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Journey of lifetime: Dean W. Raymond visit to Antelias Catholicosate

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  • Journey of lifetime: Dean W. Raymond visit to Antelias Catholicosate

    Anglican Journal, Canada
    Dec 1 2006

    Journey of a lifetime

    Solange De Santis
    staff writer
    Dec 1, 2006

    The latest recipient of the Anglican Foundation's St. Basil the Great
    Scholarship, Dean Walter Raymond of the diocese of Quebec, spent four
    months this year among the Armenian Orthodox of the Middle East in
    what he called `the pilgrimage of a lifetime.'

    Founded by the late Bishop Henry Hill (see related obituary), the
    scholarship provides for visits to Canada by members of Orthodox
    churches and visits to Orthodox denominations by Canadians.

    Dean Raymond, who had been friends with Bishop Hill, said in an
    interview that he heard from another scholarship recipient, Canon
    Philip Hobson, that the foundation was looking for exchange
    candidates. `I did not already know a great deal about the Armenian
    Orthodox Church,' he said. However, since he is single (as a member
    of the celibate Order of the Good Shepherd) and the Cathedral of the
    Holy Trinity in Quebec City had a Lutheran curate who could take over
    for four months, Dean Raymond was able to leave on sabbatical.

    He stayed at the Catholicosate, or religious compound, of the Great
    House of Cilicia in a suburb of Beirut, traveled in the Middle East,
    and met many Armenian Orthodox. Dean Raymond said one thing Canadian
    Anglicans could learn from the Armenians is how to keep their culture
    and traditions alive.

    `They are a diaspora people, a minority people. They have lived in a
    minority situation since the 12th century. They have distinctive
    cultural traditions that bind them together as a community,' such as
    ceremonies that involve children, he said.

    Located between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, Armenia has been
    subject to a number of invasions, starting with the Byzantine Empire
    in 1045. It came under the control of the Ottoman Empire in the
    1500s. More than one million Armenians died from 1915 to 1917 in what
    they term the Armenian genocide, a term disputed by Turkey, which
    controlled Armenia at the time. In the 20th century, Armenia was
    controlled by the Soviet Union. It is now independent.

    During his sabbatical from January to May of this year, Dean Raymond
    attended worship and taught part-time, in English, at the seminary of
    the Catholicosate. There are two main groups of Armenian Orthodox, he
    noted, one in Armenia, and one in Lebanon.

    Although he was back in Canada by July, when fighting broke out
    between Israel and Lebanon, he did tour the southern part of Lebanon
    and wondered whether some of the people he met in the villages
    survived the battles.

    `The atmosphere of modern Lebanon is very conciliatory. There is a
    real effort to get along. Nobody wants to go back to the days of
    civil war,' he said. There are at least 100,000 Armenian Orthodox
    among the four million people of Lebanon, he said.

    Many situations he encountered were all-male, since the Orthodox do
    not ordain women - a contrast to the Canadian church. `Ecumenically,
    it was not my job to tell them to smarten up and be like us. I was
    interested in who they were as a community, but they are a clearly
    patriarchical society,' he said.

    The time away from his Canadian duties refreshed his spirit, he said.
    `The biggest benefit is it was a really good sabbatical leave. I
    would encourage clergy to take a break. It was very stimulating. I
    came back with a sense of greater clarity and vision and great
    affection for the Armenians,' he said.

    During his trip, Dean Raymond kept a diary on the Internet and posted
    photographs to www.epilgrim.org, then published the text and pictures
    in a 348-page spiral-bound book. While he was traveling, there were
    about 1,000 visits per week to the site; currently, it logs about
    300-400 visits per month, he said.

    http://www.anglicanjournal.com/issues/2006/ 132/nov/09/article/journey-of-a-lifetime/
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