Patriarch Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly

Fr John Salter writes:

We congratulate His Beatitude Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim III Delly, the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldean Catholics, who has been made Cardinal of Holy Church (not of the Holy Roman Church, this is now the description of Cardinals of the Latin Rite only, Eastern patriarchs in communion with the Holy See are Cardinals of Holy Church). I met Emmanuel III when he was a retired bishop in Baghdad shortly after the first Gulf War, when his predecessor Cardinal Patriarch Rafael had invited a group of Christians to an inter-faith conference to try and get some of the sanctions lifted, particularly those against medical supplies. Upon the death of Patriarch Rafael, Bishop Emmanuel Delly was brought out of retirement and elected Patriarch.

At the Consistory held in St. Peter`s Basilica on 24th November 2007, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI made it clear he was not only honouring the Patriarch, but also all Iraqui Christians and to underline by this action the plight they were in at present. Interviewed later outside the basilica the new Cardinal stated:

We are still in a united Iraq and … I will continue to serve my country with all my strength to the last drop of my blood.

The bestowing of the Red Hat is a reminder to all recipient Cardinals that this could be their fate, the shedding of their blood. We pray that this will not befall Cardinal Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly, but hope for His Beatitude a peaceful reign over the Chaldean Catholics.

Early Christianity and Monasticism in Ireland: The Anglican and Eastern Churches Association Pilgrimage to Ireland, September 2007

Alan Watson writes:

You may wonder what the connection is between early Christianity in Ireland and the Eastern Churches. I hope that this report on some of the places that we visited on our pilgrimage will make this a little clearer.

Monastic life spread from the desert regions of Egypt and Syria. Three great names are St. Anthony (251-356). St. Paul the first Hermit (died circa 345) and St. Pachomius (circa 280-346). St.Paul was a hermit in Egypt and there are scenes of his meeting with St. Anthony on many Irish High Crosses. He also appears on the 15th century rood screen at Woolborough in Devon with other monastic saints. St. Anthony was born in Upper Egypt and lived as a hermit in a deserted fort. Some of his writings still exist. According to St. Jerome, Anthony and Paul met shortly before Paul`s death. St. Pachomius founded the first Christian monastic communities, the first in 320. A.D. St. Martin de Tours (circa 316-397) was a pioneer of western monasticism and groups from the monasteries in Gaul came to Wales and Scotland and it was from there that the pioneers of Celtic monasticism received their training.

St. Finnian (died 579) came to Ireland from Scotland to found Moville and his namesake St. Finnian (died 549) came from Wales to establish Clonard. He taught St. Ciaran of Clanmacnoise. St. Buithe founded Monasterboice (Co. Lough) towards the end of the 5th century. It existed until 1122. A magnificent round tower and two beautifully sculptured High Crosses still stand as monuments of its former glory. Western monasticism was introduced by St. Malachy, a monk at Armagh who became Archbishop of Armagh in 1129. Travelling to Rome in 1140 he visited Claitrvaux and met St. Bernard. He was so impressed that on arriving in Rome he petitioned the Pope to resign his see and enter Clairvaux as a novice. Permission was refused, but on his return journey he left some of his companions at Clairvaux to be trained in the Cistercian life with a view to founding a monastery of the Order in Ireland. Subsequently, Mellifont on Co. Louth was founded in 1142. It was suppressed in 1539. Twenty-two monasteries traced their foundation to Mellifont. The last, Hore Abbey near Cashel, being founded in 1272. St. Malachy died at Clairvaux on November 3rd 1148 on his way to Rome. Mellifont was re-founded as New Mellifont in 1937.

Mention Ireland and pilgrimage in the same breath and you will be asked, especially by Catholics, “are you going to Knock?” where Our Lady is said to have appeared in 1879. St.Patrick and Knock, in Co. Mayo, seem to loom large in people`s thoughts possibly to the detriment of early Irish Christianity. Long before Knock was heard of, and even before St. Patrick went to Ireland around 435. St. Palladius was sent by Pope Celestine to be the first bishop of the Irish Christians in 431.

It was St. Palladius who, in 429, had persuaded Pope Celestine to send St. Germanus of Auxerre (died 446) to Britain to combat the Pelagian heresy. Palladius worked mainly in Wicklow, south of Dublin, where three churches claim to have been founded by him. He probably moved on to Scotland and it is thought that he died there.

St. Patrick made his way to Ireland around 435 and worked principally in the north, setting up his see at Armagh, organising the Church on the lines of territorial sees as elsewhere in the West ( and in the East). He died around 461.

Before moving on, two great Irish women saints must be mentioned – Brigid and Ita. St. Brigid is said to have been baptized by St.Patrick, becoming a nun at an early age and founding the monastery of Kildare around 490, where she died around 525. Despite few historical facts her cult was second only to St. Patrick and at least nineteen ancient churches in England are dedicated to her, the most famous is probably St. Bride, Fleet Street, in London. Kildare Cathedral, dedicated to St. Brigid, dates from the 13th century, although the choir and north transept were burned in the Confederate war of 1641 and rebuilt in 1875. St. Ita is said to have been born near Waterford and founded a small monastery at Kileedy near Limerick where she died around 570. She is called the foster-mother of the saints of Ireland – it is possible that she was responsible for the education of some young boys who later became famous.

Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly
St. Cairan (Kieran) was born around 512 and finally settled at Clonmacnoise with ten companions around 545 after studying under St. Finnian at Clonard. He lived as a monk under St. Enda on Aran Island and under St. Senan on Scattery Island. He died of Plague in 545, only 33 years old, when working on the first buildings of Clonmacnoise.

Clonmacnoise stands on a windswept open plain on a bend in the River Shannon halfway between Dublin and Galloway, a strategic position in early Ireland being at the crossing of the great road from Dublin to the west and the Shannon. The first building seen is the remains of the 13th century Norman castle, built to protect the river crossing. The monastery was largely protected by the surrounding bog. It withstood Irish, Viking and Norman attacks, but was looted by the English garrison at Athlone in 1552.

The Celtic monastery was nothing like the European monastery that we are used to seeing. It was a large enclosure with a protective wall and within the monks and lay brothers lived side by side. There would be several churches and a round bell tower, which would probably be a safe storage place for relics and other valuable items. The High Crosses, usually beautifully carved, were features of the monastery. Clonmacnoise was also a Royal City and the burial place of the kings, including the last High King of Ireland, Rory O'Conor, who was buried here in 1198, and whose lineal descendant is the present O`Conor Don. The remains consist of a cathedral, eight churches, two round towers, High Crosses (left, upper), grave slabs (left, lower) and a 13th century ring fort. The High Crosses have been moved indoors to protect them from the county`s incessant rain, but fortunately it was fine and bright but very windy for our visit.

The tenth century Great Cross has secular scenes as well as religious. It is believed it was made to commemorate King Flann and Abbot Coman. The 9th century South Cross is decorated with flower and animal motifs. Excellent replicas now stand on the sites of the originals. The small cathedral is roofless and was built in 904 by King Flann and Abbot Coman and rebuilt in the 14th century. Other churches are Teampall Doolin (Teampall derives from the Irish word for church), Teampan Hurpan, Teampall Kieran, possibly the burial place of St. Ciaran and Teampall Kelly. The names are presumably those of the men or the families who built them. The main tower – O'Rourke's tower –was erected just after the cathedral and it is about 60 feet high.

Near the river are two more churches, Teampall Fighin with a round tower dated 1124 and Teampall Connor, 11th century, and now a Church of Ireland parish church. The church of the nunnery lies some distance to the east- a pleasant walk- and stands in a field near the river. It has two fine Romanesque arches and exudes a feeling of peace. (St. Ciaran's feast day in on 9th September).

Clonfert, Co. Galway
A few miles to the south of Clonmacnoise is the small village of Clonfert, the site of the monastery of St. Brendan the Voyager, founded in 558. St. Brendan was born in 484 in County Kerry. He is said to have been taught by St. Ita at her monastery in Kileedy. He lived under monastic rule from an early age and was ordained priest in 510. Following his ordination he travelled to Bangor, north Scotland and the Shetlands (hence his name) founding monasteries in several places. He then settled at Clonfert. His monastery was known as the scholastic monastery and large numbers of monks and scholars came here. He died around 578. The monastery and church were destroyed in 1541 at the Dissolution.

It is difficult to imagine that Clonfert was at one time a city and celebrated for its schools and learning. The college of St. Brendan flourished in the 16th century with as many as 3,000 students at one time. There was a proposal in 1579 to found a university there, but the proposition was rejected and Dublin obtained the charter founding Trinity College.

The small Church of Ireland cathedral has a magnificent Romanesque west doorway of the late 12th century attributed to Peter O`Moore, Bishop of Clonfert, who was drowned in the River Shannon nearby in 1171. The cathedral contains some fine 19th century woodwork – bishop`s throne, stalls, altar and pulpit, but now has an air of neglect, there being no indication of services being held here. Had we planned to celebrate the Eucharist here we would have had to set to and clear the bat droppings off seats and altar!

