As we head into Holy Week, Turkey is on my mind.
I was there in 2012 with a group of amazing clergy friends from Albuquerque, NM. We were hosted by Raindrop House and our dear friends Necip & Rabia. They are part of the Gulen movement that is working to build relationships across diverse faith communities. We stayed in local hotels and dined with families across the country. It was an incredible week and a half of sharing stories and faith, laughing and praying together, and experiencing the richness of Turkish culture. I’ve watched the crackdown on that richness in recent years with deep sadness. Reporters we met have been kicked out of their newsrooms and many arrested and silenced. Universities that were charting new paths of innovation and leadership have been closed. The Gulen movement has become the scapegoat of the current administration. Like all groups of people, I assume some members are less idealistic than others. I know, though, that people I met envision a country that is pluralistic, open, and free.
We visited many important Christian and Muslim sites in the country. Antioch was one of the most moving. Near Antakya there is a cave where it is believed early Christians worshipped. The book of Acts says that Antioch is the place where the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians.” It was likely a slur that was meant to separate them from their Jewish communities. How far we’ve come.
During the First Crusade, in the 11th century, Antakya was captured and the cave was re-modeled. Including the new facade that was built at the front of the cave. No culture is blameless and certainly Christians have failed to live as Jesus taught as often as naught. The Crusades are one of our most misguided ventures. It is remarkable to me that in the back and forth of this land between Christian and Muslim communities, the Muslims who now hold this property are willing and even eager to share it’s Christian heritage with us and others who wish to visit it.
When we arrived at the ancient Church of St. Peter, our group of clergy had been in the van for a while. We were in a less than contemplative mood! We ooh’d and aah’d over the space and delighted in standing behind the altar and sitting in the seat commemorating Peter. Fortunately, one of our colleagues called us together and Read Acts 11, recalling the first Christians who worshiped in the place. We prayed together and I think we sang a short hymn. We worshiped in this place where our forbears once worshiped. I imagine they would have been as awed as we were.
Behind the altar there is small hole in the rock that 4th or 5th century Christians would have used to escape the cave if there were being attacked. There are remnants of tile frescoes on the floor from this same period. Literally walking in the footsteps of the early Christians was powerful. I’m grateful that this place has been preserved, especially given it’s painful history and an inevitable sign of the violence Christians and Muslims have visited upon one another. Our gathering of Christian and Muslim friends redeemed some of that history, I hope, as we peacefully, joyfully shared our stories.
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