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

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A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY 11I’m also eating the food that the Egyptians eat, no longer feelingthat I can afford to eat in hotels or restaurants where touristsgo, as they are much more expensive. There are plenty of smallshops that sell a bean-and-bread combination called fule wa tamayawhich is very tasty, especially if they put some spices and herbs onit. I remember how the Hebrews were longing for the leeks andgarlic of Egypt when they were in Sinai, and now I know why.There are plenty of good spices here, which people add to a sandwich-likeaffair on pita bread. They also make very good juiceshere from fruit they crush in a hand press to mix in a delicious concoction.The very thing I was told by the travelogues not to drink,the very food I was advised not to eat because I could get sick fromit, I have surrendered myself to eating and to drinking. Otherwise,it would be a very difficult year, not to mention a pricey one. Myonly option is to live as the natives do, which, of course, is what anthropologistsare required to do.A Fruitless TripSEPTEMBER 9, TUESDAYAfter asking a lot of directions and walking a very long way (itseems halfway across the city), I arrived at the Patriarchate only todiscover that Pope Shenouda is not in today. I was told I should tryto make an appointment, but that it may take a couple of days tonegotiate! (The Western reader should note that the title “Pope” isas ancient a title of the Coptic Patriarch as the Roman Catholicone; likewise, both prelates are called “His Holiness.”) I was intendingto solve the problem of my placement in a monasteryby dealing with lower ecclesiastical officials, but virtually everybodyhere insists that I will have to see the Pope! But as is the casein very centralized institutions, access to the central office here isdifficult.I had to sit and wait and talk to a whole series of secretaries.Most of them are lay women; one or two of them are clerics.They told me to come back tomorrow and continue waiting andthat they would do what they could to arrange a meeting. I gathernothing here is going to be set in stone in terms of scheduling.This is something I’m just going to have to negotiate day byday.
12 SEPTEMBERA Beggar among BeggarsThere’s a beautiful—well, almost beautiful—cathedral here calledSt. Mark’s Cathedral which I’m told is the largest church in Africa.The relics of St. Mark were brought back from Venice and are entombedbelow. The building is finished only on the outside. Theinside is filled with scaffolding, and although liturgies are sometimescelebrated here, it is by no means a fully decorated or a fullyfurnished church. Even so, I understand that it is already used forthe Pope’s larger ceremonies.There are many beggars on the steps of this church, on thesteps of the papal residence, and on the steps of what might beconsidered the curia offices of Pope Shenouda. All of them ask foralms, especially from visiting clergy. I’m dressed in clerics now tovisit the Pope so they can see that I’m a visiting priest. They knowhow to ask for money in English and in any number of other languagesbut, unfortunately, I have none to give them.I was happy to see that one very old priest sits at the door of asmall chapel near the great Cathedral of St. Mark. He breaks offpieces of bread and gives them to everyone who comes into thegate of the shrine. So, if I make two or three visits, I’ll have enoughfor tomorrow’s breakfast!Watching and WaitingSEPTEMBER 10, WEDNESDAYI suppose there’s nothing new to report. I’ve been making my waynow from the Talat Harb Hotel to the Patriarchate the last couple ofdays and doing what I did the first time I arrived there: simply waiting.I wait from relatively early in the morning, 9:30 A.M. or 10:00A.M., all the way till late in the evening, to 6:00 P.M. or 7:00 P.M.No one can tell me for sure if, or when, the Pope will see me,or if I’ll be able to meet with anyone who might be able to help mecoordinate a visit to the monasteries. I have spoken with several ofthe secretaries as I have waited, hopefully not too impatiently,telling them that it isn’t necessary for me to see the Pope; it wasonly suggested to me by a Coptic associate I met in New York, andthat I would be perfectly happy to get to the monastery by any
Page 1 and 2: Copyright © 2002 by Mark Gruber, O
Page 4 and 5: JOURNEY BACK TO EDENMy Life and Tim
Page 6 and 7: In gratitude to Abuna Elia,the sain
Page 8 and 9: CONTENTSPreface ...................
Page 10 and 11: PREFACEWhile in Egypt, I did not in
Page 12 and 13: PREFACExiElia, to whom this journal
Page 14 and 15: ABOUT THE COPTS AND THEIR DESERT MO
Page 17 and 18: 2 INTRODUCTIONI will be traveling i
Page 19 and 20: 4 INTRODUCTIONmy novitiate and had
Page 21 and 22: 6 SEPTEMBERlarge high-rises. Appare
Page 23 and 24: 8 SEPTEMBERprior to their trip so t
Page 25: 10 SEPTEMBERyour hands—as much or
Page 29 and 30: 14 SEPTEMBERlabored without rest or
Page 31 and 32: FATHER JOHN WATSONHis Holiness Pope
Page 33 and 34: 18 SEPTEMBERHe drew a cross on top