South of the cathedral stood a house of Canonesses Regular and to the north are the ruins of the bishop`s palace. In 1951 it was bought by Sir Oswald Moseley. During his occupancy it was destroyed by fire in 1954 and is now a ruin.

The leaflet in the cathedral (1990) says that in the Catholic church in Clonfert there is a statue of Our Lady of Clonfert of native craftsmanship from the early 14th century. It is an example from a school of woodcarving which apparently flourished in the area from the 13th to the 14th century. Strangely there is no mention of a church in Clonfert in the Irish Catholic Directory! (St. Brendan`s feast day is on the 16th May.)

Glendalough, Co. Wicklow
South of Dublin, deep in the Wicklow mountains, Glendalough ‘valley of the two lakes’ is one of the best preserved monastic sites in Ireland. The main monastic site is on the eastern side of the lower lake. Further west up the valley is the larger and more impressive upper lake.

St. Kevin was born around 498, belonged to the Royal House of Leinster and was educated by monks from childhood. He settled in Glendalough after ordination, probably by the upper lake where there is a cave known as St. Kevin`s Bed. Here stands Tempall Na Skellig, the Rick Church, and St. Kevin`s Cell. Disciples gathered around him and the monastery was subsequently moved down near the lower lake after his death around 618.

Much church building went on here when Lawrence O`Toole was a monk here (he was Archbishop of Dublin in 1162 and his heart is in the Church of Ireland cathedral of St. Patrick in Dublin). Glendalough was to become one of the most powerful Irish monasteries in the Middle Ages.

Despite being assailed by tourists the verses composed for the 10th century Life of Kevin ring true:

A glen without threshing floor or corn rick,
Only rugged rock above it,
A glen where no one is refused refreshment,
The grace of the Lord is there.

Kevin is said to have visited Ciaran at Clonmacnoise, but apart from that his whole long life appears to have been centred in the valley. He died around 618.

The site is entered through a mediaeval stone gateway and the first building is the cathedral, the site`s largest structure dating from the early 9th century (The Diocese of Glendalough was united with Dublin as far back as 1216). St.Kevin`s Cross is of the same period and the building known as the priest`s House is 12th century. There is a 100 foot Round Tower and two other churches – St. Kevin`s and St. Mary`s. St. Kevin`s is still roofed and is a typical Irish Romanesque church.

Near the upper lake is the Reefert (Rock) Church. It is late 10th century and is known as the burial place of Kings. In their book Glendalough – a Celtic pilgrimage (Columba 2005) the authors Michael Rodgers and Marcus Losack the tomb or place of death and burial was always referred to as ‘the place of resurrection’. This suggests theological influences from the Eastern Churches, which emphasized the triumph of Life over Death in the Resurrection of Christ. This is underlined, for example, in the name given to the Church in Jerusalem traditionally associated with the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Since the time of the Crusades it has been known to us in the West as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, emphasizing the tomb, but for the Orthodox Churches present in Jerusalem since before its construction in the 4th century, this church has always been called the Church of the Resurrection. This difference in emphasis is significant and underlines a strong connection between Celtic Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox Churches from which it took root. The writers go on to say that Celtic Christianity emphasized the power of Life over Death, which is characteristic of the spirituality of the Eastern Churches. Unlike parts of the British Isles which came under the Roman (Latin) influence, Celtic Christianity absorbed theological influences from the Eastern Churches which were incorporated into Celtic religious art, calligraphy and stone carvings, especially in the scriptural High Crosses. The tradition of Eastern iconography, for example, can be contrasted with the crucifixes and statues more commonly found in later Western traditions.

The area between the upper and lower lakes is known as St. Kevin's Desert and Rodgers and Losack ask : ‘Why is this beautiful place of woodland and water called a desert ?’ They go on to say that to appreciate this we must understand the monastic traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Churches where the roots of early Celtic monasticism can be found in the spirituality of the desert, pioneered in the 4th century by St. Anthony of Egypt.

The teaching of the Desert Fathers and Mothers found its way to Ireland from Egypt, Syria and Palestine through its advocates in Gaul; it may also have come through maritime traffic between Alexandria and the West or perhaps even directly through journeys of Egyptian monks. There is an interesting record in the Book of Leinster, for example, of seven Egyptian monks visiting Ireland who were buried in Diseart Vilaig, which is modern day County Antrim in the north of Ireland (Rodgers and Losack quote Charles Plummer in Irish Litanies, London 1925).

The village of Moone in Co. Kildare once formed a link in the chain of monasteries founded by St. Columba (circa 521 -597). In the ruins of the 14th century Franciscan church stands a fine 9th century High Cross. On its east side are carvings of Daniel in the lions` den; the sacrifice of Isaac; Adam and Eve and the Crucifixion. On its west side the twelve apostles; the Crucifixion and St. John.

The Moore High Cross Inn is described in the ‘Rough Guide’ as a friendly, rambling old pub with a good range of food – and so it was, especially the Irish beef!

Five minutes south is Castledermot and in the churchyard of the Church of Ireland parish church stands a 12th century Romanesque doorway and two High Crosses dating some time after 812. The west face of the North Cross has a fine spiral design on the base and ten carvings if the Temptation of St. Anthony; Daniel in the lions` den; David and the harpist; the sacrifice of Isaac and Adam and Eve. The South Cross has a hunting scene and the miracle of the loaves and fishes on the base and then similar representations as on the North Cross as well as a raven bringing bread to Saints Paul and Anthony in the desert. There is also a truncated round tower attached to the rather uninteresting church. We were very indebted to Father Eoin De Bhaldraithe, a Cistercian monk of nearby Bolton Abbey who guided us round the sites at Moore and Castledermot on a rather damp day.

Cashel, Co. Tipperary
The town grew up below, and is dominated by, the spectacular Rock of Cashel, a limestone outcrop topped by a fine array of mediaeval buildings. On the Rock stands the most beautiful and complete Romanesque church in the country, a mediaeval cathedral, a castle tower house, an 11th century round tower, an early High Cross and l5th century Hall of the Vicars Choral –a full span of mediaeval Irish architecture on one site.

The Vicars Choral hall (the eight Vicars Choral deputized for the cathedral Canons in singing the services in the cathedral) has an undercroft, a ground floor and an upper floor, divided between the main hall with screens and minstrels` gallery and dormitory. The Romanesque church – Cormac`s Chapel- was built between 1127 and 1134 and is the earliest Romanesque church in Ireland and has unique intricate decorations. The cathedral was started in the 13th century and is cruciform and aisleless. The nave is much shorter than the choir which has fine lancet windows; it is now roofless. The castle tower if the earliest building on the Rock, built in the early 12th century.

There are fine views in every directions from the Rock and you can look down on the ruins of Hore Abbey to the west. Built in the 13th century it was the last foundation from Mellifont. In the town is the fine Queen Anne style palace of the Church of Ireland Archbishops of Cashel. Built by Archbishop Theophilus Bolton ( 1730-1744) in 1730, it is now a hotel. (The Church of Ireland archbishopric of Cashel was suppressed in the 19th century; the Roman Catholic Archbishop has his cathedral in Thurles).

In the grounds of the slender-spired 18th century Church of Ireland cathedral stands the Bolton Library founded by Archbishop Bolton. Its manuscripts (from as early as the 12th century), rare maps and a wealth of literary treasure were mainly Bolton's own bequest when he died in 1744. The dominant language in the library is English, about two thirds of the books being printed in the British Isles. Ten per cent of the remainders are in Latin, then comes French and a dozen other languages. There is a fine copy of the Sarum Missal, published in Rouen in 1515 and a Hebrew manuscript translation of the Irish Book of Common Prayer made in Dublin in 1717.

In the bend of the River Boyne in Co. Meath major excavations have been going on a Knowth Burial Mound and other sites since 1962 and about 250 decorated stones have been found, over half of all known Irish passage grave art. Knowth, together with mounds at Newgrange and Dowth nearby were built between 3500 and 2700 B.C. The site was subsequently occupied by early Christians in the 8th to 12th centuries followed by the Normans during the 12th and 13th centuries.

South of Navan on the road to Dublin is one of the most famous historical and mythical sites in Ireland the Hill of Tara. Tara was a great royal residence of the High Kings of Ireland. Its heyday came in the years following the reign of Cormac Art in the 3rd century, but its power had begun to decline when Patrick confronted King Laoghaire in the 5th century. Patrick challenged Laoghaire by lighting the Paschal fire on the nearby Hill of Slane in defiance of the holy fire of Tara.

