May 24, 2002 — Mudeif Productions

*Marthame and the ancient temple at Baalbeck.*

Another long bus ride, another set of ruins, this time the spectacular site of Baalbeck. These are more impressive than those of Tyre, including a temple at the center of it all that is mostly intact. Amazing stuff.

We then went off to the city of Zahle to visit with the Syrian Orthodox bishop there. The Syrian, Armenian, and Coptic Orthodox churches are part of what are known as the non-Chalcedonic churches. At the fifth century Council of Chalcedon, the debate was on Christology - was Christ fully human, fully divine, or both? Most of the churches decided the latter, but those three (for reasons theological and political) chose to say that Christ was God merely appearing to be human. This has been the source of controversy and division through the centuries. In the West, we come in contact with these ancient debates and heresies afresh through movements like fundamentalism and historical Jesus studies.

One feature of the Syrian (or Syriac) church is their continued liturgical use of Aramaic, the language of Christ. They consider themselves the safeguarders of this ancient treasure. After lunch and conversation together, we visited the church where the Bishop and some priests prayed the Lord's Prayer in - most likely - its original language. Haunting and moving.

*The Berdawni River runs through Zahle.*

From there, we visited the town of Zahle, which is a fairly large, all-Christian city tucked along either side of a steep valley cut into the mountainside by a fast-moving stream. One of our hosts recalled sneaking medical supplies into the hospital there during the war. We walked along the cascading river, watching kids play in the bumper-car arenas and stopping for some ice cream and fresh bread. The tables of the restaurants which bordered the river overflowed with fresh fruit - cherries, oranges, watermelons, loquats (askadinia).

We then headed off to the "Anti-Lebanon" mountains (which face the Lebanon range), towards the Presbyterian Retreat Center for the Synod of Lebanon and Syria. Along the way, we saw many bombed out houses that remain unrepaired from the 70s and 80s. We also saw many Syrian flags and many Syrian soldiers, not something we were expecting to see in Lebanon. During the civil war, Lebanon invited Syria to intervene. They did, and they have not yet left. Lebanon isn't strong enough yet to ask them to leave, either. Syrian soldiers in the East and Hezbollah in the South are part of the remaining problems facing a united Lebanon.

*View from the Presbyterian Retreat Center.*

*Post-War destruction still remains at the Retreat Center.*

The retreat center sits overlooking a dramatic valley. It has been there since the mid-19th century, serving the Protestant (Presbyterian) churches of the whole region - people used to come from as far as Egypt and Iraq for summer programs. The region has undergone dramatic changes that make that almost impossible. Now the center serves primarily just the Synod of Lebonon and Syria, which includes about 45 congregations. Only recently did the Center re-open after being occupied by various military groups, engaged in house-to-house combat on the property. The whole place needed to be rebuilt, and it is quite well along the way. Some significant damage remains, including the wreckage of the cabin where one-time hostage Benjamin Weir and his family used to stay in when they visited from Beirut.

The Center's director, Najle Kassab, is a graduate of Princeton Seminary and the first female licensed preacher in the denomination. With us were a number of women who had arrived from many congregations in Syria and Lebanon for a retreat and bible study, preparing them to teach the letter of James to their women's groups upon returning home. We shared in fellowship, prayer, and dinner before making the long, late drive back to the Monastery. Tomorrow, we head up north...