Page 35 and 36: 20 SEPTEMBERBlessed Lord,You brough
Page 37 and 38: 22 SEPTEMBERtude, and silence, appr
Page 39 and 40: OCTOBERA TIME OF NEW BEGINNINGSThe
Page 41 and 42: 26 OCTOBERcontradictions they fear
Page 43 and 44: 28 OCTOBERdramatic effect of my hea
Page 45 and 46: 30 OCTOBERWill my heart remain here
Page 47 and 48: NOVEMBERA TIME TO VISIT ABRAHAMGues
Page 49 and 50: 34 NOVEMBERThe guest master, it tur
Page 51 and 52: Abuna Elia
Page 53 and 54: 38 NOVEMBERBut in their case, he as
Page 55 and 56: 40 NOVEMBERafter the death of Sarah
Page 57 and 58: 42 NOVEMBERto take his son. All the
Page 59 and 60: 44 NOVEMBERhe sojourned in Egypt in
Page 61 and 62: 46 NOVEMBERthe monastic ideal to a
Page 63 and 64: 48 NOVEMBERArabic LessonsNOVEMBER 2
Page 65 and 66: 50 NOVEMBEROf course, it is not tru
Page 67 and 68: 52 NOVEMBERthe Ark of Noah looked l
Page 69 and 70: 54 NOVEMBERits life-giving water fr
Page 71 and 72: 56 NOVEMBERCross more brightly: fal
Page 73 and 74: DECEMBERA TIME OF SIGNS: CAELUM ET
Page 75 and 76: 60 DECEMBERfirst sold ourselves to
Page 77 and 78:
62 DECEMBERis by fasting, most of a
Page 79 and 80:
64 DECEMBERficient. If they can obt
Page 81 and 82:
66 DECEMBERThe great apparitions of
Page 83 and 84:
68 DECEMBERKing of the Jews, by the
Page 85 and 86:
70 DECEMBEREveryone seeks the assis
Page 87 and 88:
72 DECEMBERDECEMBER 15, MONDAYAlmos
Page 89 and 90:
74 DECEMBERfor her. She is delighte
Page 91 and 92:
76 DECEMBERtween Alexandria and Cai
Page 93 and 94:
78 DECEMBERboth are real in the bod
Page 95 and 96:
80 DECEMBERof faith which preserves
Page 97 and 98:
82 DECEMBERI feel particularly sorr
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84 DECEMBERThe children—six, seve
Page 101 and 102:
JANUARYA TIME OF CELEBRATIONJANUARY
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88 JANUARYEveryone, it seems, is mi
Page 105 and 106:
90 JANUARYA Holiday VisitOn the eve
Page 107 and 108:
92 JANUARYAlmost the whole orientat
Page 109 and 110:
94 JANUARYI blessed water in their
Page 111 and 112:
96 JANUARYI find myself in the unus
Page 113 and 114:
98 JANUARYferent path, and every da
Page 115 and 116:
100 JANUARYyour ageless love are cr
Page 117 and 118:
102 JANUARYless because they’re a
Page 119 and 120:
FATHER JOHN WATSONA Coptic Orthodox
Page 121 and 122:
106 JANUARYheard a voice—perhaps
Page 123 and 124:
108 JANUARYI reflected afterwards a
Page 125 and 126:
110 JANUARYsolitude and in terms of
Page 127 and 128:
112 FEBRUARYjust visiting the deser
Page 129 and 130:
114 FEBRUARYJust then some of the p
Page 131 and 132:
116 FEBRUARYThe children of the Pha
Page 133 and 134:
118 FEBRUARYAbuna Elia said that th
Page 135 and 136:
120 FEBRUARYGod. For all Christians
Page 137 and 138:
122 FEBRUARYFEBRUARY 18, WEDNESDAYD
Page 139 and 140:
124 FEBRUARYsources. I had some of
Page 141 and 142:
126 FEBRUARYshall be a sign and a w
Page 143 and 144:
128 FEBRUARYFEBRUARY 28, SATURDAYTh
Page 145 and 146:
130 MARCHmerich, the German mystic
Page 147 and 148:
132 MARCHThe wildflower meadows her
Page 149 and 150:
134 MARCHbishop who resides near he
Page 151 and 152:
136 MARCHOf Building Bonds and Brea
Page 153 and 154:
138 MARCHSprings in the DesertMARCH
Page 155 and 156:
140 MARCHwomen in the West experien
Page 157 and 158:
142 MARCHlunch somewhere, or they h
Page 159 and 160:
144 MARCHbe willing to move from my
Page 161 and 162:
146 MARCHA Fly on the WallMARCH 31,
Page 163 and 164:
APRILA TIME OF CONSECRATIONOf Sands
Page 165 and 166:
Grass mats cover the floor of a mon
Page 167 and 168:
152 APRILmony. Even recently, some
Page 169 and 170:
154 APRILwho are distributed everyw
Page 171 and 172:
156 APRILIn the papal compound I me
Page 173 and 174:
158 APRILin their own home parish.
Page 175 and 176:
160 APRILAfter greeting me he told
Page 177 and 178:
162 APRILI keep reminding myself th
Page 179 and 180:
164 APRILA Rare Spring HolidayAPRIL
Page 181 and 182:
166 APRILthat the very same innocen
Page 183 and 184:
MAYA TIME TO PRESS ONWARDOases and
Page 185 and 186:
170 MAYthe commotion associated wit
Page 187 and 188:
172 MAYeven saw monks trying to get
Page 189 and 190:
174 MAYNevertheless, I ask you to a
Page 191 and 192:
176 MAYof grace that people can enf
Page 193 and 194:
178 MAYI’m staying at the house o
Page 195 and 196:
180 JUNEThe Cave of a SaintJUNE 5,
Page 197 and 198:
182 JUNEThe abbot of the monastery
Page 199 and 200:
The gate of St. Anthony Monastery.
Page 201 and 202:
186 JUNEno place to lay his head”
Page 203 and 204:
188 JUNE“Fountains and Springs, B
Page 205 and 206:
190 JUNEmonks here, I decided to dr
Page 207 and 208:
192 JUNEof his family—and broke e
Page 209 and 210:
JULYA TIME FOR FAREWELLSThe Crucibl
Page 211 and 212:
196 JULYare known in Egypt, and the
Page 213 and 214:
198 JULYthat, the heat is now reall
Page 215 and 216:
200 JULYbering the slap I received
Page 217 and 218:
202 JULYyou for our founder who cam
Page 219 and 220:
204 JULYJULY 23, THURSDAYI returned
Page 221 and 222:
206 JULYprize that Eve forfeited wh
Page 223:
AFTERWORDFifteen years have passed
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