Mellifont
Mellifont was one of the most important monasteries in Ireland when Western monasticism gained the ascendancy and Celtic monasticism declined. The mother house of the Cistercian monasteries in Ireland it was built beside the River Mattock in gently wooded countryside. It must have been a building of exceptional beauty and grandeur and the ruins do no justice to its former glory. It was founded in 1142 on the inspiration of St. Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, who wished to become a Cistercian monk, but was prevented by the Pope. The finest of the remains is the Romanesque octagonal lavabo (where the monks washed before meals) built around 1200. It had running water fed from the nearby high ground. The Chapter House, still roofed, houses a collection of mediaeval glazed tiles moved here for safety.

Our stay in County Tipperary was at the Cistercian Abbey of Mount St. Joseph near Roscrea. Founded in 1878 it traces its ancestry through Mount Melleray, Co.Waterford. and Melleray, Brittany, to St. Bernard`s monastery at Clairvaux. Here we received a very warm welcome from Father Kevin, the Abbot; Father Richard the Prior and Father Gabriel, the Guestmaster.

Mountheaton House and Estate were purchased by Arthur Moore of Mooresford, Tipperary, and presented to Mount Melleray to establish a new abbey and the first monks arrived in 1878. The house is now the guesthouse and the abbey church in grey limestone, was constructed shortly after the arrival of the monks. The monastery is also in grey limestone and is built on the traditional monastic plan. There are 26 monks in the community.

Bolton Abbey in County Kildare was founded from Roscrea in 1965. A farming community, it is much smaller than its mother house and has a community of 10 monks.

Apart from seeing the Book of Kells, produced in the time of St. Columba, our visit to Dublin had little to do with early Irish Christianity, so I have saved myself some time and effort and not written about it! But in case there are groans of disappointment I will mention that we joined the Romanian Orthodox community for Vespers on Saturday evening, where we received a warm welcome from the priests and people. We also visited the church of St. Bartholomew, Clyde Road, where there was a lot of controversy over an altar cross during the incumbency of Canon Richard Travers Smith (Vicar 1871-1905). Finally we were joined for our last lunch at the Wishing Well Inn by the Anglican Archbishop of Dublin.

Repose of Joan Rutt, 3 April 1919 - 17 September 2007

Canon Richard Rutt writes:

Joan`s parents, Arthur John Ford (clerk in the railway Clearing House) and Esther Paine, came from Cheddar, where Joan spent her childhood summer holidays. She was born at Chertsey,Surrey, but brought up in Teddington. She attended Station Road Infants School and Twickenham County Girls `School.

Their parents did not attend church, but somehow Joan and her brother John began attending SS.Peter and Paul, Teddington, a stronghold of Anglo-Catholicism. When they took their parents to a children`s service, their father was so shocked by the bells and smells that he forbade them to go there again.

Joan`s mother died after surgery in 1935, and she took over the housekeeping for her father and John. A perceptive headmistress sent her in1936 au pair with a French family named Maitre (no circumflex) at Plancoulaine near Tours. They were devout Catholics and took Joan to church. She often visited them in succeeding years and came to regard Madame Maitre as her second mother, who taught her the excellent spoken French that won her the plaudits of French people for the rest of her life. Soon after this she returned to church.

In 1938 Joan gained a scholarship to Girton. She graduated in1941, carrying off two college prizes: Charity Reeves for 1st Class honours in both parts of the Tripos, and Girton`s senior prize, the Therese Montefiore, for highest achievement during the whole three years.She never spoke about these prizes. I did not find out about them until shortly before she died.

Her brother John had not completely recovered from the loss of his mother when he escaped at Dunkirk in 1940, with serious psychiatric damage. Joan played a major part in nursing him.

On graduating. Joan undertook training as “one of Octavia Hill`s women”,including spells in Swansea and in Notting Hill, to qualify with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors as a woman housing manager. She took up a post at Mitcham, Surrey, in 1943 and worked there on the big St. Helier Estate through the V1 and V2 air raids, finally leaving in1947, when asked to become joint general secretary of the ecumenical Fellowship of St.Alban and St. Sergius. Her partner, who became her dearest friend, Helle Georgiadis, was an Orthodox Greek brought up in England, who later became a Greek Catholic. Joan was responsible for running St.Basil`s House, which she organized as an international guest house, usually full of students and Eastern Orthodox clerics.(of recent years she had been liable to refer to many a Levantine hierarch as `one of my boys').

She met me first in 1948 at a Fellowship conference, while I was still a student at Kelham. She was one of the group of churchwomen who persuaded Bishop Cooper of Korea, when he was released from Communist internment in 1953, to invite me to join his mission, which was desperately short-staffed. (She confessed to this when we married in 1969).

In 1956 she toured free Europe for months, studying religious drama from Finland to the Mediterranean for the Religious Drama Society. About the same time she organized an appeal for Fr Duncan Ferguson (who gave the eulogy at her funeral) to build an ecumenical chapel in northern Ghana.

Both she and Helle left St. Basil`s House in 1957 and became teachers. Joan worked at Channing School in Highgate until she flew to Korea. I was now Bishop of Taejon. Out wedding took place in Hong Kong on 5 May 1969. She soon became a lecturer in English Literature at Sungsil University, Taejon. She edited a Korean cookery book and the autobiography of the last Korean Crown Princess, among other books.

When we came to the bishopric of St.German, Cornwall, in 1974 (living in Truro), Joan became head of English at St. Clare`s School, Penzance. She retired in 1979 when we moved to Leicester, where she is remembered for caring for the wives of the clergy without bossing them.

Joan returned to her beloved West Country when we retired to Falmouth in 1990. For several years she served as convenor to the fledgling group that became Carrick MIND. She revived the Cornish branch of the Ecumenical Society of the Blesssed Virgin Mary; she was active in Falmouth`s St. Vincent De Paul Society, assiduously visiting the elderly until she had her first stroke. She worked hard and skilfully at editing my two thick books of Oriental studies (she knew enough about Chinese script to be useful), and herself wrote and published an account of St.Basil's House in W.McLoughlin and J.Pinnock, Mary for Time and Eternity (Gracewing 2007).

She had several mini-strokes during 2006, and a big one on New Year's day 2007. After many weeks being nursed at home or in hospital in Truro, Penzance and Falmouth, on 11th September she entered Sheldon House, a care home 15 minutes' walk from our house. She was settling in well by Holy Cross Day. 14th September, when she received Holy Communion on the anniversary of her baptism in 1919 and reception into the Catholic Church in 1993. She seemed radiantly happy and peaceful. Three days later, on Monday 17th September, having been anointed the previous evening and received Holy Communion again that morning, she died of heart failure, peacefully in her chair at midday. I was with her 30 minutes earlier and her last word to me was `Good`.

During the last week she loved to be prayed with, always insisting the Salve Regina (`Hail Holy Queen`) was said. She suffered much from dementia, but was always silent and recollected for prayer. She could not know that her burial would take place on the feast of St. Cosmas and St. Damian. She and I had shared a devotion to them ever since we visited (separately) their basilica in Rome during Holy Year of 1950. Fr Jonathan, our parish priest, had her big ikon of them set up by the altar for the funeral. She loved the Greek description of them as `healers of man and beast` (including especially her successive Siamese cats).

I led seven other priests celebrating her funeral mass, Fr Jonathan supporting me like an affectionate son. St.Mary`s was full. We sang `Praise to the Holiest in the height`, `Let all mortal flesh keep silence`, `Soul of my Saviour`, and `Jerusalem the Golden`. She was buried in the same grave as my mother in Falmouth Cemetery, overlooking the Swanpool Bay. Our grand-nephews, aged 4 to 17, of whom she was very proud, stood beside her in the Cornish morning sunshine.

Repose of His Beatitude Patriarch Teotist of Romania, Deputy of Caesaria in Cappadocia, Metropolitan of Ungro-Valachia and Archbishop of Bucharest

Archbishop Anastasios of Albania & Patriarch Teotist

Fr John Salter writes:

Patriarch Teotist of Romania died in July 2007 of a heart attack following major surgery for prostate gland trouble in the Fundeni hospital in Bucharest. He was 92 years of age.

Teotist became Patriarch in 1986 succeeding Patriarch Justin, but his position under the paranoid President Nicolae Ceausescu was unenviable and when Ceausescu fell and was executed Teotist fell with him in 1989 being accused by anti-Communists demonstrators who accused him of being too conciliatory to Ceausescu sending him a congratulatory telegram when the President dealt very harshly with the miners' strike, and keeping silent when Ceausescu destroyed some of the historic churches of Bucharest and of picturesque villages and their replacement by Soviet style housing blocks, the better to control the workers. Teotist was also criticised for his failure to stand against the persecution of the Eastern Rite Romanian Catholic Church. It was a repetition of the silence of the Anglican hierarchy in the face of atrocities and persecution of Recusant Catholics in England.

Although Teotist stepped down under public opinion pressure in 1989, he did not step down for long, but in old age he confessed that during that period he felt that God had abandoned him. It was for the ageing Patriarch a real Dark Night of the Soul, but it earned him some sympathy from his flock, and in 1999 he was admired for inviting Pope John Paul to visit his Patriarchate during which visit the Pope and Patriarch called for the healing of divisions within the Christian community. The Papal visit was an unexpected success and this was a comfort to Patriarch Teotist in his declining years.

