christian clergy Syrian Christian clergy Women Christian religious leaders Lebanese people of Syrian descent Lebanese Presbyterians Lebanese evangelicals Protestant ministers and clergy in Lebanon