Book Review: From the Holy Mountain

by George Aramath

One of the fundamental questions that students ask when studying church history is its beginnings and roots. Where were the major cities that established Christianity? What did it look like? How does it look like now? Dalrymple approaches these questions through a personal journey among the Christians of the Middle East. The journey itself is historic in that he follows the footsteps of John Moschos and his pupil Sophronius, two monks who tried to answer these questions by visiting the entire Byzantine world in 587 A.D. Not only does Dalrymple try to answer these same questions after thousands of years of change, he also presents the reader with relevant history, politics, and circumstances that surround the regions. Being a writer and historian who has won many awards, including the Thomas Cook Award and Scottish Arts Council Autumn Book Award just for this book, his qualification and skills fit this venture. In fact, skimming through the numerous biography sources at the back of this book will show a glimpse of his extensive research into this area. With these factors in mind, answering these questions of the origin and current stage of Christianity in the Middle East around a well written, humorous, and adventurous journey only makes the experience memorable and quite entertaining.

Dalrymple divides the book into six chapters, starting from Mount Athos, Greece and ending in Egypt and the southern frontier of Byzantium. The entire journey took over five months. He begins by describing his current location, at a cell in the Monastery of Iviron. Then he proceeds to describe how he got there and the history of the monastery. This style of first beginning at the location and then proceeding backwards is consistent. It adds a different dimension to the reader and makes the narrative unique. When describing the history of the place, he gives a brief summary by covering only the main points. At Mount Athos, Fr. Christophoros, a kind yet ardent monk, allows Dalrymple to search through the monastic library whereupon he finds what he was looking for: the text of traveler-monk John Moschos. Dalrymple then proceeds to give a brief history of Moschos’ travel through Byzantium, written about in The Spiritual Meadow. Then he returns to the present by describing how the last pages of The Spiritual Meadow allude to the beginnings of the devastating decline of the Christian population in the Middle East, the land of its birth. In essence, Dalrymple gives a preview of his common theme throughout his book, the exodus of Christians from their land. “Today they [Christians] are a small minority of fourteen million struggling to keep afloat amid 180 million non-Christians, with their numbers shrinking annually through emigration” (19). Even with this exodus, Dalrymple writes that a surprising number of monasteries still survive. Therefore he ends the first chapter by stating his mission: “to see wherever possible what Moschos and Sophronius had seen, to sleep in the same monasteries, to pray under the same frescoes and mosaics, to discover what was left, and to witness what was in effect the last ebbing twilight of Byzantium” (21). This first chapter sets the framework for the rest of the book. 

Each chapter follows the pattern of marking his current location and date. When he moves within the country, he first gives the details. This pattern makes it easier for the reader to follow along. Though the first chapter is short, Dalrymple gives the reader an explanation of his mission and a taste of his writing style.

The next chapter begins in Istanbul, Turkey. After describing the historical prominence of the city, Dalrymple learns from Fr. Dimitrios that Greeks are being driven out of the city by Muslims. Fr. Dimitrios even goes to the extent of saying, ‘”After 1,500 years, the Ecumenical Patriarch will have to leave Constantinople’” (33). Thereafter, Dalrymple describes how the city, like the past, is still filled with impiety. He then proceeds to find a rare situation, a site dedicated to St. George that is considered holy by both Greeks and Turks. The reader will later find that this situation would be common in many other regions. Muslims are not hesitant about visiting Christian sites that are famous for miracles. But this Muslim-Christian acceptance disappears in the outside world of politics. Southeast Turkey has been in a guerrilla war where the PKK, the Revolutionary Kurdistan Workers’ Party, struggle to gain autonomy for the Turkish Kurds. And within this struggle, the Christians are deeply affected, especially the Suranis, who face accusations of being informers. Dalrymple travels to Antioch, the city which in the 590s held many vices, the chief of which is sorcery. St. Symeon Stylites the Younger would speak against these vices, calling the faithful to repent. The current situation of Antioch and his later visits to Edessa are the same as Constantinople, with the Christian population declining and “the poor and the old are left” (62). An interesting observation by Dalrymple, while at Mar Gabriel, was the similarity he sees in of the form of worship between Islam and early Christian practices, such as prostrations. Dalrymple would later at Mar Saba make a similar observation with rituals such as fasting, prayer niches, and open prayer halls. Even within a time period when these two civilizations are clashing, “it is important to remember Islam’s very considerable debt to the early Christian world” (304-5). This observation is rarely known to the outside world. The second chapter ends on a sad note, where Dalrymple finds that the fortress used by Suriani to take refuge from persecutors is quietly being rebuilt. This technique of ending chapters on a fascinating note is consistent. This chapter provided a great balance of first describing the historic persecutions faced by Christians in Turkey, particularly the Armenians and Suriani, and the continuation of this ominous pattern of political instability and discrimination.

In chapter three, Dalrymple continues his journey to Syria, where he finds that the Nestorians, too, are dwindling in number due to persecution. The next few pages show the humorous side of Dalrymple. He describes separate stories, one of which deals with the father of George, his taxi driver. Another incident comically describes the confusion in finding a Syrian Orthodox cathedral amongst the many others such as the Chaldeans, Latins, Greek Orthodox, and Greek Catholics. And the last story deals with the taxi driver’s cousin who unknowingly curses the President of the Syrian Arab Republic. Beyond the humor, these stories also describe the reality of life in Syria. Though Christians find refuge under Asad’s Syria, their future is uncertain especially after Asad’s death or resignation. Dalrymple then proceeds to describing the monastic life. Why do these people torture themselves physically? One reason is that by living uncomfortably, it serves as an insurance policy against worse punishments in the other life (158). Many other reasons are given as to why monasticism is practiced and why the faithful revere them. This theme is also examined in chapter five when Dalrymple visits the monastery of Mar Saba. From these various reasons, such as the idea that the curtain separating the visible world from divine wears away through holy living (162) and the story of the lion and the elder which show the harmony of the Garden of Eden (295), one is enlightening and entertained. In Aleppo, Dalrymple discovers that the chants they use may be the oldest original chants in the Christian tradition. One can only image the experience of listening to it!