May the Lord God remember His servant Teotist in His Kingdom now and to the ages of ages.

Orientale Lumen XI West, June 2007, San Diego, California

Here is the link for OL XI, USA West - Icons, Expression of our Faith.

Orientale Lumen XI East, June 2007, Washington DC

Here is the link to OL XI, USA East - Icons, Expressions of our Faith

Visit of His Beatitude Monsignor Michael Sabbah, Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins

Two members of the Council of our Society of St. John Chrysostom, Fr. Salter and Alan Worsfold, met the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in the Amigo Hall at Southwark Catholic Cathedral in June. His Beatitude is Grand Prior of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, and he was in London to preside over the investiture of the new Knights and Dames, and to deliver an address on the plight of the Christians in the Holy Land, who are leaving in large numbers.

The Patriarch’s jurisdiction extends over the Hebrew Catholics and Arab Latin Catholics of Israel and the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank. He was a parish priest for some years before being appointed to the University of St. Joseph in Beirut to study Arabic literature.

Shortly afterwards he was placed in charge of the schools of the Latin Patriarchate’s schools until the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 in which the Israelis occupied what had been Jordanian territory, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Following that upheaval he moved to Djibouti in East Africa where he taught Arabic and Islamic studies until 1973, when he moved to France to study Arabic philology at the Sorbonne. In 1980 he was made President of the University of Bethlehem and seven years later His Holiness Pope John-Paul II named him as the new Patriarch for the Latins of Jerusalem, making him the first native Palestinian to hold that office as the highest–ranking Latin cleric in the Holy Land. His Beatitude has thus become the representative for many Christians, not just his own Latin flock, to Jews and the Muslims in the Holy Land. He has been very vocal in his standing up for the rights of the Palestinian people, both Christian and Muslim, but has been equally outspoken in his criticism of the Palestinian Authority from time to time.

Lacking a political movement to represent their needs, the Christians look to the Patriarchate as their advocate. He has always advocated the two state solution and the rights of exiled Palestinians to return. He has severely criticised the security fence and has emphasized the need for peaceful co-operation, and on this score he has served as the International President of Pax Christi since 1999, a Catholic organization working for the peace of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

Mountains and Monasteries: A Pilgrimage to Armenia

Alan Watson writes:

In September 2006, I had the privilege of joining the pilgrimage of the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association to Armenia, my third with them, having visited Syria and Finland in previous years. Most people looked a bit blank when I mentioned going to Armenia, so there were a few minor history lessons prior to September.

Some History
Armenia, with a population of about 3 million, lies on the southern slopes of the Armenian mountains in the Lesser Caucasus and is bordered by Georgia in the north, Turkey in the west, Azerbaijan to the east and Iran to the south. Armenians combine the sturdiness of mountain folk with an expressively Mediterranean mindset. There's an old saying that the Armenians have their minds in the West but their hearts in the East.

The Armenians first emerged as a distinct people in the 6th century BC. Christianity came, according to tradition, with the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddaeus, and then with Saint Hripsime fleeing Roma and the attentions of the Emperor Diocletian. With the conversion of King Trdat III, Armenia became the first official Christian country in 301. The Armenian Apostolic Church has been a pillar of Armenian identity ever since. Two great names in this period are Saint Gregor the Illuminator (c. 240-332), who converted King Trdat, and Saint Mesrop Mashtot (c. 361-439), whose Armenian alphabet created in 405 was to be another pillar of nationhood. Present day Armenia is only one tenth of Greater Armenia; the other nine tenths are now in Turkey.

In the 19th century many Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire and in 1896 many thousands were massacred. In the 20th century a new regime in Constantinople planned the extermination of Armenians in Turkey and took advantage of World War I to destroy western Armenia. The genocide that resulted is denied by Turkey today, but the inescapable fact is that between 1915 and 1923 one and a half million Ottoman Armenians died. The first independent Armenian republic emerged in 1918, but lost the province of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan; both Armenia and Azerbaijan were incorporated into the USSR in the 1920s.

Independence came in 1991 and the economy collapsed. Earthquakes, war, freezing winters wihtout fuel and no jobs drove one quarter of the population to leave in 15 years. Now there are about 10 million Armenians living abroad.

The 1,700th anniversary of Armenia becoming a Christian state marked something of a turning point in the country's fortunes. Memories of the suffering and upheaval since independence linger on; but the rapid economic revival of recent years - in 2003 Armenia has the fastest gorwing economy in Europe - has reaised spirits.

Yerevan
We flew to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, landing at Zvartnots (place of angels) Airport at about 1 am. Yerevan, with a population of under a million, was founded in 782 BC, when a fortress was built by King Argishi I. The old provincial town was basically rebuilt in 1924 to a master plan. The streets are laid out on a grid system with several ring roads, tree lined avenues and cafe-dotted parks. The city sists in a valley ringed on three sides by hills. To the south it opens out onto the Ararat plan andthe snow-capped peaks of Great Ararat and Little Ararat, now in Turkey.

On our first day in Yerevan we visited the Matenadaran, the library of ancient manuscripts, standing cathedral-like at the top of Yerevan's grandest avenue - Mesrop Mashtot Poghota - the north of the city centre, not far from our hotel. Here are preserved more than 17,000 Armenian manuscripts and 100,000 medieval and modern manuscripts and documents. The first Matenadaran was built by Saint Mesrop Mashtot at Etchmiadzin in the 5th century. The present one dates from 1959 and has a research institute dedicated to preserving and restoring manuscripts attached to it. I was struck by the similarity of many of the designs in the manuscripts with Celtic ones.

From here we drove to Republic Square in the centre of the city. This is the former Lenin Square an is surrounded by Yerevan's finest ensemble ot buildings, particularly the Armenia Marriott Hotel, the National Art Gallery and the State Museum of Armenian History. The square is spacious and the buildings are in a pinkish stone.

Our next stop was Tsitsernakaberd Park, across the River Hrazdan to the west. Here we vistied the memorial and museum commemorating the 1915-1922 genocide of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republican forces. The memorial is a 40 metre spire and a circle of twelve basalt slabs, leaning over to guard an eternal flame. The slabs represent the twelve lost provinces of Western Armenia. The memorial was built in 1967 after unprecedented demonstrations of the 24th April 1965, the 50th anniversary of the genocide. We each liad a white carnation or rose at the eternal flame, said some prayers and sang a hymn.

The museum was built in 1995. Large photographs tell the story of the genocide simply and baldly. There's no effort to demonise the Turkish people; the facts are allowed to speak for themselves. One and a half million trees are planted on the surrounding hillside, one for each person who died.

In the evening we went to the Opera House for a concert of folk dancing. The Opera House was packed with a very enthusiastic audience, many of whom spent a lot of their time involved in flash photgraphy! And the dances, representing struggle and work, were loud and enthusiastic too.

Garni and the Geghard Monastery
Drawing my curtains the next morning, I could look out over the city to the south west and see the sun shining on the snow-capped Great Ararat. After breakfast and Morning Prayer we set off east into the Kotayk province. We climbed out of Yerevan past blocks of flats and then country cottages similar to Russian dachas, in various states of repair. Today, we experienced Armenian roads, good and bad! Landslides meant constant repair; and the money for reconstruction of the road we were on came from a wealthy American Armenian. We drove through rolling, golden hills, terraced against erosion, with the mountains in the distance. We stopped to take photos and to view Mount Ararat in Western Armenia, now part of Turkey. The mountain of Noah's Ark has two peaks, Great Ararat at over 5,000 metres and Little Ararat a little over 4,000 metres.

Garni is about 15-20 miles from Yerevan and is the site of the fortress and summer residence of the 1st century Armenian kings. It is in a gorge of the river Azat and has a fine reguilt 1st century temple, as well as the remains of the 7th century church, and a 3rd century bath-house with a mosaic made of natural stones in 13 colours.





























We then drove on a few miles to Geghard Monastery (above/left), named after the Surp Geghard (Holy Lance), the spear that pierced Our Lord's side at the Crucifixion. The monastery stands in a deep canyon and was founded in the 4th century to house the Lance itself, now kept in the Treasury at Etchmiadzin.

The cave church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator dates from the 7th century, the two main churches from the 13th. We also visited two churches hewn from the rock. One date from 1240 and has a small stream of spring water flowing through it. Hundreds of crosses were carved in the rocks, and khatchkars surrounded the monastery. Khatchkars are aparticular feature of Armenian - large stone slabs carved with a cross and other intricate designs, many of them very ancient. Driving back to Garni, we had lunch under the trees in the village before returning to Yerevan.

