North American Deans Meet In Mid-East
Episcopal News Service. May 29, 1986 [86119]
DALLAS (DPS, May 29) -- The Very Rev. C. Preston Wiles, dean of St. Matthew's Cathedral here and secretary of the 1986 North American Cathedral Deans' Conference, took time recently to reflect on this year's meeting. It was held in Jerusalem and Cairo, April 8-20, at the "urgent invitation" of the deans of the cathedrals in those cities.
The conference drew 48 cathedral deans and 37 of their wives from the United States and Canada in what Wiles called "a statement of our concern over the problems confronting the Episcopal Church's presence in the Holy Land." Planning had been underway for two years with St. George's College, Jerusalem, to develop and direct a special course of study for the deans' annual gathering, the purpose of which is "to serve as a collegial synod of cathedral deans to study, share in and learn, firsthand, how each host cathedral responds through its ministry to diocesan and community needs."
In Jerusalem, this was done through study, worship and field work. Wiles praised "the gifted leadership" of the Dean of St. George's College, the Very Rev. John Peterson; the faculty there; the staff of the cathedral; the Rt. Rev. Samir Kafity, Bishop of Jerusalem; the Rev. Canon Hugh Wybrew, dean designate; and the Rev. Canon Naim Ateek, executive secretary of the diocese and Arab Pastor.
According to Wiles, "few Americans and Episcopalians are aware of the fact that the Episcopal Church's presence in Palestine is Arabic and that the diminution in numbers of Episcopalians has become alarming over the past decade." He added that "only 8,000 (essentially Arabic Anglicans) remain today in the Middle East."
The Anglican Church in the Diocese of Jerusalem is located primarily in East Jerusalem, an Arabic community. Wiles said, "Although there is a strong tendency to tar all Arabs with the same brush because of strong anti-terrorist sentiments that quite understandably exist in the United States, there is no intention on the part of the Church to forsake our courageous and dedicated brethren in the Diocese of Jerusalem. The Arab community is not monochrome, although its appeal for Justice and first-class citizenship is single-minded."
Wiles emphasized that "the Deans' Conference is not a political or legislative gathering, but there was a strong consensus among the deans to do everything possible to support our Christian brethren in the Holy Land." He described the members of the conference, upon their adjournment in Jerusalem, as being "determined to make their concern and support known -- first of all, to our own churchmen in Jerusalem and the Middle East; secondly, to bring to the attention of Israeli and Arabic leaders, through our own individual approaches, the immediate need to remove whatever the pressures are that are creating a diminishing number of Episcopal churchmen in that land held sacred by Christians, as well as by other major religious faiths."
Some 37 deans and 24 wives participated in the second part of the conference which was held in Cairo. There, they were hosted by the Rt. Rev. G. A. Malik, Bishop of Egypt, and the Very Rev. Phillip Cousins, provost. A highlight of their four days there, according to Wiles, was a visit to the new All Saints' Cathedral complex, which is nearing completion. The old cathedral was razed to make way for a freeway, and the government is providing the basic cost of constructing the replacement, with the Church covering the cost of furnishings.
Activities included such usual tourist activities as visits to the Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Egyptian Museum, but the group also visited Harpur Memorial Hospital in Menouf, 60 kilometers from Cairo. According to Wiles, the present hospital grew out of a houseboat medical ministry by Dr. Frank Harpur, who began his work in 1889 with the poor and those beyond the reach of hospitals. The hospital presently receives both ecumenical and community support, and the Anglican bishops in Cairo played a major role in its building.
The deans and their wives were also given a reception by Pope Shenouda III, of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. Wiles said, "Not only were we warmly received, but entertained with a sumptuous reception, with each dean presented with a leather replica of the Coptic cross."
In summing up the Cairo part of the trip, Wiles said, "To most of us, the visit was an unlikely dream come true, and we left Cairo all the more enriched by the singleness of purpose demonstrated. The Anglican presence, though small in numbers, is not to be underestimated in its contribution to the Christian community in that important country of northeastern Africa."