Dear gentle reader,
After 114 days (16 weeks +), my 4 months in Beirut have come to an end. Tonight I'll take a taxi to the Beirut airport for the trip home to Chicago.
I depart from Beirut at a critical moment in Lebanon's recent history. In recent days, the cabinet of the national government dissolved itself. Negotiations to form a new cabinet are going slowly. The whole country awaits the publication of the findings of the International Tribunal Lebanon regarding who assassinated Prime Minister Harari & his body guards in March, 2005.
Meanwhile theological education and church life goes on as usual at NEST. Christians in this region are toughened by surviving years of civil war and persecution in places like Iraq.
I hope you have enjoyed reading & seeing the pictures in 'Nesting in Beirut.' If you are interested in more information about studying or visiting the Near East School of Theology, please go to their website at www.theonest.edu.lb. Or send me an email message at my office: rcathey@mccormick.edu
Faithfully,
Robert Cathey
Crusader Cistercian Church, now Orthodox Church
Balamand University near Tripoli
Friday, January 21, 2011
Balamand University - from Cistercian Monastery to Eastern Orthodox University
On Saturday 8 January, 2011, Dean Sabra's 'Contemporary Eastern Churches' class made our last field trip up the coast of Lebanon to Balamand University. It overlooks Tripoli. On this site the Cistercians founded a monastery during the Crusades in the 1100s A.D. It includes the only original Cistercian Church in the world, with the only Cistercian bell tower.
It was abandoned in 1250 when the Muslims recaptured the region, then renewed 300 years later as a Greek Orthodox monastery when the Ottomans gave it to the Orthodox to become the main church in this region. Monks came from Tripoli, Aleppo and Palestine to reestablish the monastery in the Orthodox tradition. It was abandoned again in the 1950s. In the late 20th century, the site had become a shelter for goats, but was extensively renovated.
The monastery was a center of learning, translating Greek texts into Arabic, copying, editing, engaging in exegesis, and writing commentaries on the Patristics (early Christian writers). 1,200 manuscripts are in the archives of the monastery. It is also rich icons.
Our guide was Professor Nicolas Abu Mrad, a Professor of Old Testament in the theological faculty. We met with Dean (Auxilary Bishop) Ghattas Hazin of the theological faculty (nephew of the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in this region). After visiting the monastery, we traveled to the Convent of Our Lady of Kattoun to visit with Sister Lucy and see the renovation of beautiful ancient mosaics in the convent church.
The weather was wet & chilly but the hospitality was generous. Dean Hazin reminded us that as Protestants, the Orthodox (like the Roman Catholics) don't fully recognize us as a Church (for we don't have the continuity of apostolic succession), but the Orthodox have ecumenical relations with the Protestants through the Middle East Council of Churches and friendships & scholarly organizations.
The renovated monastery was one of the most impressive Christian sites in our five field trips. Wet talked with Prof. Mrad about the iconography and the fact that much of Orthodox liturgy is based on the Old Testament, although the Orthodox usually read only from the New Testament in their services of the Lord's Day today.
At Our Lady of Kattoun Convent, we saw some very old and venerated icons that were stolen during the Lebanese civil war, and then returned to the Convent by the thieves. In the Orthodox tradition, convents and monasteries serve as centers of spiritual direction, for retreats, and pastoral care. Laity usually do not turn to their local priest for these functions, but go on retreats to the monasteries and convents for spiritual renewal.
Some of our students were impressed with the simply faith of Sister Lucy who was a participant in the Orthodox Youth Movement of the mid-20th century that renewed the Orthodox tradition in the Middle East.
It was abandoned in 1250 when the Muslims recaptured the region, then renewed 300 years later as a Greek Orthodox monastery when the Ottomans gave it to the Orthodox to become the main church in this region. Monks came from Tripoli, Aleppo and Palestine to reestablish the monastery in the Orthodox tradition. It was abandoned again in the 1950s. In the late 20th century, the site had become a shelter for goats, but was extensively renovated.
The monastery was a center of learning, translating Greek texts into Arabic, copying, editing, engaging in exegesis, and writing commentaries on the Patristics (early Christian writers). 1,200 manuscripts are in the archives of the monastery. It is also rich icons.
Our guide was Professor Nicolas Abu Mrad, a Professor of Old Testament in the theological faculty. We met with Dean (Auxilary Bishop) Ghattas Hazin of the theological faculty (nephew of the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in this region). After visiting the monastery, we traveled to the Convent of Our Lady of Kattoun to visit with Sister Lucy and see the renovation of beautiful ancient mosaics in the convent church.