To Nagorno-Karabakh
On the third day of our pilgrimage we checked out to travel to Nagorno-Karabakh for two nights. Taken apart by word and origin, Nagorno-Karabakh means mountains (Russian), black (Turkish) and garden (Persian) - which neatly sums up the landscape and historical influences of this patch of land. Sheer-sided valleys, verdant forests and rich pastures make the landscape very beautiful indeed, dotted with fine Armenian monasteries and churches.

Driving south through Ararat province close to the Turkish border, Irina, our guide, told us something of Armenia's recent past. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, everything in Armenia stopped. The nuclear power station closed, so there was no electricity for almost two yeas. Factories closed; bread was rationed; there was a blocade by Azerbaijan and Iran, and then war with Azerbaijan. It was a very difficult time. Irina was very frank about the pros and conc of life for ordinary people in the Soviet Union. Everyone had had a job, even if not much work was done. Now you have to work (too) hard; there is high unemployment and too much reliance on Armenians living abroad. There is also the plight of the old living on pensions: people in the town may dress smartly and frequent the cafes, but they rely for financial support on others and from home crafts sold in the markets. When the power station re-opened, sufficient electricity was generated to sell the surplus to Georgia and Iran. There is now trade with Iran and a gas pipeline is being constructed.

The countryside south of Yerevan is flat and fertile, growing grapes, fruit, tomatoes and aubergines. Distant mountains to the east and Mount Ararat, capped with snow, to the south west are a magnificent scene. We turned off the main road to visit Khor Virap (meaning Deep Well) Monastery. Like a fortress and sitting on a low hill, it looks out over the rich pastures to the border with Turkey. There is a sort of no-man's-land between a fence just beyond the monastery and the border. People live andwork in this space, but any visitors need a permit. The border with Turkey is closed. The monastery is a pilgrimage place and gets its name from the well in which Saint Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned by the pagan King Trdat III for 12 years. The king eventually converted to Christianity; and Saint Gregory, the first leader of the Armenian Church, set about building churches on top of pagan temples and teaching the Christian faith. The well is in a little chapel dedicated to Saint Gregory.

Our drive continued south into Vayotz Dzor - gorge of woes - province and to the Monastery of Noravank - new monastery. On the way we stopped at wayside stalls to buy bread, fruit and wine for lunch. Later we ate in a cave cafe, where we were offered pastries and coffee. Somewhere between Goris and Bendzor, we crossed the border into Nagorno-Karabakh. Raphael, our driver, checked in at the crossing point and we were waved through. As we drove higher into the hills, the mist came down and visibility for a while was poor.

Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh with a population of 40,000, stands above the river Karkar and is surrounded by a typical forest, pasture and fields, backed by craggy mountains. The Hotel Nairi is a converted school, run by an Australian Armenian who spend some months in Australia and some in Karabakh. That explained the Australian touches in the reception area!

Controversy between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan and events in 1920-21 are difficult to unravel in a short space. Nagorno-Karabakh's long Christian tradition is proved by the countless Christian sites, churches, monasteries and khatchkars (pictured, left). Stalin separated Karabakh from Armenia in the 1920s and made it an autonomous region within Azerbaijan; and then Azerbaijan claimed it had always been Azeri. The natural growth of the Azeri population outpaced the Armenian; and Azeri settlers were moved into Armenian villages. By the 1980s the territory's population was down to 75% Armenian.

Demands to reunite with Armenia grew in 1987-88, until the local Assmebly voted for independence from Azerbaijan in December 1989 - and hostilities commenced. From 1989 to 1994 the area was wracked by war, which at first pitted Karabakhtis against overwhelming Azeri and Soviet forces. Stepanakert was shelled from the town of Shushi until 1993; people spent five years living in cellars. Namds of local men with home-made weapons ranged themselves against jets and tanks. After the collapse of the USSR, the war escalated into a heavily armed clash between Armenian troops, and Karabakh commandos, and the Azeri army assisted by Turkish officers. After the Armenian capture of Shushi, the Azeri retreat turned into a rout. Two Azeri governments fell and Karabakh's entire 50,000-strong Muslim Azeri population was forced to flee, joining 150,000 Azeri refugees from Armenia itself. A ceasefire was declared in May 1994 and that is the situation at present. Nagorno-Karabakh wa sleft as a peasant society with some 30,000 dead, massive damage and hundreds of landmines. Its independence is unrecognised by the international community, its status being akin to the Republic of Northern Cyprus. In reality, although it retains the semblance of government and statehood, its defence and economy aare tied to Armenia, from which it receives financial and political support. It has a population of about 150,000, is about 60 miles long and 20 miles wide, has 20 churches and 15 priests.

After the sunny mornings in Yerevan, it was very difficult getting up on our first morning in Stepanakert to a heavy mist. After breakfast and Morning Prayer, we set out to tour the town, which didn't take long. It has a Soviet-era feel to it, despite massive reconstruction since the end of the war. We went to the Central Square and saw government buildings and a new parliament under construction. I go thte impression that a large proportion of the population worked for the government. The Museum of the Karabakh-Azerbaijan War, set up by the mother of one of the local fighters, was the most interesting part of the visit. The walls of the museum were covered with hundreds of photos of the Karabakh youths and men who served in the local fighting units - practically the whole male population. The mother, aided by Irina, gave us a guided tour.

Gandzasar Monastery and Shushi's Cathedral of Our Saviour
Driving north from Stepanakert we headed for Gandzasar (treasure mountain) Monastery, stopping for lunch in the open air in a little village on the way. During lunch, we were entertained by a trio with guitar and canon - an instrument a bit like a zither - to Armenian and Russian folk songs. The meal ended with mulberry vodka, which was welcome, as by now it was turning chilly.

As we drove on to the 13th century monastery, a heavy mist came down and it was raining as we got out of the coach. It was now late afternoon. This meant that we couldn't see the beautiful friezes around the central drum of Saint John the Baptist Church. There has been a monastery here since the 10th century and the church was built between 1261 and 1238 to house the head of Saint John the Baptist, which is buried in front of the altar.

We were greeted by the priest, Father John, who entertained us in the refectory of the future seminary. Father John told us that preparations were being made to receive 20 students for the priesthood in 2007. They will study for six years and after ordination will be expected to serve for five years in Karabakh. Gandsazar Monastery is the centre of the diocese of Artsakh, which covers the whole of Karabakh. Artsakh is the name of an ancient province at the eastern edge of historic Armenia.

On our final morning in Karabakh, we set off from the hotel, the sun shining, for Shushi. We climbed out of Stepanakert, lying on a plain surrounded by mountains and wooded hills (very attractive from a distance!) and headed west to return to Yerevan. Turning off on to a poor rod, we arrived at Shushi, about six miles from Stepanakert. We stopped at the fine Cathedral of Our Savious and were welcomed by the priest. Built in the 19th century, the cathedral suffered considerable damage during the Soviet period and the 1989-94 war. In 1940 it was used as a granary and in the 1950s much of the dressed stone was removed, the dome decapitated, and high apartment blocks erected all round it, concealing it from sight. During the war of liberation, it was used to store thousands of missiles for the bombardment of Stepanakert. Shushi was the last Azeri stronghold to fall - on May 9th 1994, which marked the beginning of the ceasefire. By this time there were no functioning churches in Karabakh. The Cathedral has recently been restored.

Shushi stands on a plateau with high walls and views over a wide swath of central Karabakh. Before the war, the populatoin was about 17,000, with an Azeri majority. After the war, there was an exclusively Armenian population of some 5,500. Now it is about 3,000. The war damage is immediately apparent, with gutted apartment blocks and roofless, ruined houses. We passed two mosques, one being restored, the other, larger, with two minarets. A melancholy place - a twon reduced to a village.

We continued winding up through the mountains and down to the border and Goris. This was a good, new road, paid for with American Armenian money, with hairpin bends, wooded hillsides and little traffic. It is surprising how nimble the cows are in this part of the world, grazing where you would normally expect that only goats could clamber! We drove through a village with lots of bright blue beehives and then saw the caves in the hillsides used, said Irina, by the people of Goris during the war.

Tatev Monastery
Descending through the village of Berdzor with its little church on the outskirts, we had a peaceful view across the hotly disputed tract of land, the hillsides bare, but with lots of ploughed land. A river ran among the trees in the valley below the road, and eagles flew overhead. On the outskirts of Goris we changed to minibuses for the four and a half hour round trip to Tatev Monastery, which is about 10 to 15 miles southof Goris on a very poor road. The views were spectacular, but the ride was rough! We stopped at a small scruffy village to buy food for a picnic, where the children returning from school in their smart clothes gathered round us and were amused to see their faces in the digital camera. Someone bought them sweets and one of the local adults had to call the children to order to prevent a scrum.

Tatev Monastery (right) is built like a fairy-tale natural fortress of rock on the edge of the Vorotan canyon. The views down the gorge reach to the peaks of Karabakh. The main church of the monastery is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul and was built in the 9th century to house important relics. There are two other ancient churches and extensive monastic buildings. Restoration started in 1974, but came to a halt, probably because of the war. A huge crane on rusty rails stands before the church, looking rather lost.

