Praying for Eastern Christians
As Easter dawns, some Christians look to troubles in their homelands and cling to their faith.
The time and place of the current travails in the Middle East -- suffering, death and revival in the lands of the Bible -- are not lost on them.
"We ask why; Christ did, too. We are united with him in suffering, and in the same lands. Suffering can lead to freedom, from chains to changes," says Monsignor Gabriel Ghanoum of St. Nicholas Melkite Catholic Church in Delray Beach.
"It's a beautiful cross we are carrying," he says. "After crucifixion, there is new life and understanding."
Melkites, Copts and other Christians number about 20 million in the Middle East, 5.6 percent of all the region's 356 million people. In South Florida, they huddle in a handful of churches. They come from Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and elsewhere.
As the revolt captivated the world's attention in earlier this year (or give more specific dates if you want) and huge changes continue to grip the country, they pray for peace and take comfort in the Easter message: For them, even death is not the final word.
"We expect a lot of trouble and hard times," Denise El-Deiry says among the icons and crosses at St. John the Baptist Coptic Church in Miramar. "But if we stay with God, he will be with us."
Her husband, Dr. Nabil El-Deiry, agrees. "Jesus said, 'Be sure that I am in charge and have conquered the world.' He was condemned to death, but overcame it."
"That gives us hope," adds Denise El-Deiry of Weston. "Always."
Political turmoil in the Middle East is woven into the Gospel accounts of the Easter story. Temple elites feared the mass appeal of Jesus and accused him of inciting rebellion. The Roman governor Pontius Pilate had him executed, with a political label on his cross: "Jesus, King of the Jews."
The Gospels, of course, didn't leave him in his grave: Three days later, various groups of men and women reported seeing him alive. Thus the hope that he will conquer the worst possible misfortunes for believers, even today.
Easter themes reach into the kitchen at St. Nicholas, where a dozen women prepared for the holiday as Arab Christians love to do: baking seasonal treats. They spent a month whipping up meat pies and spinach pies and stuffed grape leaves, plus the date- and nut-filled pastries called ma'moul. The crust of ma'moul is unsweetened, to recall Jesus' death, but the filling is sweet to symbolize the resurrection.
It's a tasty part of what the Melkites call the Great Eid, using the Arabic word for festival. St. Nicholas is a melting pot of Middle Eastern peoples -- Syrian, Iraqi, Egyptian, Jordanian, Palestinian, Israeli -- reflecting the spread of this Eastern branch of Catholicism.
Many St. Nicholas parishioners have still have family in those Middle Eastern countries and watch developments there with a mix of hope and anxiety. Ghanoum, the pastor, gets updates from his brother in Cairo.
The priest, who attended a synod on eastern Christianity at the Vatican last year, confirms the new air of hope in Egypt. "There is a solidarity of Christian and Muslim. Any future brings uncertainty. But with free elections, we hope Christians have an opportunity to be part of mainstream society."
Speakers at a recent conference at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens reported that antagonism against the Christians in the Middle East has risen sharply since the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Among the facts they ticked off: Just in the last six years, numerous churches in Iraq and Jordan have been bombed. In 2006, an archbishop was kidnapped in Iraq and later found dead. In 2007, a Christian bookstore manager in Gaza was murdered. Two priests were killed in Baghdad last October. And in a two-year period ending in January 2010, there were at least 52 incidents against Copts.
"Persecution of Christians is a reality, especially in the Middle East," says St. Thomas law professor Mark J. Wolff.
Members of churches in South Florida say they're encouraged by the "solidarity" of Muslim and Christian youths who stood in Tahrir Square as Mubarak's regime folded.
"We need to join with other people who will not worry about who is Christian or Muslim," Ghanoum says. "When I define you by your religion, it divides us."
To pray for the safety of family members and fellow Christians in the Middle East, members of St. John the Baptist Coptic Church, didn't wait for Holy Week. The Miramar congregation has met every Wednesday since January, when street demonstrations ousted longtime president Hosni Mubarak.
They pray "that God will save the country and direct the heart of the people for the right government," the Rev. Timotheus Soliman says.
Soliman is frank about the mood among the congregation's 120 families. "People are worried, afraid, uncertain. I assure them from the scriptures that they are in the hands of the Lord. That gives them comfort."
He points out how the book of Isaiah prophecies both good and woe to Egypt. He fixes on verse 25, which has God blessing both Egypt and Israel.
He also quotes Jesus promising to leave peace with his followers: "In this world you have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world."
Says the priest: "Easter is a message of victory and solace."
At St. Mary's Coptic Church, in Delray Beach, members held a Prayer Day and three days of fasting in January. The keep track with e-mail and satellite TV. And they take solace from the Bible.
"The phrase 'Do not fear' is in the Bible more than 100 times," says Dr. Adel Sidky, a Boca Raton resident. "We are not to defend our rights or our ego. We defend God's church and principles. We want to spread the Word of God freely."
Sidky's friend Makram Kamel, a financial planner in Boynton Beach, was relieved to hear his loved ones in Alexandria were unhurt by the revolt in Egypt. But the relief has been overshadowed by worry about militant movements.
"There is no denying that there is suffering and persecution, but Christianity will prevail," Kamel says. "At the end, there will be salvation and resurrection."