Surprised by Joy

It’s not easy to enter the Coptic Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Amsterdam. At both the main and the side entry, which leads to a smaller chapel, where the Divine Liturgy in Dutch is celebrated, there are guards that kindly, yet firmly discourage you from taking part in the service. Nevertheless, a short conversation and showing an ID are enough to gain their trust. A subdeacon they called leads me to a spacious low-ceiled room of irregular shape, where the Liturgy of the Faithful (the Eucharistic part of the Liturgy) is about to begin. The place is extremely crowded and most of the people are very young. The older ones are on the first floor, where the Liturgy is celebrated in Coptic and Arabic. Because of the irregular shape of the room, only some of the people present can sit or stand directly in front of the iconostasis. The rest can hear the prayers, but watches the ceremony on a tv screen. Hospitably, I was placed in the back, yet in front of the iconostasis. It’s stuffy. Fortunately, the priest doesn’t use the sharp-smelling incense I know from my visit in the “upper church” a few years ago. We would suffocated from it…

A leaflet with the Dutch text of the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is pushed into my hands, but I actually don’t look in it. I prefer to observe what is happening around me. And that is in essence similar to what is going on in the majority of Eastern churches I know. There is “controlled chaos”. Most of the people follow the Liturgy, but some look at the horribly corny paintings (What has happened to the wonderful Coptic tradition of iconography? How can you replace a painting which has its roots in antiquity with these pseudo-baroque monsters?), talk with one another or light candles before the icon of St. George fighting the dragon. Somehow this doesn’t disturb me following the Holy Misteries going on before my eyes. I only have to kindly let know a very kind teenage girl, who wants to explain me the course of the Liturgy of St. Basil, that I will be fine. I finally succeed. In the meantime, the Litany for the Departed begins. Pictures of the recent church massacre in Alexandria come before my eyes, but also what I saw yesterday in Al Jazeera’s Cairo coverage: on the one hand euphoric demonstrators, on the other bloody corpses. In the chapel you don’t sense an atmosphere of tension or sadness, however. On the contrary: as we get closer to peak moment of the service – the Eucharistic prayer – everyone seems to share an atmosphere of joy, which somehow surprises me. The chant sounds loud and boldly with accompaniment of a few cymbals and triangles. This atmosphere intensifies as people form a queue in order to receive the Holy Communion. It isn’t that a little “Dionysian” euphoria I also know from some Eastern Liturgies, but rather a joy combined with a sort of peace coming from something I interpret as trust to God… The Communion ends, one of the acolytes hands me a piece of blessed bread. In a while the main celebrant with a visible and somewhat naughty satisfaction will make us a true shower of holy water and the Liturgy is over. The celebrants and acolytes take off their vestments, in a corner of the room a buffet is opened and those standing nearby have their plates full of warm Egyptian delicacies. I light two lamps before an icon and leave.

In the corridor, beside a row of icons, there is a glass case in which they put, among other things, printed copies of correspondence with words of support and solidarity the parish received after the tragic event from the beginning of the year. I enter a small room where the priest-in-charge, Fr. Arsenius, is offering sweets to the children. After introducing myself, I told him about my request. I want to finally invite him to a meeting in my ecumenical community. Unfortunately, the priests asks for my understanding and explains that because of the present situation in Egypt he wants to be careful and refrain from any comments. I, on the other hand, knowing the political commitment of the KGIJ members, cannot guarantee of course that they won’t ask questions that could make him feel uncomfortable. The meeting has to be postponed for better times.

After coming home, I turn on the computer and read that the authorities have closed the division of Al Jazeera that has been my main source of information for the last few days. In my mailbox on Facebook I find the Statement by His Eminence, Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury on Egypt’s Situation. We received it as members of the British Orthodox  Fellowship . I read there:

I managed to speak with Shenouda Mamdouh (Abba Seraphim’s Egyptian Secretary) in Cairo this morning as the mobile phone network has been restored. I told him that all their friends here are holding them in our prayers and that we are also praying for peace and security of all the Egyptian people. I told him that many of us were gathered in prayer for Egypt yesterday. He and his family are all well and safe but he confirmed that things are very tense at the moment and that the police/security have totally vanished. Police stations have been looted and set on fire and weapons have been taken, so most local communities have set up their own security, armed only with makeshift weapons. He has been helping with this. Many shops have been destroyed and there are reports of women being raped. He says that there is a very good spirit of solidarity among people and that in his area Christians and Muslims are working well together.

He believes that the vast majority of Egyptians do not want Mubarek to go as they fear total chaos will follow. They hope that Mubarek will now bring in serious reforms of which the restoration of law and order is a priority. The rest of the cabinet is due to be named today. He says that the protesters calling for Mubarek to go are a vocal minority but do not represent the views of the vast majority of Egyptians. He warns that the Western media is slanted and that Al Jazeera TV has its own agenda. He says that few people have any faith in Mohammed El Baradei who is seen as an opportunist.

Most measured commentators fear that if Mubarek goes now there will be a further slide into chaos and this will benefit the extremists and there is a real danger that they could take control and things then will be much worse, even like Iran.

Please continue to keep Egypt in your prayers.

+ Seraphim

I’m not really sure what to think about it. What remains is to trust Him who promised through the prophet Isaiah: In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them . (Isaiah 19:19-20)