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Brownings Join with People in the Middle East in Prayers for Peace

Episcopal News Service. April 7, 1994 [94068]

In a pilgrimage that captured all the pain and promise of the Christian journey through Lent and Easter, Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning, his wife Patti and two staff colleagues spent 10 days in the Middle East, an area bristling with tension over the prospects for peace and plagued by continuing violence. They returned "nourished" for their ministry and strengthened in their determination to work for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

At a banquet with church leaders in Cairo at the beginning of the pilgrimage that also took them to Syria, Jordan, Israel and the West Bank, President-Bishop Samir Kafity of the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East said that the visit comes "at a very special juncture in our history, as we pass through this time of transition." Underscoring the deep commitment by the Brownings to the church in the Middle East, Kafity added, "When there are people like the Brownings giving hope to hopeless people, then there is hope for peace and for justice."

Browning said that he was willing to address political issues because there are as many rewards as risks. Throughout the trip the presiding bishop pointed to the "tears of joy" he saw during the signing of the peace accords on the White House lawn and the handshake between Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat, an act that brought renewed hopes for peace in the area.

No turning back

In a conversation with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Browning said that he was convinced that "it was going to be a long process but that there is no turning back" in the search for peace. Mubarak responded that he is convinced the peace process will eventually be successful but he is under no illusions about the difficult path ahead. Both men agreed that the settlements and the status of Jerusalem were among the thornier issues still under discussion.

At a meeting with Pope Shenouda of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Kafity introduced Browning as "a man who took the risk of being our friend -- especially the Palestinians," and said that "he is with us as a pilgrim who has come to pray." The pope, elected one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches at the Canberra Assembly, described the difficulties of being a Christian church in a Muslim country and said that role is more difficult because the theological dissent in the West weakens the unity of the church. "We can't have different doctrines and contradictions in the church -- it's dangerous," he said with considerable emphasis.

During a visit to a home and school for deaf children run by the Diocese of Egypt, the party confronted a startling reminder of America's violent image in this part of the world. The sign language symbol for the U.S. was demonstrated as two blazing six-shooters.

Syria center of Arab Christianity

"This is a center of Arab Christianity," Kafity said during an introduction to the churches in Damascus. While the Anglican presence is only a chaplaincy, using a building borrowed from the Melkites, he said it was important because of the indigenous churches, especially the Syrian Orthodox. Patriarch Iwas introduced the bishop of Baghdad who described the disastrous effects of the U.S. embargo against Iraq on women and children, pleading with Browning to intercede with the U.S. government. "It is difficult for us in the third world to have much influence on our governments -- but you can have impact in America," the patriarch said. "We are an ancient church but we are still alive, and our relationship with you gives us hope."

A visit with the Grand Mufti, leader of Syria's Muslims, quickly turned into a discussion of the special relationship between Christianity and Islam. The Mufti said that it was crucial that "people of religion must join hands," arguing that "our clergy must cooperate to build peace because both are against oppression and ethnic bloodshed." He lamented the fact that the two religions, tracing common roots to Abraham, too often live in ignorance of each other.

Greek Orthodox patriarch Hazim raised an issue that resonated with other Christian leaders throughout the region: the dwindling Christian presence. "The weakest presence in Christ's geography is the Christian one," he said. "Where Jesus Christ became incarnate his presence is now disappearing." And that is particularly true in Jerusalem which the patriarch said "is not a political capital, it is a spiritual one." Browning said that the position of the Episcopal Church is that Jerusalem should be a unified city, open to people of all three religions.

The king will see you now

While touring a Christian hospital in Amman, Jordan, the group received a call that King Hussein was ready for a conversation. Hussein and Browning discussed their "kinship" in opposing the Persian Gulf War.

Hussein said that he had helped provide "an umbrella that opened the way for the peace process" and that he would "continue to support it in any way possible." Since Jordan lost the holy sites in East Jerusalem during the 1967 war, he said that he "cannot accept any sovereignty over Jerusalem other than the Almighty."

Joining Kafity in confirmation services at a bustling congregation in Amman, Browning told the 26 young people that he would remember their faces as he knelt in Jerusalem, praying that they would "use their gifts in the pursuit of peace."

During a closing banquet with church and diplomatic leaders, Browning was hailed by Dr. Sami Khoury, founder of the Palestine Hospital, as "a walking sermon." Khoury then launched an attack on Israeli and U.S. policy that brought many nods of approval from his audience but a cold glare from the representative of the U.S. embassy. He began by saying that "the colossal magnitude of the suffering of the Iraqi people" in the wake of the Gulf War is now clear. "The ruins that the war left -- the hardship, the starvation of children, the hopelessness and degradation and humiliation -- all these are wounds and scars that will remain with Arab peoples for a long time."

