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

48 NOVEMBERArabic LessonsNOVEMBER 23, SUNDAYThis afternoon after lunch, I had my first lesson in Arabic, thatis, my first lesson in Egypt. It was with an employee of themonastery, a young man from one of the villages. His name isHanee. Hanee needs to learn English, he says, and I need to learnArabic—or at least learn more than what I had already learned atthe university. Abuna Sidrak thinks that, at least for a while, thismight be a happy combination. So I began my lessons. Haneethinks that the best way to learn Arabic is through studying thetexts associated with the Scriptures. Since, as he quite rightly reasons,I already know the Scriptures in English, I shall be able tounderstand them in Arabic because they are familiar to me. So webegan working on Scripture texts today.Hanee wants to learn English because, he said, “English is theavenue to all things shiny and new.” He already speaks Arabic, ofcourse, and Coptic—at least enough Coptic to participate in theprayer life of the Church. He said (in Arabic) that “the Coptic languageis the road, the tarek, the avenue, to all things ancient andtrue.”The manner by which the employees of the monastery praywhen they come to the Kodes or to the monks’ prayers is verytouching. They regard their monks with great reverence, with adeep respect. This is remarkable inasmuch as they work with themonks in the fields, in various crafts and works of the monasteryevery day, for weeks and months on end. It is a testament to thegoodness of both the employees and their monks that such a deeprespect continues to abide when they labor together over a longperiod of time. The monks teach the employees to perfect theirCoptic language skills so they can better participate in the prayersof the monastery.Most of the employees of the monastery are very young. To seethem studying and memorizing their Coptic prayers reminds me ofmy earliest memories in the Roman Church, when the language ofpreference was still Latin. These unlettered villagers pray in a languagethey do not understand, by and large, and yet it seems tonourish them completely.