The weather was wet & chilly but the hospitality was generous. Dean Hazin reminded us that as Protestants, the Orthodox (like the Roman Catholics) don't fully recognize us as a Church (for we don't have the continuity of apostolic succession), but the Orthodox have ecumenical relations with the Protestants through the Middle East Council of Churches and friendships & scholarly organizations.
The renovated monastery was one of the most impressive Christian sites in our five field trips. Wet talked with Prof. Mrad about the iconography and the fact that much of Orthodox liturgy is based on the Old Testament, although the Orthodox usually read only from the New Testament in their services of the Lord's Day today.
At Our Lady of Kattoun Convent, we saw some very old and venerated icons that were stolen during the Lebanese civil war, and then returned to the Convent by the thieves. In the Orthodox tradition, convents and monasteries serve as centers of spiritual direction, for retreats, and pastoral care. Laity usually do not turn to their local priest for these functions, but go on retreats to the monasteries and convents for spiritual renewal.
Some of our students were impressed with the simply faith of Sister Lucy who was a participant in the Orthodox Youth Movement of the mid-20th century that renewed the Orthodox tradition in the Middle East.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Armenian Catholicossate of Cilicia, Antelias
On December 8, 2009, Dean Sabra's 'Contemporary Eastern Churches' class took a field trip to the headquarters of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Lebanon. We visited with Bishop Nareg Alemezian who is responsible for ecumenical & inter-religious affairs for the Catholicossate.
There are over 7 million Armenian Orthodox Christians worldwide with 3 million in the independent nation of Armenia (formerly part of the USSR). Over populations include:
Lebanon: 150,000
Syria: 75,000
Israel & Occupied Palestinian Territories: 15,000
Iraq: before US invasion: 25 - 30,000, now down to 10,000
Iran: 150,000 (the largest non-Muslim population group in Iran)
Turkey: 80-85,000
USA: 1,500,000 with largest group in California
Europe: 1,000,000
Canada: 100,00
S. America: 150,000
The Armenian Orthodox Church or Apostolic Church is part of the family of Oriental Orthodox churches. The trace their roots to St. Gregory the Illuminator. Their apostolic origins go back to 2 of Jesus' disciples: Thaddeus and Bartholomew who, they claim, preached in Armenia in the first century CE. In Iran there were monasteries founded in the names of both Apostles. Today 90% of all persons of Armenian descent are Armenian Orthodox, 5% are Armenian Catholics, and 5% are Evangelical Armenians (including both some faculty and students at NEST).
The Church has four hierarchical centers: two catholicossates and two patriarchs (one in Jerusalem and one in Istanbul, Turkey). The title of 'patriarch' covers a local jurisdiction and is an honorary title.
Turkey once was home to a very large Armenian community that was massacred and exiled from many dioceses. These Armenians relocated to the country now called Armenia, to Lebanon, and other nations. There is a Catholicossate in Armenia (close to the city of Yeribin <sp?>) and the one we visited in Beirut. From the tenth century CE to 1915, there was a Catholicossate in Turkey whose surviving members were relocated to Lebanon, Cyprus, and Aleppo, Syria after the genocide.
The Near East Relief Foundation (a Protestant mission) opened its buildings to begin an Armenian orphanage after the genocide, and eventually gave these buildings to refound the Catholicossate of Cilicia in Beirut. There the Armenian Orthodox Church opened a seminary (which moved higher up on Mount Lebanon in the 1970s or '80s). They opened a publishing house that still is housed here. This Catholicossate on property originally purchased by Protestants became the administrative center of the global Armenian diaspora.
There are 13 worldwide dioceses under the direction of the Catholicossate in Beirut. It fulfills spiritual, cultural, educational, & social needs and provides political support to Armenians in many lands. For Armenians, the church is both the spiritual and cultural home of their global community. It is the center of social, educational, and ecclesial life. People participate in church activities every day of the week through schools and community centers. The Catholicossate holds annual gatherings of Armenian intellectuals, is a pedagogical center for Sunday and parochial schools, distributes monthly publications, & hosts a website. They run a boarding school in Byblos, Lebanon that began as Bird's Nest Armenian orphanage.
A brotherhood of 45 Armenian celibate clergy (including 15 monks and five bishops) live at the center and the Catholicos serves as their abbot. Their polity is more democratic than authoritarian (so the Catholicos doesn't have the authority of the Pope). Decisions are made in a horizontal rather than hierarchical structure with lay participation in decision-making. Their church councils are constituted 70% laity and 30% clergy. Youth, women and men are included in the delegates of their general assembly. Their executive committee is made up of 11 lay people who control administration and finances, and 11 celibate clergy over religious and spiritual life.
