Orthodixie

I promise: I’ll get to my visit with the President of Syria; but first, the final post of some other stuff.

I was part of a delegation that traveled to Syria September 13 – 18th on a fact finding mission, especially regarding the 3 million Christians in that country.

Parts One, Two, Three, Four.

Another one of those traditional homes converted to a nice restaurant.

In the Jewish quarter, a Synagogue.

Here, Fr Pat prayed, I believe, Psalm 8 (in Hebrew).

I stuck my daughter’s camera up against the windows …

… for a snap or two.

The Damascus National Museum of History kept our delegation intrigued on the morning of Friday, September 16th.

You never know what you will find in such places …

… some things are old, some are new — some are 42.

Ma’alula. Flag on one hill …

… crosses on the other.

Now … enlarge this pic and check out the Beast of Burden helping to haul gravel!

Heading up the monastery steps to visit the shrine which houses the relics of St Thekla.

See the figure of Christ up at the top of the stairs (see below — and last year).

Inside the temple at Ma’alula.

Fr John exits the shrine to St Thekla; pilgrims must remove their shoes.

A local priest asked his beautiful daughter to sing the Apolytikion of the Feast for us. We were all nearly moved to tears.

Inside the salon, as in most salons in parishes and monasteries in Syria: images of leaders, spiritual and secular.

Our delegation enjoyed the hospitality of the abbess, Mother Pelagia.

Fr Dimitri and I pause for a pic on our way out. (Is there something on my head? Enlarge the pic and look at him looking at … me?)

The “backside of Our Lord” on exit.

We joined the other pilgrims making their way through the mountain that was split for St Thekla.

After St Thekla … Paradise.

Paradise Restaurant, that is.

Entering the “outdoor” eatery …

… to sit beside the flowery garden.

Guaranteed not to leave hungry.

The women’s Monastery at Saydnaya.

The daytime view from that balcony.

The inside view of the temple.

Saydnaya is home to one of the four icons which St Luke painted. I imagine it resembles the one above the throne (above).

Closer.

Glancing back over my shoulder before heading down to the ground …

… where we were serenaded by some gathered teens about God, Syria, and …

… well, more on that later.

Next up: The President, the Sheiks, the Grand Mufti, and the Orthodixie Podcast.

As mentioned earlier (here, one, two, three), I was part of a delegation that traveled to Syria September 13 – 18th on a fact finding mission, especially regarding the 3 million Christians in that country.

Yes, we met with the President, the Grand Mufti, Abbesses and Sheiks (but more on that later).

Here’s some more touristy stuff …

Remember those traditional homes mentioned in previous posts (one, two, three)? Well, this one has been converted into a magnificent hotel: The Talisman.

The delegation got a tour …

And, no doubt, had visions of future stays 🙂

My reflection, complete with camera and ubiquitous water bottle.

From there — this is still our first day, mind you — we were treated to a wonderful meal at THE place to eat in Old Damascus (directly across from the Patriarchate): Naranj Restaurant.

Appetizers.

I grew quite fond of the lemonade with mint.

After our feast, we adjourned to another room at Naranj to discuss what questions we might ask a member of the “opposition”.

But, first … across the street to visit the Cathedral of the Antiochian Patriarchate.

The side entry to the church.

The main entry to the Church.

A beautiful (full being the operative word) sight.

What was I staring at?

I was probably imagining preaching from up there.

A view toward the main altar.

Back through the courtyard of the Patriarchate …

… making our way toward the salon to meet with Bishops Louka and Moussa.

Fr Dimitri helped with the transition back and forth, Arabic and English.

Standing outside the Patriarchate, toward dusk …

… the old Mosque tower by the Patriarchate (on the Street Called Straight).

On our way to meet with a supporter of the “opposition”, we stopped at the place commemorating St Paul’s being let down — out a window, and down the wall– by basket, mentioned in Acts 9:20-25.

We interviewed Michel Kilo (at left) in a friend’s apartment.

And enjoyed warm hospitality.

Next up … Day 2: Ma’alula & Saydnaya.

Some images courtesy of John Maddex.

As mentioned earlier (here, one, two), I was part of a delegation that traveled to Syria September 13 – 18th on a fact finding mission, especially regarding the 3 million Christians in that country.

Yes, we met with the President and the Grand Mufti (but more on that later).

Here’s some more touristy stuff …

While walking around Old Damascus, we descended from street level into the small shop of a woodworker.

Can you guess what he was crafting?

Beautiful inlay work …

See?

J‘ya guess it, yet?

The seat is gonna go here; the icon up a little higher. The third image, up above, shows the canopy of the future …

Bishop’s Throne.

Next up for our delegation …

Another traditional home, this one converted into a restaurant.

This one, an antique store.

American tourists, especially those only in Syria for a few days, should probably beware the raw veggies.

Then again, the scales await you back home, you might wanna beware a lot of things!

Our delegation took a bit of a rest at another traditional home — this one now serving as the art studio of renowned artist Mustafa Ali.

Fr Dimitri points the way …

… to the Antiochian Patriarchate. Also in the next installment, we visit a well-known Revolutionary who has been called “one of Syria’s leading opposition thinkers.”

Some images courtesy of John Maddex.

There once was a small town, somewhere in Middle America, with a restaurant, hardware store, law office and bank found at the crossroads of Main Street and Vine.

It was a busy intersection, that part of town, and every day there passed by these businesses, and the people of the town, a man with a sign which read: It’s the End of the World.

A curious thing about this town, however, was that there was another man, another sign carrier, and his sign said: The sun will come up tomorrow.

For whatever reason, the people of the town paid very close attention to the man with the sign saying It’s the End of the World – because, to be quite honest, that’s what they believed. It was what they read in the daily newspaper, it came up daily on the Internet news sites, they heard it on the radio, and the guy said it on TV – It’s the End of the World.

The townspeople paid little or no attention to the man with the other sign, the one that read: The sun will come up tomorrow.

Why?

Because they didn’t believe it!

Even though the sign proclaiming The sun will come up tomorrow had never once, not since the world began, been wrong, the people of the town chose either to take it for granted, or to ignore the message entirely.

Every day, day in and day out, there were the men with the signs: two messengers, two competing messages.

It’s the End of the World.

The sun will come up tomorrow.

Till one day, in the middle of the day, it came a terrible downpour in the little town in Mid-America.

So much so that the two messengers with the two competing messages found that they had both sought shelter from the rain under …

The Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

Image Source

As I mentioned here & here, I was part of a delegation that traveled to Syria September 13 – 18th on a fact finding mission, especially regarding the 3 million Christians in that country.

Yes, we met with the President (but more on that later).

First, a little touristy stuff …

Day one in Damascus, Thursday 9/15, we headed toward the Eastern Gate — and the Street Called Straight — and into Old Town. Fr John Winfrey was the one who brought it up — but, he was right: We were seeing the shape of the ancient “house church”.

You never know what you’ll find tucked away in an ally or …

… around a corner.

We made our way down this ally …

… to enter a traditional home in Old Damascus that is being remodeled. Now, pause here a sec and think about St Paul and the various “house churches” mentioned in his writings. Was this the kind of floor plan he was used to? The courtyard serving as the Nave …

… the “high place” an elevated salon …

And, in the center, a fountain or pool which could be used for …

Oh, you get the picture!

Speaking of St Paul, house churches, and baptism …

;
The home of Ananias.

Read about it here.

Fr Pat ponders.

Next up, thanks to some pics stolen from John Maddex, we’ll visit a woodworker’s shop, an antique dealer, and a famous artist’s studio — all in Old Town Damascus.