There is a tiny chapel tucked into the south corner of the church - the shrine of Saint Gregory of Tatev (1346-1409). Candles burning here indicated that pilgrims still travel this long, difficult road. In the 13th century some 600 monks, philosophers, musicians, painters and calligraphers lived here. Now it is a rather forlorn place; just the wind and the birds adn the rusty crane.

We were back on the coach late in the afternoon to continue on to Yerevan. We followed the river valley, where it widened into fields and orchards. We passed lots of roadside stalls selling fruit and vegetables - who eats all those watermelons? - and managed to avoid all the hers of cows being driven along the road. Irina told the story of Radio Yerevan during the Soviet period, when it was known fo rits humour, rather in short supply in the USSR. Turkey asked Armenia, "Why is Mount Ararat our national emblem, when it is in Turkey? Do you claim it?" Armenia retorted, "Why is the moon on the Turkish flag? Do you claim it?"

We got back to the Hotel Regineh late in the evening, went straight in to dinner, sang Compline and went to bed.

Holy Etchmiadzin
The clergy are in their cassocks this morning, as we are off to Etchmiadzin, a 30-minute drive, to attend the Liturgy for the feast of the Holy Cross in the Cathedral and to meet the Catholicos, Karekin II.


Holy Etchmiadzin has a population of some 50,000 and is the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the place where Saint Gregory the Illuminator saw a beam of light fall to earth in a divine vision and where he built the first Mayr Tachar - Mother Church - of Armenia. For Armenian Christians Etchmiadzin, which means 'descent of the only-begotten Son fo God' - has unparalleled importance. The Cathedral (pictured, left) was practically rebuilt in 1441 and is set in spacious grounds with the seminary, the palace of the Catholicos and other buildings around it.

We were shown to our places in the Cathedral by an Armenian priest known to Bishop Geoffrey. The choir, the ladies in long emerald greed dresses and white veils, were in the south transept to out left. Also to our left were a number of bishops from around the world, here for the Synod. There is no space here to describe the Divine Liturgy. Needless to say it was very splendid, with the fine choir and organ, the bells and the presence of both the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin, Karekin II, and the Caatholicos of Cilicia, Aram I.

After venerating the Gospel Book at the end of the two-hour Liturgy, we had a brief meetin gwith Catholicos Karekin. Brief, because he was entertaining the bishops! We were taken to the Treasury, where we were then shown a magnificent gold-jewelled cross and the Armenian alphabet in gold, decorated with jewels. I can't remember the story behind these treasuresm but it is something to do with preventing the Soviets from getting their hands on the jewels and the gold!

Haghartsin Monastery and Lake Sevan Seminary
Monday saw us heading north after breakfast and Morning Prayer, on a good, tree-lined dual carriageway, through fields and barren hills. Driving through a one and a half mile tunnel, the landscape changed dramatically. The rugged hills were now thickly forested and the hairpin bends took us through very pretty countryside. We were heading for Haghartsin Monastery; and as we descended into the town of Dilijan, Irina told us that it was famous in Soviet times as a retreat for writers. composers and artists, and stil has a local active arts scene. The poverty is apparent once you get into the town, with derelict and half-built houses, some looking very precarious on the hillsides. We wound our way up out of hte town and, about 12 miles further on, left the coach and walked the last one and a half miles or so along a tree-lined lane, the warm sun shining through the branches, to the monastery.

The monastery is situated in a beautiful forest valley, hidden by massive nut trees and, looking down on it at the top of the lane, I realised I had left my camera in the hotel. Hahartsin means 'dance of the eagles' and the monastery was built by two brothers in the 12th century. There are three churches, Saint Gregory the Illuminator (12th century), Saint Mary (13th century) and Saint Stephen (13th century). St Mary's is in use.

In his welcome, Father Sassoon, the priest, told the history of the monastety and how a Muslim prince from the Emirates had visited and offered to pay for the renovations. It is hoped that monastic life will then be restored. Monastic life came to an end there at the end of the 20th century. Bishop Geoffrey celebrated the Eucharist in Saint Mary's Church and then we bought delicious warm bread from the monastery bakery, which was much appreciated by a friendly puppy and cat! As we walked back down the lane, I thought that this was the most beautiful spot that we had visited so far.

We returned to Dilijan and then south to Lake Sevan for a fish lunch looking out over the lake - rather a lot of bones! Lake Sevan is 1,900 metres above sea level and is roughly 75 miles long and 25 miles wide. Its colours and shades change with the weather, by its own mysterious process, from a dazzling azure to dark blue and a thousand shades between. The freshwater lake supports a healthy fish population. In the 1950s the feed river Hradzan was tapped for hydro-electric plants and irrigation. The level of the lake fell by about 20 metres. Sevan island and its two churches became a peninsula. The lake is very busy in the summer, with people escaping the heat of Yerevan.

After lunch we visited the new seminary beside the lake and were welcomed bythe 84 students. After being shown round and entertained to two songs - one about Our Lord and the disciples preaching; and the other an Armenian national song - we followed th estudents, two by two, up the 200-odd steps to Saint Mary's Church for Vespers. The other church of the Apostles is being restored. Some of us had an opportunity to talk with two of the students, Armin from Iraq and George from Georgia, but as is always the case we didn't have much time, as we had to be on our way.

Mount Aragat and Ashtarak
Next day we headed to Mount Aragat and the fortress of Amberd. Mount Aragat is just over 4,000 metres high, the highest peak in the Armenian mountains; Amberd is on the southern slopes. The narrow road wound up through barren hills and fortunately hardely any traffic came the other way. The fortress was rebuilt many times; most of it dates from the 11th century. The high stone walls and round towers are a rough, but effective, defence. It is easy to see why the site was chosen. At 2,3000 metres above sea level, it commands a strong position above the farms and trade routes of the Ararat plain. According to local tradition, the wall wers never breached.

After visiting the 11th century church downhill, we made our way to th etown of Ashtarak, with a population of 27,000, the capital of the province of Aragatsotn. The land around the town, which has lots of 19th century buildings and four churches, is very fertile. Orchards and vines and stacks of hay cover the land; and there were little stalls along the road selling grapes. ONce again there were cows, sheep and goats all over the road. We drove through Ashtarak to visit the church of Saint Mary of Oshakan. This ia 19th century church built over the tomb of Saint Mesrop Mashtots, which dates from the 5th century. Unusual among the churches that we vistied, this one is rectangular in plan, had no dome and no gavit (a kind of outer nave or narthex). Irina told us that when children go to shool the first thing that they learn is the alphabet. When they have mastered it, they are brought here to Saint Mesrop who, you will recall, was the genius who created the Armenian alphabet. Whether she meant all Armenian children, or just the local ones, I can't remember. Before returnign to Ashtarak we had lunch at a restaurant in a very pleasant setting in a wooded gorge, with a river running thorugh it. Unfortunately, there were some caged bears and a monkey in the grounds, which upset a few people. In Ashtarak again, we visited the tiny 7th century church of Saint Mary with, unusually, a red-toled roof and dome, locally known as the red church.

To Etchmiadzin again
On the last morning of our pilgrimage, we returned to Etchmiadzin to visit the museum. the Cathedral and the church of Saint Hripsime. This church, which is about one and a half miles from Etchmiadzin, was our first stop. It was originally built in 618, replacing an earlier chapel on the site where Hripsime is said to have been killed, after she refused to marry King Trdat III. Hripsime fled Diocletian's Roman Empire after the Emperor had chosen her from the portraits of the most beautiful women of his dominions. She and a group of Christian maidens came to Armenia, where King Trdat took a fancy to her! She and her companions were stoned to deaath outside the king's palace. The church was comprehensively reconstructed in 1653. A priest and two assistants, possibly seminarians, were singing the Morning Office as we entered the church, but we were unable to go down into the crypt under the sanctuary to visit Hripsime's tomb.

We then went on to the Cathedral, where Irina guided us round. The Cathedral stands in a quadrangle of hedges and lawns, surrounded by 19th century buildings, among them the palace of the Catholicos and the seminary. By the main entrance is the large monument to commemorate the visti of Pope John Paul II in 2001. The seminary was closed un 1921, when Etchmiadzin was swamped by refuees from the genocide, and was not allowed to open again by the Soviet regime. The Cathedral is modest in size and has a ceiling gleaming with frescoes painted in the early 18th century. Swirls of red, greem and gold evoke an oriental garden of roses, cypress tree and winged cherubs. At the centre is an alatar at the place where St Gregory saw the divine light strike the ground. During our visit, we briefly met Bishop Nathan Hovhanissian, the Armenian bishop in London (pictured with Bishop Geoffrey Rowell).