Their church used to have active monasteries in the classical mode but this is no longer the case. Monks are now located in their administrative centers in Beirut, Jerusalem, Istanbul, and Armenia. Their daily prayers begin at 5 AM, and later they celebrate the Eucharist in a service open to lay participation from the neighborhood. Their Church recognizes 7 sacraments.
Their Church is a bridge-building institution between Christians around the world and between Christians and Muslims. They are an ecumenically open and accommodating Church. They are members of the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches. They welcome any person baptized with water in a historical church in the triune Name (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) into their services. If such persons join their Church, they are not rebaptized.
We toured the many buildings of the Catholicossate which include a beautiful sanctuary, a grim memorial (including skeletal remains) to the victims of the Armenian genocide in Turkey during WWI, a beautiful museum of liturgical artifacts and manuscripts that were rescued from Turkey and brought to Lebanon, and other meeting space.
We discussed Turkey today with Bishop Alemezian, and how the Armenian Orthodox Church continues to survive in the Middle East and globally. His commitment to ecumenical and inter-religious work which began when he was a priest in Vancouver, Canada, was outstanding.
There are over 7 million Armenian Orthodox Christians worldwide with 3 million in the independent nation of Armenia (formerly part of the USSR). Over populations include:
Lebanon: 150,000
Syria: 75,000
Israel & Occupied Palestinian Territories: 15,000
Iraq: before US invasion: 25 - 30,000, now down to 10,000
Iran: 150,000 (the largest non-Muslim population group in Iran)
Turkey: 80-85,000
USA: 1,500,000 with largest group in California
Europe: 1,000,000
Canada: 100,00
S. America: 150,000
The Armenian Orthodox Church or Apostolic Church is part of the family of Oriental Orthodox churches. The trace their roots to St. Gregory the Illuminator. Their apostolic origins go back to 2 of Jesus' disciples: Thaddeus and Bartholomew who, they claim, preached in Armenia in the first century CE. In Iran there were monasteries founded in the names of both Apostles. Today 90% of all persons of Armenian descent are Armenian Orthodox, 5% are Armenian Catholics, and 5% are Evangelical Armenians (including both some faculty and students at NEST).
The Church has four hierarchical centers: two catholicossates and two patriarchs (one in Jerusalem and one in Istanbul, Turkey). The title of 'patriarch' covers a local jurisdiction and is an honorary title.
Turkey once was home to a very large Armenian community that was massacred and exiled from many dioceses. These Armenians relocated to the country now called Armenia, to Lebanon, and other nations. There is a Catholicossate in Armenia (close to the city of Yeribin <sp?>) and the one we visited in Beirut. From the tenth century CE to 1915, there was a Catholicossate in Turkey whose surviving members were relocated to Lebanon, Cyprus, and Aleppo, Syria after the genocide.
The Near East Relief Foundation (a Protestant mission) opened its buildings to begin an Armenian orphanage after the genocide, and eventually gave these buildings to refound the Catholicossate of Cilicia in Beirut. There the Armenian Orthodox Church opened a seminary (which moved higher up on Mount Lebanon in the 1970s or '80s). They opened a publishing house that still is housed here. This Catholicossate on property originally purchased by Protestants became the administrative center of the global Armenian diaspora.
There are 13 worldwide dioceses under the direction of the Catholicossate in Beirut. It fulfills spiritual, cultural, educational, & social needs and provides political support to Armenians in many lands. For Armenians, the church is both the spiritual and cultural home of their global community. It is the center of social, educational, and ecclesial life. People participate in church activities every day of the week through schools and community centers. The Catholicossate holds annual gatherings of Armenian intellectuals, is a pedagogical center for Sunday and parochial schools, distributes monthly publications, & hosts a website. They run a boarding school in Byblos, Lebanon that began as Bird's Nest Armenian orphanage.
A brotherhood of 45 Armenian celibate clergy (including 15 monks and five bishops) live at the center and the Catholicos serves as their abbot. Their polity is more democratic than authoritarian (so the Catholicos doesn't have the authority of the Pope). Decisions are made in a horizontal rather than hierarchical structure with lay participation in decision-making. Their church councils are constituted 70% laity and 30% clergy. Youth, women and men are included in the delegates of their general assembly. Their executive committee is made up of 11 lay people who control administration and finances, and 11 celibate clergy over religious and spiritual life.
Their church used to have active monasteries in the classical mode but this is no longer the case. Monks are now located in their administrative centers in Beirut, Jerusalem, Istanbul, and Armenia. Their daily prayers begin at 5 AM, and later they celebrate the Eucharist in a service open to lay participation from the neighborhood. Their Church recognizes 7 sacraments.
Their Church is a bridge-building institution between Christians around the world and between Christians and Muslims. They are an ecumenically open and accommodating Church. They are members of the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches. They welcome any person baptized with water in a historical church in the triune Name (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) into their services. If such persons join their Church, they are not rebaptized.
