This is a diary of Father Nick's Trip to Jerusalem
Day Seven
Dear faithful,
Today was the last day of our trip. I am writing to all of you on the airplane and hope to send this message out as soon as I land. The entire time in Israel & Palestine was truly gift given from God. Through His grace we have safely completed the first trip of college students from Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) to the Holy Lands.
Our last 24 hours was very eventful. We first visited the church of the Annunciation, where Mary the Theotokos was told by the archangel Gabriel that she was to conceive the Son of God. It was very appropriate since the night before we celebrated the Akathist service remembering Gabrielle's salutations to Mary. We actually were able to drink water from the spring by which she sat when encountering the message from God's angle. We then went to the location of miracle of the wedding in Canaan where we bought some gifts and saw the outside of the church. Unfortunately we were not able to enter into the interior of the temple because the local priest did not receive us very kindly, but that is a whole other story. Since this was the only full day of seeing sights we somewhat quickly proceeded to our next destination which was the location of the sermon of the mount. It was a beautiful place but somewhat foreign to the landscape since it was a facility run by Catholic monks therefore quite different from the many Orthodox churches in which we had been. We were blessed to have Bishop Savas of Troy read the first part of the sermon of the mount. It must be mentioned the key role his Grace played on this trip. His knowledge of scripture and history was constantly enlightening our journey through the Holy Lands. His leadership and guidance truly transformed our springbreak work trip to a spiritual revitalization. In addition, his Grace's joyful personality brought a level of ease to our experience which was refreshing to all.
Now after getting a quick exposure to the western commemoration of the sermon on the mount we traveled to the shore of the sea of Galilee where we went on a 45 min. boat ride. It was very calm and peaceful while his Grace read the appropriate corresponding scripture. We even were able to raise our American flag on our little vessel, which made us all nostalgic as we sang the national anthem. After completing our ride we had a "traditional" fish fry to fill our stomachs and remember Christ's resurrectional meal with the disciples. We then went to the Orthodox church of the "Seven Apostles" that ate with Christ. It was very beautiful with icons almost covering the church from top to bottom. One of the highlights of that visit was have a rock skipping contest on the lake of which I was tide for first. This completed our tour of Galilee, so we returned to Bethany to the 4 Homes of Mercy (4HM) only after stopping in Jerecho to buy some more gifts. At 4HM we had dinner, packed, said our goodbyes and headed to Jerusalem once again and experienced possibly the most "epic" part of our trip, service in the Tomb of Christ.
We arrived at the Holy Sepulcher at around 11:30 PM. Both the bishop and I were invited to serve at the Divine Liturgy by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. We entered the holy place of the Patriarchal Cathedral, which is located opposite the Tomb of Christ, and waited to be vested. It seemed an eternity till the head monk provided us with the appropriate vestments. After vesting I quickly learned that I was the youngest priest out of the 22 clergy serving (3 bishops, 14 priests, & 5 deacons). This meant I was to be last in line in order of seniority but first to lead in any procession, therefore as the matins/orthros ended I headed the entrance from the altar of the Patriarch to Christ's tomb. Words cannot describe my thoughts during this moment and through the entire liturgy. I was both humbled, and awe struck by the reality of the experience. How did this happen that I would be so blessed to serve at the Tomb of our resurrected God? In the midst of it I also had to battle the weakness of the flesh and not let my fatigued feet and sleep deprived body cause a lack of attention to this unworldly event. Once again I was able to persist not just because of God's kindness but because of the fortifying example of bishop Savas' endurance as he proclaimed "Lord save the righteous". At the appropriate time the clergy all received Christ's body and blood at the altar just 2 feet from His tomb and then the hundreds of faithful part-took of this life-giving gift. The Divine Liturgy concluded and the group prepared to leave. Now through the compassion of one generous monk the entire group was allowed to venerate Christ's tomb for the first time. Our time in the Holy Land had become complete. We all know that there is a God and He cares for all His children.
At 4:00 AM we were on the bus to the airport. Unfortunately our group does not have the best of luck at airports since once again we were detained for our volunteer work with the Palestinian people, but after two hours we were on our way. God truly cared for us and all your prayers fortified our willingness to do God's will.
Please continue to pray for all of us that we safely travel home.