Yerevan's New Cathedral
Back in the city, we visited the Cathedral of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (right), built in 2001 to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity. This, Yerevan's first real Cathedral, is a bit brutalist in execution and had, I thought, no atmosphere. The sanctuary curtain was closed; so, with rows of seats and the sanctuary stage, the interior looked a bit like a theatre. Yerevan was few churches; most of the old ones were demolished by the Soviets, who refused permission to build new ones.




After lunch, we walked down to the Opera House and then turned along Sayat-Nova Avenue to find the tiny Katoghike Church (left). Dedicated to Saint Mary, we found it tucked away in a little square behind tall buildings. I think this was the site of a larger church destroyed by the Soviets. Saint Mary's is a 13th century rebuilding of an eralier church and could hold about a dozen people. From here we took a taxi to the address given us for the Armenian Catholic Church. The driver seemed confident as we drove north into th esuburbs for what seemed ages. Eventually we pulled up outside a church, but immediately I knew it was wrong - the style of the building and the crosses were Russian. We thanked the driver and asked him to wait and went into the church where Vespers was being sung (it was the eve of the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God). We didn't stay long before asking th edriver ro rake us back to the hotel - it was too much hassle to explain to him that we were at the wrong church. We found the Russian Orthodox Church, but still had no idea as to the whereabouts of the Armenian Catholic Church.

In the evening we went down the road to the Hotel Arma, where we say on th eterrace looking out over Yerevan for our last meal. The day we flew home was Independence Day (1991).

The Reunion of the Moscow Patriarchate with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad

Fr John Salter writes:

On Ascension Day 2007 the two portions of the Russian Orthodox Church signed a document of reunion, bringing together the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (The Zarubeshniki) and the Moscow Patriarchate. This solemn event took place in the recently rebuilt church of the Holy Saviour in Moscow. The main signatories to the Act of Canonical Communion were His Holiness Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and All The Russias and the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, with its headquarters based in New York, His Eminence Metropolitan Lavr. But how were these two sections of the Russian Church divided in the first place, because despite their division they held the same Orthodox Faith in its entirety?

Following the turmoil of the Revolution the Sacred Church Council and Higher Church Administration was formed on 18/24 May 1919. Eighteen months later the White Army was evacuated from the Crimea in November 1920 and in the same month the first session of the Higher Church Administration Outside Russia was convened and on the 20 November (Old Style) a directive was issued , Number 362, and accepted by His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon (pictured above)and the Holy Synod, ratifying the independent governing of dioceses, which found themselves out of contact with the Patriarch and the Holy Synod, and on this basis can be regarded as the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, formerly known as The Russian Church-in-Exile.








Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky)

Exiled Bishops, Clergy and Laity at first based themselves in the once Christian city of Constantinople, but it was unsatisfactory for two reasons: it was the See City of the Ecumenical Patriarch and it was governed by Muslims. However, Metopolitan Dorotheos, acting Locum Tenens for the Eceumenical Patriarchate, gave his blessing for the Higher Church Council to continue its work under the leadership of Metropolitan Antony Khrapovitsky. A year later at the invitation of the Patriarch of Serbia, Varnava, the exiles moved to what had been the seat of the Serbian Patriarchate before it moved to Belgrade, the town of Sremsky-Karlovsky; and it was here on 26 July 1921 that the first session of the Higher Church Authority was held in exile. At this time, too, Patriarch Tikhon refused to grant autocephaly to the Polish Orthodox Church, although this Church later was to go under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Throne. Again, in the same year, on 26 November (Old Style) the General Church Council approved the Canonical Documents:” The Statutes Regulating the Government of the Russian Church Abroad”.

Established now in their new home at Sremsky-Karlovsky, the hierarchs issued the following documents : ”An Epistle of the General Council of the Church Abroad to the Peace Conference at Genoa”, with the request to help free Russia from the Bolsheviks; “An Epistle to All the Rulers and Peoples of the World who Believe in God”, with the request to aid the starving peoples of Russia.

Seeing the direction in which the Mother Church of Russia was heading, the Finnish Orthodox Church sought to go under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople, and has remained under His All Holiness’s jurisdiction ever since, which has caused considerable ill-feeling between Moscow and the Phanar.

In 1922 Patriarch Tikhon thanked the Patriarch of Serbia for granting asylum to his exiled hierarchs, demonstrating that he recognized their right to exist as a Church in exile. In Harbin, Manchuria, away from the Bolsheviks tyranny, Metropolitan Methodius established a new Diocesan Cathedral for other exiled Russians and native Orthodox Manchurians. A blow to the exiled hierarchy was to fall on 5 May 1922 when Patriarch Tikhon was forced by the Soviet Government to issue a further Directive (Number 348) ordering the disbanding the Higher Church Administration in Exile, and thus rescinding Directive 362 issued merely less than two years earlier. Patriarch Tikhon’s action did not save him from the Bolsheviks as he was arrested in Moscow just over a month after his Directive had been published, and the exiled administration issued an urgent appeal to the Heads of all non-Orthodox Churches and World rulers to come to the defence of Patriarch Tikhon.












Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky)

During the early 1920s The Higher Church Administration recognized Metropolitan Agathangel as Locum Tenens of Patriarch Tikhon, and following Tikhon’s directive 348 abolished the Higher Church Administration and created the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad. This gave rise to their Church being referred to as “The Synodalists”. In the United States a further rupture was to occur in the Russian diaspora when the Russian North American Diocese declared itself autocephalous under the Metropolitan Platon.

In 1923 a commission of the Synod of Bishops in Exile looked into the question of union with the Anglican Church. Nothing came of it, but the Anglican & Eastern Churches1 Association did provide a printing press for the headquarters in Sremsky-Karlovsky, due to the initiative of Father Fynes-Clinton. In 1925 the recognized Locum Tenens of the Moscow Patriarchate was Metropolitan Peter of Krutitza, who replaced Agathangel, as far as the exiles were concerned, but two months later on 16 January 1926 Metropolitan Peter was also arrested. Then in the summer of that year the Russian community in Paris headed by Metropolitan Evlogy followed the example of Metropolitan Platon and left the Russian Church in Exile and placed himself under the Ecumenical Throne, where that jurisdiction remains to this day. But the numbers of Russian monks in Sremsky-Karlovsky was swelled when thirty Finnish monks left Valaamo monastery due to the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar (The Russians in Exile stuck firmly to the Julian Calendar).In Serbia a monastery was established for the exiles at Milkovo under the Abbot Schema-Archimandrite Ambrose (Kurganov).

Back in Moscow on 29 July 1926 Metropolitan Sergius, Locum Tenens as far as the Soviet Government was concerned, of the Patriarchate, issued a Declaration demanding loyalty to the Soviet Government not only from the bishops resident in the Soviet Union, but also those in exile abroad. This resulted in what the Exiled Church referred to as “Sergianism”. But Sergius was in an impossible position, and there was no way that Russians living abroad would promise loyalty to a government under whose rule they were not living, for their loyalty lay with the countries which had granted them asylum. The Ecumenical Patriarch, resident in Turkey, does not demand from the Greeks outside Turkey loyalty to the Turkish government, nor does the Patriarch of Antioch based in Damascus expect his flock in the United States to swear allegiance to the Syrian regime, nor the Patriarch of Jerusalem expect loyalty from the Arab diaspora to the Israeli Knesset. The matter was aggravated, however, by the Exiled hierarchy continuing to recognize the imprisoned Metropolitan Peter rather than Sergius. Metropolitan Sergius retaliated by abolishing the Council of Bishops and the Synod of the Russian Church Abroad.

From Serbia the Synod suspended Metropolitan Platon and blamed him and his followers for causing a schism in the diaspora in the United States, but at the same time the Hieromonk Panteleimon bought a piece of land in Jordanville, USA, on which was established the Monastery of The Holy Trinity with the blessing of Archbishop Apollinary in 1930; so there was gradual expansion despite the defections. By 1934 a Diocese of Brazil had been established under Bishop Theodosius, Protopresbyter Constantine Irastov having built the first church there. But in that same year Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) of Moscow suspended the clergy of the Russian Church Abroad from serving the liturgy and all liturgical services, nevertheless the Exiled Church expanded in China where a Chinese Christian Brotherhood was established in Shanghai on October 28 1935.










Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky)

In 1935 on l5 November back in Sremsky-Karlovsky under the Chairmanship of Patriarch Varnava of Serbia a council was held at which Metropolitan Anastasy, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, and the former “schismatics” Metropolitans Evlogy of Paris and Platon of the USA had returned to communion with the exiled hierarchy, and joined in signing the “Temporary Regulations of The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad”. At this session the teachings of the Russian Theologian Archpriest Sergius Bulgakov of the Russian seminary of St. Serge in the Rue de Crimee in Paris, were condemned as heretical on the Wisdom of God, Sophia. Whether because of this condemnation Metropolitan Evlogy once again broke with the Sremsky-Karlovsky Synod, and this time it was permanent. In February 1936 a new Russian church was built in Brussels and dedicated to the Tzar Martyr Nicholas II Romanov; five months later Blessed Metropolitan Antony (Khrapovitsky) died and was succeeded by Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky).

