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

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A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY 17him of my desire to do anthropological study, offered him all myrespect, assured him of my carefulness in doing the work, andasked for access to the monasteries.He looked at me and paused a moment and finally said, “Couldyou grow a beard?” Then he asked, “Do you have a religioushabit?” These were his “requirements.” He didn’t say they werebut, by the tone of his voice, these seemed to be his two requirements:that I grow a beard and wear a religious habit. I presume itwas his intent that I would not be uncomfortable myself, nor wouldI make anyone else uncomfortable by the way I presented myself.So I assured him that I have a religious habit and that I would wearit in the monasteries if I had his permission to do so. He laughed atthe idea that he needed to give me, a Catholic monk, permission towear my religious habit. He thanked me—actually a polite order—for wearing it from now on, whether in Cairo or anywhere else inEgypt, and for making it the only garb that I would wear. And healso told me that, from here on, I was not to shave, because it is inappropriatefor monks to be clean-shaven. Whether that be theWestern custom or not, it’s not something Egyptians are familiarwith, or appreciative of, in a monk.Those were his big interests. My philosophical point of view,my social science point of view, or my theological point of view—none of these seemed to be particularly important to him. But afterwe had come to terms on these two points, he proceeded to takeout some beautiful stationery bearing his insignia, and wrote me aletter. Well, actually, he wrote a letter for me to carry, to present toany of the heads of the monasteries which I will visit. In a beautifulscript, in cursive Arabic characters, Pope Shenouda wrote:To the Heads of all the Monasteries of Egypt, and to theirLeading Officials:Grace and Peace from your Father and Brother.This letter introduces Mark Gruber, a monk and priestfrom one of the Catholic monasteries of America. He desiresto study in our monasteries. Please receive him somedays in your monastery, and make available to him all thathe needs for his work.I am sure that he will find his sojourn among us enrichingboth spiritually and culturally.Shenouda III
18 SEPTEMBERHe drew a cross on top of the page and wrote the date on the bottom.Then he showed the letter to me and asked me to read it backto him. When I hesitated to do so, he helped me to understand it.After clearing that, he gave me a list of the monasteries he expectsme to visit, one at a time, first, second, third. St. Macarius he wishesme to visit first, and then St. Bishoi where he wishes me to spendmost of my time. “In St. Macarius,” he said, “you will stay longenough to grow a beard, and then you will go to St. Bishoi Monastery.”This is the monastery in which the Pope spends every weekendof his pontificate on retreat. “You will go to that monastery forthe longest amount of time during your stay in Egypt. After youhave finished the liturgical cycles of Advent, Lent, and Easter, thenyou will travel during the remainder of your field trip to the othermonasteries in Upper Egypt and in the Eastern Desert.”After outlining my itinerary, he presented me with a box ofchocolates. I didn’t know whether I was supposed to eat any or notso when he took one out of the box and put it into my hand, I interpretedthis as a sign that it was not impolite to eat chocolate infront of the Pope, so I did. He seemed to be very happy that Iliked it. In fact, I did like it. Since I had eaten less that I mighthave ordinarily eaten in the last few days, the chocolate was quitegood.After I left the papal residence, his secretary (in this case, a laymanwho didn’t speak English) ran after me to tell me that Ineeded to come back to the papal residence on Tuesday morningwhen a special driver would be provided to take me to St. MacariusMonastery.The Next Step on the JourneySEPTEMBER 16, TUESDAYI came, then, to the residence of the Pope this morning, and wasmet by a gentleman and his wife and child who were making a pilgrimageto St. Macarius Monastery. They were excited to be goingthere, and were very pleased to be able to take me. They had beenasked by the secretary of the Pope to drive me there. I was surprisedthat one could simply drive to such a remote monastery, but theysaid that in the last few years the access roads off the so-called“desert highway” between Cairo and Alexandria were clear enough
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 and 26: 10 SEPTEMBERyour hands—as much or
Page 27 and 28: 12 SEPTEMBERA Beggar among BeggarsT
Page 29 and 30: 14 SEPTEMBERlabored without rest or
Page 31: FATHER JOHN WATSONHis Holiness Pope
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
Page 99 and 100:
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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