Khoury touched on the very sensitive and incendiary issue of Israeli settlements on the West Bank and Gaza, calling them "time bombs" that are signs of the "Zionist policy of expansion." And he warned that there would never be peace in the Middle East if Israel claimed sole sovereignty over Jerusalem.

Holy Week in Jerusalem

After crossing the Jordan River on the way to Jerusalem, the Brownings received confirmation of an appointment with Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin. After exchanging pleasantries and a gift, the presiding bishop told Rabin that he was convinced that, in the wake of the Hebron massacre, disarmament of the settlers was "absolutely key" to peace. Rabin said that, on the 15th anniversary of the historic visit of Egypt's President Anwar Sadat to Israel, "no one has followed his example." He said that it was obvious that "whoever wants to achieve peace must make painful compromises" and that "peace cannot be imposed," not even by powerful nations. Only the nations of the area can make peace.

"I am more than ashamed, as a Jew, that someone would murder people in a holy place," Rabin said in talking about the effects of the Hebron massacre on the peace process. Yet he said that he and Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) agreed that "we have enemies of peace on both sides," that there are those who are "determined to kill the prospects for peace and reduce support for the whole peace process."

"Our response is to accelerate efforts for peace," the prime minister said. And he said that the renewal of talks in Cairo represented a clear hope that Palestinian police would soon be patrolling Gaza and Jericho.

Gaza waits patiently for a future

On Good Friday the Brownings joined thousands of pilgrims on the narrow, rain-slicked streets of the Old City, tracing the path Jesus took to the cross. Huddling against the pre-dawn chill, the pilgrims recited the Passion narrative, adding petitions of their own for peace. In a sermon to the Arabic-speaking congregation, Browning deplored the "persistence of human cruelty" but added, "This day shows us our future.... We will not live in this sorrow forever. Easter will come, and with it the joy."

The trip by the Brownings and colleagues to Gaza, the Jabalia refugee camp and the church's Ahli Arab Hospital was a journey to the core of Palestinian anger and pain. They stood on the spot where rock-throwing children launched the resistance movement the world came to know as the intifada. And they heard testimonies of the inhuman conditions in the garbage-strewn, densely populated camps that seethe with the frustrated hopes of hundreds of thousands

"Your visit comes at a crucial time of transition," said Dr. Zakaria Al-Agha, chief of staff at the hospital and the PLO representative in Gaza. "Next time you visit we will have a national Palestinian authority in charge of Gaza." Despite the continuing violence, and the seizure of a doctor from the hospital the day before, he said that "we live by faith, still looking for peace that is based on equality."

After meeting with the hospital staff, a doctor urged the Brownings to "work for human rights for all." He said that the visit had given him hope but that "our hearts are still under siege."

In his Easter Sunday sermon, Kafity welcomed a congregation that symbolized the international nature of the church in Jerusalem, "this paradoxical city that presents hope for you and me." He offered a special welcome to the presiding bishop and pointed out that the "special relationship" between their two churches was symbolized by the primate's chair near the altar reserved for Browning.

'A cancer on our house'

In a conversation with prominent Palestinian leaders after the service, the issues of Israel settlements and the status of Jerusalem emerged once again. One participant called the settlements "the cancer in our house" and said that he hoped there would be shift in Israeli public opinion against them. Browning said that he had seen the new settlements and found the policy "intolerable." He pledged to raise the issue with the U.S. government.

In recognition of their intense involvement with the church in the Middle East and their passionate dedication to the search for peace, the library at St. George's College was named in honor of the Brownings in a special service Easter afternoon (see separate article). "No two people have given more unselfishly of their time, talent and energy to the ministry of the church in the city of the empty tomb," said Dean John Peterson of the college in his moving tribute. The presiding bishop responded in a voice choked with emotion, "There is nothing we believe in more than the ministry of the church in this place."

"There is no issue closer to the hearts of the Brownings," said the Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, the Episcopal Church's peace and justice officer who served as chaplain on the trip. "I can't imagine a greater honor."

At the end of the pilgrimage, Browning and Kafity issued a joint statement (see separate article), calling for an end to sanctions in Iraq, reaffirmation of the "commitment to support the creation of a sovereign state for a new Palestine while assuring peace and security for Israel," and confronting the "Israeli lobby in Washington." The statement also described the continuing construction of settlements as an "exasperating policy" that "remains a deep impediment to the peace process."

"The deepest values of the three Abrahamic faiths call us into a relationship with one another based on justice and mutual respect," the primates said.