In 1942 the Convent of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God which had been founded in the Ural Mountains of Russia and then re-located in China was established in San Francisco, thanks in no small part to the tireless work of Abbess Rufina and the Anglican Mother Superior Cicelyof the St Saviour’s Anglican Priory in Haggerston, who had rallied the Anglican religious communities between the wars to raise money to rescue the Russian nuns and their Chinese orphans and bring them to the United States.

At the height of World War II on October 16 1943, the Council of Bishops in Exile stated that they did not recognize Patriarch Sergius, as he had become. In 1946 Sergius’s successor, Patriarch Alexis I, issued an appeal from the Moscow Patriarchate to the Clergy and Laity of the Karlovsky Orientation to return to communion, but without effect and the Metropolia jurisdiction of Metropolitan Platon again broke off communion with the exiled Church.

At the end of World War II in 1946 a Diocese of Australia was established and the Holy Trinity Monastery at Jordanville was increased in number by the arrival of fourteen monks from the St Job of Pochaev, Vienna, the brotherhood from Ladomirovo. A further influx to swell the ranks of the Church came from the Ukrainian and Byelorussian Churches.

The political situation in Yugoslavia had deteriorated to the detriment of the Synodalists based at Sremsky-Karlovsky. The Serbian Orthodox monarchy had collapsed and Tito was to seize power. The Synod moved to Vienna, then to Munich and shortly afterwards to Geneva, then led by Metroplitan Anastassy re-located itself in New York in 1950, in which year the Lesna Convent moved from Serbia to France. This convent had been established by the Tzar Nicholas II’s chaplain St John of Krondstadt and had moved from Russia to Serbia, but were again overtaken by Communist hostility. The Church in Exile continued its ministry and continued to steadily grow, and work had to be done to help the immigrants arriving from China and settling in San Francisco. One of the rallying points for the exiled Russians was the beautiful miraculous icon of Our Lady of Kursk, which had been rescued from Russia and protected by Her Imperial Majesty the Dowager Tzarina Maria Feodrovna in Denmark and eventually housed in the United States in 1951.

In 1958 the needs of exiles in Peru was met to some extent by the opening of a church which was consecrated by Archbishop Leonty at Lima, the capital. A year later and shortly after Khruschev’s visit to the USA the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign was opened in New York. Five years later in 1964 Bishop Philaret was chosen as Chief Metropolitan. Meanwhile Archbishop (now a Saint since 2 July 1994) John (Maximovitch) formerly of Shanghai inaugurated the construction in San Francisco of the Cathedral of Our Lady Joy of Those Who Sorrow. 1964 saw the publication of an Encyclical drawing the attention of the Free World to the continued persecution of the Faithful in Russia, intensified during the Khruschev years, but it also witnessed the glorification of canonization of St John of Krondstadt and six years later in 1970 the glorification of St. Herman of Alaska, who had come to North America from Valaamo monastery. 1970 saw the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Russian Church Abroad and this was greeted with celebrations throughout the diaspora, but Metropolitan Anastassy did not live to see it as he died on 22 May 1965.

Still there was no let-up in the exiles’ rejection of the official line of the Moscow Patriarchate and attention was drawn by various publications to the "Catacomb Church" in Russia itself and a group of Catacomb clergy were placed under the omophorion of Metropolitan Philaret, whilst remaining in Russia itself.

In 1974 the Third General Council of the Russian Church Abroad was held in Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, and the anathema against the Old Believers was lifted and the “Old Rite” permitted, and some of that Church were admitted to full communion with the exiled Church while keeping the old rites. There were further canonizations including that of Blessed Xenia and on Mount Athos the glorification of St Paisius Velichkovsky at the skete of the Prophet Elias on 2 August 1982. The huge skete was closed in 1992 and the Russian and American monks evicted by order of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos, for their refusal to commemorate his All Holiness as a New Calendar Patriarch in the diptyches On September 20 1982 the New Martyrs of Russia and the Imperial Russian Martyrs were canonized; whilst in the same year a secret consecration took place in Russia of Bishop Lazarus, who would take care of the Catacomb Church where its members could be found. In 1990 the Council of Bishops Abroad ratified the “Statutes for the Parishes of the Free Russian Orthodox Church” located in Russia, and the Bishops confirmed the Hierarchy in Russia.

On November 21 1985 Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky) died and Archbishop Vitaly of Canada succeeded him as Chief Hierarch. Vitaly had worked in London when the two jurisdictions used the former Anglican church of St. Philip, Buckingham Palace Road, (demolished in 1958 to make way for Victoria Coach Station’s extension and a new police station) which had been secured for the Russians by the patron of the living, the Duke of Newcastle and his cousin Father Fynes-Clinton, the then General Secretary of the Anglican and Eastern Churches’ Association. Archbishop Nikodem of Richmond headed the exile congregations in the United Kingdom and his opposite number was Metropolitan Antony Bloom. A unique figure was Archimandrite Nicholas Gibbes, former English tutor to the Imperial Grand Princesses and their brother the Tzarevitch Alexis Nicolaevitch, who moved between his chapel in Marston Street, Oxford, where several Imperial relics were housed, and his farm in Kent and his London house in Robert Street, Camden Town. He had left the jurisdiction of the Russian Church Abroad and placed himself under the Moscow Patriarchate. This did not seem, however, to prevent his being received by all members of the Russian community in England irrespective of jurisdiction. The Princely family of Galitzine mostly supported the Russian Church in Exile and Princess Nicholas Galitzine, who had endured with her family the Stalinist terror in internal exile in Perm was a devout member of the Russian Church in Emperor’s Gate, South Kensington, the main base in London of the exiles’ jurisdiction. She had had as her parish priest in Perm, Father Leonid, who had resisted the Bolsheviks and had spent several periods in gaol for his conscience. Her brother-in-law, Prince Vladimir Galitzine worshipped in both jurisdictions, and a cousin Prince George Galitzine was buried from the Russian Patriarchal Cathedral in Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, London, by Metropolitan Antony Bloom of Sourozh.









Metropolitan Vitaly (Ustinov)

While not recognizing the election of Patriarchs Alexis I or Alexis II of Moscow the Bishops Abroad entered into communion with the Old Calendarists of Romania in 1992 and with the Old Calendarists of Bulgaria under Metropolitan Cyprian’s Synod in 1994. The missionary activity of the Russian Church Abroad was not curtailed and in 1994 a mission was established in South Korea , but also in Russia itself, where it ministered to the Catacomb Orthodox. At one stage the Convent of SS.Martha and Mary established before the Revolution by the Grand Princess Serge (St Elizabeth of the New Martyrs of Russia) the sister of the Tzarina Alexandra Feodrovna, was in the hands of both the Russian Church Abroad and the Moscow Patriarchate. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union a hundred centres of worship were established by the Russian Church Abroad in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Four Bishops had pastoral responsibility for these parishes, but two of them broke off communion with the then Chief Hierarch in New York, Metropolitan Vitaly (Ustinov) in 1994 and founded their own Church authority “The Free Orthodox Church of Russia” and consecrated three bishops. Seemingly they were reconciled with New York headquarters in 1994 and the three bishops’ consecrations were declared null.









Metropolitan Laurus & Archbishop Mark of Berlin & Western Europe

In 2001 Metropolitan Laurus was elected Chief Hierarch and negotiations with the Moscow Patriarchate became more serious. So much so that Metropolitan Laurus travelled to Moscow in May 2004 and met Patriarch Alexis II. The outcome of this meeting was to be the establishment of a joint committee to try to overcome the schism between these two sections of the Russian Church. Things ran fairly smoothly, but ecumenism in which the Patriarchate of Moscow was involved was a bone of contention for the Russian Church Abroad. Property ownership, particularly in the Holy Land, needed to be addressed. Just as with the formation of the Church of South India in the 1950s united some of the Churches of the Indian sub-continent, but left “Continuing Anglicans” outside the union, so the coming together in full communion of the Russian Churches caused some to be quite unable to accept the terms of intercommunion. Metropolitan Laurus’s predecessor, Metropolitan Vitaly was unable to accept the conditions of union and he and his supporters established a break-away group now known as the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile (a return to its old title). It is thought the San Francisco based Convent of Our Lady of Vladimir has followed Vitaly’s lead.

In the United Kingdom the monastery of St Edward the Martyr at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking, Surrey, has placed itself under one of the Greek Old Calendarist jurisdictions, as has the Convent of the Annunciation in Brondesbury Park, London, and another English parish. In Normandy the Lesna Convent has also left the Russian Church. Who owns which property is a problem which faces not only the reunited sections of the Church, but for those who have disassociated themselves from the mainstream of Russian Orthodoxy. On Mount Athos it could bode well for the possible restoration of the large Russian skete of the Prophet Elias, from which the monks were expelled by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.