The fourth chapter takes place in Lebanon, where the Maronite’s history is described. This land has been devastated by constant war, destroying any developments and most of the historical sites. Dalrymple sarcastically refers to Lebanon: The Promised Land of Tourism, which presents the country in a completely different light than reality. This reality is also misrepresented as a Christian-Muslim struggle. Dalrymple explains through interviews that fighting takes place even between the Muslims, such as the Camp Wars from 1985 to 1988 between the Shiites and Sunni Palestinians (217). During these wars, antiquities were unfortunately sold illegally in the black market. Most agree that much of the blame goes to the Maronites who in trying to make Lebanon into a Christian state, do so without any compromises of sharing power. The Palestinian Christians have it the worst since they’re caught in the crossfire between being Christians, who the Palestinians see as potential traitors, and as Palestinians, the Lebanese Christians view them as terrorists. 

This chapter seemed unnecessarily lengthy since it focused too much on the political climate of Lebanon. One section which dealt with the visit to the palace of Beit ed-Din was a rare example of the historic identity that still survives in Lebanon. Besides this, Dalrymple has no other historical sites or monasteries to visit. Dalrymple could have given a shorter explanation of the current situation of uncertainty in Lebanon.

The fifth chapter gives a completely different perspective of the Jews in Israel. Looking beyond the entertaining jokes made against Catholics at Mar Saba, Dalrymple describes the mistreatments of Christians by Jews that have led to their exodus from Israel. The Jews are trying to “’Judaise the Old City’” (314) be it by persecution, destruction of historical sites, rewriting of history, etc. The story of Abu-Zeid, who escaped death six times, was captivating to read. But it also shed light on the persecutions of the Jews on Christians. Dalrymple does attempt to show the perspective of the Jews with, for instance, his interview with Mayor Ron, who views Arabs as not wanting peace but “’wanting a piece of Israel’” (352). Nevertheless, the Jews are presented in a negative light, even shown betraying the Maronites by taking their land in Safad. This criticism of the Jews is far different from the common American viewpoint of them. Dalrymple shows the Jews as the persecutors instead of the persecuted. He leaves the reader wondering, like Fr. Aristopoulos, why the West does not support the Christians by speaking out against their sufferings. Even in the recent WCC Meeting, it was written that Mor Theophilus Saliba of the Syrian Orthodox Church made a powerful plea on behalf of the Middle Eastern delegation to the Assembly. In an emotional appeal, the Archbishop reminded the assembly that the region which is the cradle of Christianity and the birth place of Jesus Christ has been torn by conflicts and tensions for decades and it is time that the global church body applied its focus on the region. The appeal was apparently greeted with thunderous applause. But will this lead to any changes? Dalrymple description of the Christians in Israel and other areas make a strong case in not letting this trend of not caring continue. It has certainly encouraged me to do further research.

While praying in front of the grave of John Moschos, Dalrymple asks for protection in his final journey to Upper Egypt, which he explains as the most dangerous. Writing this incident brings a sense of anticipation for the reader to find out what will happen when he gets there. The final chapter deals with this journey to Egypt. Dalrymple first describes the current situation in Alexandria, where Greek influence has practically disappeared and “multinational has given way to mono-ethic” (377), specifically Egyptian. The author then examines various historical events in this city, one of which focuses on the reasons why St. Anthony became a monk, thereby beginning Christian monasticism. The Monastery of St. Anthony still flourishes even around a materialistic culture. This culture also discriminates and persecutes the Copts such that many of them are even afraid to criticize the government. With much protection, Dalrymple reaches the Coptic Abbey of Deir ul-Muharraq and the subsequent conversation with Amba Beiman brings out an important message: “’as monks we should overcome evil, not let evil overcome us’” (445). Even after witnessing murders and facing constant persecutions, this monk keeps a positive attitude and even believes that the current attacks are nothing compared to past generations. This lookout is certainly inspiring for the reader.

Dalrymple’s then reaches the last outpost of Christendom, modern Kharga, which was and currently is a place of banishment. And it is at this place that Dalrymple ends his journey, appropriately pointing out that as Moschos saw the beginnings of his world crumbling, Dalrymple has seen “the beginnings of its end” (454).

Dalrymple’s overall structure and arrangement of chapters are well done. Furthermore, he includes pictures that serve as great visual aids. Overall, this book provides a memorable, humorous, and adventurous journey amongst the mostly-forgotten Christians of the Middle East.
One distinctive quality throughout this journey must be mentioned. Dalrymple, through his interviews, includes positive theological messages that bring hope in a dire situation. For instance, Samira, a persecuted Palestine Christians, is asked if these sufferings make her question God. “’It’s not God’s fault. It is the fault of people. I thank God that he has protected us.’” (275) Fr. Dioscuros profoundly responds to the persecutions with, “‘What is Christianity without the Cross?’” (415). These responses help answer my question as to why these people continue to stay. As Amba Beiman says, “’This is a holy place for us’” (445). Their fathers have been here since King Herod. The common element amongst those who decide to stay is a sense of hope within a hopeless environment. Dalrymple emphasizes this hope even though he himself is skeptical. And along the way, the reader begins to understand the origin and improbable reasons why Christianity continues to survive even today, for one can only hope and pray.