We toured the many buildings of the Catholicossate which include a beautiful sanctuary, a grim memorial (including skeletal remains) to the victims of the Armenian genocide in Turkey during WWI, a beautiful museum of liturgical artifacts and manuscripts that were rescued from Turkey and brought to Lebanon, and other meeting space.
We discussed Turkey today with Bishop Alemezian, and how the Armenian Orthodox Church continues to survive in the Middle East and globally. His commitment to ecumenical and inter-religious work which began when he was a priest in Vancouver, Canada, was outstanding.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Bekah Valley & Baalbek Excursion
On Sunday 21 November, 4 Americans from NEST traveled by car to the Bekah Valley to visit 2 wineries, the Roman temple ruins at Baalbek, a cedars preserve in the Chouf Mountains, and the heart of the Druze community in Lebanon.
Our driver was Jad Bauckhan, a semi-retired medical technician who now works as a guide. He drove us from Beirut to the Bekah Valley (Lebanon's agricultural region) to first visit Chateau Ksara, the oldest winery in Lebanon and the Middle East.
Established in the 19th century by Jesuit priests, Chateau Ksara is built over a series of underground Roman tunnels where the wine is aged in casks. Now owned by four business partners, the winery remained open and in production during all the years of the Lebanese civil war (1975-1989).
We next traveled to Baalbek, an enormous temple complex built to impress the inhabitants of the eastern Roman empire. As the name suggests, the original temple on this site was dedicated to Baal, and there is some evidence that human sacrifice may have occurred here before the coming of the Romans. Using a massive army of slaves (about 125,000) and a building project spanning hundreds of years, the Romans built a temple complex here larger than the Parthenon in Rome and the Pantheon in Athens. The ruins still contain massive temple columns and pillars. Baalbek is located in the southern part of the Bekah Valley where many residents are Shia Muslims & the so-called Party of God (Hizbullah) originated in the late 20th century. As we came out of the ruins, vendors were selling Hizbullah T-shirts and camel rides.
Our next stop were the vineyards of Chateau Kefraya in an area largely populated by Orthodox Christians. We had a wonderful al fresco lunch where families had gathered after services of worship.
Then Jad drove us up winding roads with hair pin turns into the Chouf mountains to look across a ridge almost into northern Israel. After we reached the peaks, we drove down to a cedar preserve forest that happened to be above a cloud bank that afternoon. After we hiked a bit in the preserve, we rode down into the heart of the Druze country and visited a very old Maronite church in a village where Jad has his second apartment.
It was dark by the time we returned to Hamra in Beirut. This trip was my favorite excursion during my four months in Lebanon for we experienced the variety and beauty of Lebanon's typography and multiple communities of faith and culture all in one beautiful fall day.
Our driver was Jad Bauckhan, a semi-retired medical technician who now works as a guide. He drove us from Beirut to the Bekah Valley (Lebanon's agricultural region) to first visit Chateau Ksara, the oldest winery in Lebanon and the Middle East.
Established in the 19th century by Jesuit priests, Chateau Ksara is built over a series of underground Roman tunnels where the wine is aged in casks. Now owned by four business partners, the winery remained open and in production during all the years of the Lebanese civil war (1975-1989).
We next traveled to Baalbek, an enormous temple complex built to impress the inhabitants of the eastern Roman empire. As the name suggests, the original temple on this site was dedicated to Baal, and there is some evidence that human sacrifice may have occurred here before the coming of the Romans. Using a massive army of slaves (about 125,000) and a building project spanning hundreds of years, the Romans built a temple complex here larger than the Parthenon in Rome and the Pantheon in Athens. The ruins still contain massive temple columns and pillars. Baalbek is located in the southern part of the Bekah Valley where many residents are Shia Muslims & the so-called Party of God (Hizbullah) originated in the late 20th century. As we came out of the ruins, vendors were selling Hizbullah T-shirts and camel rides.
Our next stop were the vineyards of Chateau Kefraya in an area largely populated by Orthodox Christians. We had a wonderful al fresco lunch where families had gathered after services of worship.
Then Jad drove us up winding roads with hair pin turns into the Chouf mountains to look across a ridge almost into northern Israel. After we reached the peaks, we drove down to a cedar preserve forest that happened to be above a cloud bank that afternoon. After we hiked a bit in the preserve, we rode down into the heart of the Druze country and visited a very old Maronite church in a village where Jad has his second apartment.
It was dark by the time we returned to Hamra in Beirut. This trip was my favorite excursion during my four months in Lebanon for we experienced the variety and beauty of Lebanon's typography and multiple communities of faith and culture all in one beautiful fall day.
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