After years of isolation due to the war and then the pandemic, the community founded by Father Dall’Oglio returns to welcome pilgrims and visitors. “We are an oasis of spirituality and brotherhood in a context that remains very hard”, explains the abbot fra ‘Jihad Youssef.
Milan (AsiaNews) – After years of isolation due to the war and then the Covid-19 pandemic, the Syrian monastery of Mar Musa has reopened its doors to welcome pilgrims and visitors. This was announced by the same community born in the 90s on the initiative of the Jesuit Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, who made this place nestled between the mountains and the desert a hundred kilometers north of Damascus a center of dialogue between Islam and Christianity.
“This is an important sign, because the abbey represents for many Syrians of different religious and confessional denominations a spiritual oasis, of peace and friendship”, comments fra ‘Jihad Youssef, abbot of Deir Mar Musa Al Habashi (Saint Moses the Abyssinian), one of the oldest monasteries in Syria, in which precious frescoes are preserved, a church dating back to the 11th century and wall inscriptions in Arabic, Syriac and Greek.
After the start of the war in 2011, fierce fighting between opposition groups and government forces also affected the nearby city of Nabek, while between 2015 and 2017 the Islamic State took control of a nearby region, where kidnappings also occurred. of Christian inhabitants. For the community, however, the hardest blow was the disappearance, in 2013, of Father Dall’Oglio in the area of Raqqa, controlled by jihadists. Since then, nothing has been heard of the religious.
Its spirit, however, is strongly perceived within the ancient stone walls, where the silence is broken only by the songs of the monks during the hours of prayer. “Here there is no internet connection, our guests can enjoy a break from the hectic lifestyle of the city, to devote themselves to the encounter with God, with themselves and with us, in an atmosphere of friendship that overcomes religious differences ”, Explains the abbot of the fraternity, ecumenical and mixed.
A particularly significant “prophecy of a global friendship” in a context in which, even if we don’t shoot anymore, everyday life remains very hard: “More than living, people survive. We are going through a heavy economic crisis, our currency is no longer worth anything, the work is precarious and poorly paid and the prices of everything are skyrocketing ”.
In this climate of strong discouragement, the locals greeted with great joy the news of the reopening of the monastery to hospitality: “For a long time, many friends had been asking us when we would start welcoming visitors again. They told us: ‘We need you, to pray, to rest, to contemplate nature and walk in the mountains’ “. The bond with creation and the care of the environment represent, from the beginning, one of the peculiarities of Deir Mar Musa. The monks and nuns work the land and follow projects for the enhancement of local biodiversity, and guests – in addition to carving out spaces for reflection and making use of the large library – can share moments of manual work.
In recent years the community has worked intensively to support the displaced and the poor, both in the Nabek area and in the governorate of Homs, where the monastery of Mar Elian stands, which was partially destroyed in the summer of 2015 by the Islamists (who also kidnapped Father Jacques Mourad there. , who remained a prisoner for five months). Just Father Mourad some time ago announced that the structure will be rebuilt and its vineyards and olive groves replanted.
Now, the reopening of Mar Musa is a further sign of hope: “The groups have already returned: we had 110 people in a single day, while from Aleppo a priest accompanied 35 women from the parish fraternity for an overnight retreat and then a thirty young people ”, says fra ‘Jihad. Who adds: “For the next few months our agenda is already full”.
The pilgrims are mainly Syrians, also because it is still not easy for foreigners to obtain visas to enter the country, but “everyone is welcome”, confirms the abbot. “For us, hospitality is sacred: every person who arrives comes to visit the Lord and we, welcoming him, welcome Jesus, in the name of Jesus. It is always God who receives and who is received”.