The old priest in the Synagogue

The old priest in the Synagogue

It happened in the old Synagogue of Antioch (nowadays Antakya) in Hatay-province of Turkey. The Elder of the Synagugue told us about the history of the jewish community of Antioch, which dates back to very old times. He had to interrupt, as the bell of the entrance was ringing. In came an old man who sat down in the corner of the synagogue.

Of course, there are not so many people clearly coming from the West and visiting this Synagogue. So we asked the old man, where he came from...

He said: "well, i´m an old retired anglican priest from Great Britain. There is a wish that grew in my heart over many years: The wish to make a pilgrimage to Antioch, the place where the Christians were named Christians for the first time...

You know, when the first Christians, Peter and Paul, came here, they came to the Synagogue to teach...

So one day i realized i will have to go to Antioch to bring my thanks to the Jews, to our elder brethren. So that´s why i came here today: I want to pray the "Schma Israel" here in this Synagogue. I want to thank God that he choose me to be a priest. I want to thank him for a long and fulfilled life. And i want to give respect to my elder brothers, the Jews.
And after some time of silence the old priest stood up, took place in front of the courtain, that covers the Thora-shrine, spread his arms and prayed the "Schma Israel"... "schəma jisrael adonai elohenu adonai echad..."


What a deep and touching moment... i am sure, God gave a lot of blessing...

And i thank God that he allowed me to be there. That HE had managed to bring me there, just at the time, the old pries came... I don´t know his name, but i won´t forget this...