Journey Back to Eden.pdf - St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church Chicago

A TIME TO INTERCEDE 125almost bated breath and responded with fairly wild applause as thePope gave very traditional answers to the difficult questions whichwere being raised.I continue to find it remarkable that the straightforward, firm,theological, and pastoral approach of this Pope elicits such enthusiasticand joyful response from the youth of his Church. I canonly note the dramatic difference between Pope Shenouda’s responsesto the young and the manner by which we attempt to attractour own youth into the life of the Church in the West. Towin them, we sometimes water down and soften the clear outlinesof our faith and its pastoral applications. Father Jim and I werevery impressed, not only by the zeal of the Coptic Pope, but mostespecially by the Coptic youth who attended as they evidencedtheir profound sense of faith and commitment to the traditions oftheir Church.And, of course, as usual, the young people surrounded us afterwards,asking all kinds of questions about why we are in Egypt andabout our faith and our prayer life. So we stayed up till quite latetalking to them there in the plaza of the cathedral, and enjoyedourselves immensely in the midst of that profoundly committedfaith community. “Just like our young people’s reaction to churchservices in America!” Father Jim sadly joked.The Bible of the NileFEBRUARY 26, THURSDAYToday we traveled south of Cairo to visit St. Mary’s Church inMaadi, which is located directly on the Nile itself. This church isregarded by the Copts as marking the place where the Holy Familyembarked from this region to travel by boat to Upper Egypt. So itis a holy site for the Copts, this place visited by Jesus, Mary, andJoseph; it is a site of special veneration for them.Some years ago, a Bible was found floating on the Nile Rivernearby. It was opened to the passage of the prophet Isaiah whichspeaks about Egypt as one day being a place from which true worshipof God would rise up:On that day there shall be an altar to the LORD in the land ofEgypt, and a sacred pillar to the LORD near the boundary. It