In Christ,
Fr. Nick
Day six
Dear faithful,
Today we traveled to small village out side of Nazaret to volunteer at an Orthodox church that has been neglected since the Israeli assertion in 1948. It was solid back breaking work which was good for the team to experience and have a sense of accomplishment. We basically landscaped around the church which had not been done for over a year. By no coincidence the church was named St. Nicholas. For the past five years a priest from another local village has been working to get the church reopened after being closed for 50 years. Initially they experienced a tremendous amount of ill treatment from the Jewish community, which only got worse over time. It was only after one of the respected member of the Jewish community denounce the behavior as resembling the nazi tactics, did the harassment stop. There is still acts of vandalism against the small church but because of outside pressure the violence has decreased.
In the evening we celebrated the Akathist at a 900 year old church. Following the service the community prepared a large meal for us. It was quite endearing how the local Orthodox people treated us like visiting family members and extended their utmost hospitality. After a very long day we prepared for a early quite night of rest at a local retreat center. Tomorrow we have a big day.
Tomorrow is Saturday and it is our last day in the Holy Lands. We plan on visiting the place of the Annunciation, the sea of Galilee and several other places where Christ dwelt. The plan is to attend the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Sepulcher tonight at midnight. That is a very humbling thought. Then we will travel to the air port at 4:00 AM and wait for our plane that leaves at 10:00. Pray for us that the entire day goes well and that God's will is made a reality.
In Christ,
Fr. Nick
Day five
Dear faithful,
Today we continued our work at Four Homes of Mercy by focusing on some long awaited cleaning of a food storage unit and giving the Home's chapel a quick facelift. Once again the team was up for doing any work they were asked to do. Although, it must be stated that the jet lag, cultural adjustment, and the physical labor is wearing on our young recruits but they almost stubbornly refuse to allow their pace miss a beat. At noon we had lunch and left our home base. We were off to the Holy Sites.
On the way to Jerusalem our bus broke down which stranded for an hour while the bus drive replaced the broken fan belts. Fortunately we were broken down right infront of Lazarus' tomb so the group took advantage of the opportunity and venerated the place where he was risen from the dead. Also our tremendously agile bishop took advantage of the time and went for a quick camel ride. After an hour of mechanic work we were off again. This time we made no stops until we made it to the garden of Gethsemane. We spent most of our time in veneration of the wonderworking icon of the Theotokos of Jerusalem which was housed in the same church as the tomb of Joseph the betrothed. We were blessed to have the abbot of the monastery of the birth of the Theotokos be our personal tour guide through the Holy sites. After leaving Gethsemane we entered the place of the birth of Mary. It was truly a heartfelt experience to stand in the room where God's mother came into the world. From there we walked to the church of holy sepulcher. It is an emense structure which houses the place where the cross was found, the place where the cross stood, the stone slab where Christ was anointed after being taken down from the cross, and ultimately the tomb of our Lord. The entire structure has many levels and sections which are divided between the Orthodox, the Catholics, Armenians and the Coptics but logically most of the worship space falls under the Orthodox jurisdiction since the historical Christian authority of the Holy Lands belongs to the Orthodox Church. By far the awesomeness of the church is the greatest thing I have experience in this world. I venerated, I prostrated in front of and I kissed as many holy things that I could. At one moment I caught myself kissing a random wall not able to contain the limitlessness of the reality that God has truly come into the world to bring us peace. Yes this day is one I will never forget.
That evening we road to Bethlehem where we joined a group of Palestinian Christians for dinner. It would have been a perfect ending to a perfect day if it was not for the 20 ft. wall that had been constructed by Israeli government to separate Bethlehem from Jerusalem. It is one of the most ere things I have seen. It reminds of the Berlin wall from the communist controlled part of East Berlin. When leaving the city I was required to deboard the bus and be corralled like a mouse through metal gates and check points while being watched by men with submachine guns. This experience made me very uneasy and concerned the road Israel is taking. We all need to educate ourselves of what is really happening here and most importantly pray that peace and justice will once again rein over Jerusalem.
Please keep praying for us.
In Christ,
Fr. Nick
The 4th Day
Dear faithful,
Today we began by celebrating the presanctified service in the cathedral of St. James the apostle which was built in the 4th century by the Empress St. Helen. It is adjacent to the entrance of Christ's tomb. I was invited to chant and read many of the hymns & psalms in english so the group would understand more of the service since it was mostly in arabic. During the moments of chanting my mind was humble by the fact that just steps away was the location where our God laid dead in the tomb before His resurrection. Following the service we were invited by the parish council president\head chanter for a bit of coffee and pastry. We were also blessed to have the mayor of the Christian community in old Jerusalem give us a tour of the Cathedral and showed us where the women stood looking on as Christ hung on the cross. At around 10:00 AM we started through the labyrinth of ancient streets to arrived at a local restaurant for a morning meal of humus and pita bread. The first part of the day was truly blessed by receiving Christ body and blood in the manner which has been celebrted for over 1,600 years.
