Dec. 2009 - Feb. 2010: USA, Cyprus

Dear Friends,

As many of you have noticed, it has been quite a while since we posted our last report. Your pilgrims were last heard from in (snowy) El Paso, Texas. The last half year has been quite busy for us.

We spent Christmas in the US, and then flew to Europe. Unfortunately, we had to do without our customary "winter break" this year. However, before leaving the U.S., we visited an old friend in Massachusetts. Father Paul is an Orthodox hieromonk (monk and priest) who teaches at the Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge. With his cassock, long gray hair and beard and cross he stands out in the faculty. Once on the first day of class, a Divinity student took one look at him, said that he did not believe in God, and went on to repeat some of the stock atheist arguments. Fr. Paul simply answered, "Well, I don't believe in the God you don't believe in either!" That is one way to open a conversation! We spent some time with him watching a documentary about the Byzantine Empire and speaking about this chapter in human history. It turned out to be very useful a short time later.

On the island of Cyprus we had some interesting experiences. From a political point of view, we have been in four sovereign territories here: the Republic of Cyprus; the northern part of the island, occupied by Turkey; the "Green Line" buffer zone, occupied by the UN (about three percent of the island); and the British territory. Each part has its own character.

Easter and some days before and after, we spent in an Orthodox monastery. The old traditions of celebrating Easter are still kept, and the Orthodox church services take you step by step through the events surrounding the Crucifixion. It did us good to spend some time contemplating the passion and resurrection of Christ away from the political and commercial unrest so prevalent on the island.

Perhaps one of our most important meetings was with Athanasius, bishop of Limassol. In our experience, it is rare that we meet a man of true holiness who also holds a high position in the institutional church. Yet, in spite of the many intrigues and political entanglements in the Cypriot Orthodox Church, Bishop Athanasius is such a man. He received us in the magnificent cathedral, dressed in his robes, in his full dignity as a bishop. Yet from the very start, he was warm, approachable, human and not without humor. He has a "trapeza" (dining hall) where any one may come for a hot meal, free of charge. His "guests", mostly poor people in the city, eat the same food that he does in a clean, beautiful and sacred environment. We spoke to and sang for them one day and soon found out that it is not only popular with the guests--the kitchen workers are also very happy to be there. He also founded and supports a drug-rehabilitation center in the mountains near Macheras Monastery. The same atmosphere of sanctity, beauty and cleanliness permeates it. There is even an organic garden run by the residents.

We have not only visited our beloved orthodox brothers and sisters. Our musical pilgrimage (now in its fourteenth year) also took us to Anglicans, Evangelicals, a small Arab church, a Sri Lankan church, a Filipino church group and two Swedish missions. Everywhere we were impressed by the charity and care being offered to various groups on the island, as well as by the hospitality and warm receptions we received.

Interestingly, we relived a bit of Byzantine history in speaking with a few of our Protestant friends. For some (certainly not for all), the display or veneration of icons is thought to be a form of idolatry. This idea seems quite off the mark to us. As Orthodox Christian, we have met thousands of people who display and even venerate icons as a means of opening the soul for an experience of the divine through their beauty and holiness. But we have never met one person who has worshiped or sacrificed to the wood and the paint of the icon as the living God. On the other hand, we have met many people who live as if money were their supreme god. So where is the greater danger of idolatry? Moreover, in Europe and America, people are confronted daily with a barrage of godless and lewd images in advertising and "entertainment". Sacred images can help to heal and purify the human power of imagination.

Of course, our discussions were based on mutual respect and friendship. But we could not help being reminded of the iconoclast controversy of the eighth and ninth centuries in Byzantium. This feeling was strengthened when we discovered an interesting bit of history about Paphos, where we were staying. According to tradition, during the iconoclasm some one threw an icon of the "Panagia Chrysorroyiatissa" ("Our Lady of the Golden Pomegranate") into the sea, to keep it from being taken and desecrated. It miraculously floated into the bay near Paphos and was taken from the water at Geroskipou. Later, in the twelfth century, a monastery was built for it in the Troodos mountains. Today the monastery is under the guidance of Abbott Dionysios who is establishing one of the largest libraries for the art and theology of icons in the world.

One of our most moving moments was in a church in Limassol. An elderly Armenian woman was there with her family, and she addressed the congregation, telling how she, her family and her people had suffered horribly at the hands of the Turks. Yet, she told us that God had placed it in her heart to pray for the people of Turkey. What was her response? "God has forgiven me so much, how can I refuse to forgive others?"

Your pilgrims said goodbye to Cyprus, a bit sad at having to leave so many friends, but with joyful expectation of going to Scandinavia. More about this in the next blog!

Our love and greetings go out to all of our friends and all who have helped us on the way!