The afternoon was focused on learning about the causulties of the Israeli conflict. The situation is very sad. The State of Israel is definately the power which controls the economic, social and political rythem of this part of the world. They have been very successful in their military goals and as a resilt no one in the area are in position to challenge them. The largest group that is effected by their occupation is the palestinian community. It is hard not to become political when discussing this topic but all politics were put aside when we visited a palestinian family who was forced from thier home by the Israeli special forces. Even though this family now lives on the streets, the wives made us coffee as we heard their story. It is hard not to start questioning some of the messages that some of the media is giving us in the US. I was glad that the only response to these sufferings that our tour leader gave to us is to be like Christ and react in non-violence. We don't create peace through creating a war. An Armenian Orthodox woman lead the discussion so the the entire topic was placed in a context that Christ our Savior is the one who ultimately brings everlasting peace. Overall it was a blessed day but draining. Continue to pray for us all.
In Christ,
Fr. Nick
The 3rd day
Dear faithful,
It is 10:45 PM on Tuesday night. Today we began the day by clearing out two storage units that had been neglected for over a decade. The rehab facility has bearly enough funds to pay their salaries no matter keep up with the daunting task to maintain all of the up keep of the facility. At 10:00 AM we left to visit the Patriarch of Jerusalem. It was quite the drive since there was rioting in old Jerusalem. The Jews were laying the cornerstone for the construction of the new Temple. To say least this caused a lot tension. Our visit with the Patriarch was quite impressionable because by the end of our conversation His beatitude invited us to celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Sepulcra this coming up weekend. To say the least I am very grateful for just the possibility. Later in the day we returned to Four Homes of Mercy and finished one of the remodeling projocts. At 5:00 pm we went to a party for all residentes. It was very emotionally tiring to spend a half our hold a child whose legs and back were curved and torcked luke a pretzels. It was hard to hold the tears back when holding the children. My heart truly ached for the chid in his or her suffering. What was amazing was their sense of joy despite their difficulties. Today we were also blessed to receive the remainder of our group. Finally the 18 of us were together as a unit. Tomorrow as a community we will go to the Cathedral of St. James the brother of our Lord. It is located in the Christian quarter in old Jerusalem. Later in the afternoon we are going to spend time as group reflecting on the challenges of the lives of the Palestinians. As of right now the conflict does seem that black & white. It should be another full day of many blessings. Please continue to pray for us.In Christ,
Fr. Nick
The second day
Dear faithful,
Today is the second day of the trip. The landscape in the sun transformed into layers of avtivity and made it clear that this is the home of our Lord. As we organized the day the crew of college students began to clean and give a face lift to a neglected storage unit. Bishop Savas and I left to get supplies in the city and passed the church of Lazarus' tomb. Yes that is the tomb where Lazarus laid dead for 4 days. Earlier in the day we received our orientation from a man whose family maintaned the upkeep of the tomb of Christ for the past 2,000 years. We are in the midst of people who have learned the Gospel through oral tradition because their ancestors lived with Christ. The historical Christ is truly a reality here in the Holy lands.
In the afternoon we finish our work around 3:00 pm. It was perfect because the winds had picked up and dust was everywhere. After cleaning up and resting, we went to spend time with the physically handicapped patients. We ended up helping feed the womem who have been confined to wheelchairs for decades. The most difficult part was spending time with the children who had been abaondoned by their families. They would just stare into space until you would start playing with them and they would give out a semi laugh mixed with a grown. All that went through my mind was the fact that in these same hills Christ healed so many handicapped suffering people just like the ones to whom I was helping . It was good to do God's work in the Lords country. Tomorrow we continue to clean. Please continue to pray for us.
In the Holy Lands with Christ,
Fr. Nick
The first day
Christ is in our midst!
It is 11:00 pm in Bethany which is the town where Christ rose Lazarus from the dead. Unfortunately when dwelling here the first thing that comes to mind is not the victory of Christ's power but rather the difficulties of living in a torn worn country. The people here are suffering from decades of conflict. I first experienced this through the interrogation that each of the members underwent by the israeli security in fear of potential threat. We have been called to minister for God and the devil does not want this to happen. This was seen when our flight almost got cancelled because of harsh winds & 5 of our group members were delayed by 2 days to arrive. It is odd that we are in the origins of the christian faith but there is such a minority of Christians living here. When Christ dwelt here 2000 years ago there was pain and suffering and now inteit continues. We are called to be messengers even when distress is overwhelming . Pray for as we complete the first dsy.
In christ,
Fr. Nick