Bishop Harold leads Clergy Retreat on the edge of the Western Desert
Our bishop recently had the privilege of being invited to the Diocese of Egypt to lead the Clergy Retreat for Bishop Mouneer Anis. The retreat took place in St Bishoy's Monastery, on the edge of the Western Desert.
Clergy gathered from all over the diocese, which includes not only Egypt but also Tunisia, Algeria and Ethiopia. Bishop Harold commented: ‘It was a real joy to discover more about the culture of Egypt, and to meet clergy working in what is a very different environment from our situation in Northern Ireland. I found the clergy in good heart, and heard wonderful stories about the life of the church especially in Ethiopia.
It was a particular pleasure to meet with Bishop Derek Eaton (formerly Bishop of Nelson in New Zealand) who has given time in his retirement to work in Cairo Cathedral, and to see something of the work of David Maganda from Belvoir Parish, among Sudanese refugees, with Refuge Egypt.
It was also good to see Raj again, after his time in Hillsborough, and he and David send their love to the Diocese of Down and Dromore'.
The majority church in Egypt is, of course, the Coptic Church, and St Bishoy's Monastery is in that tradition. Indeed, Pope Shanouda, the present leader of the Copts, was a monk in that particular community. It is fascinating to know that there are more than 150 monks still in the community, some of whom live as hermits, in caves in the desert
Bishop Derek Eaton is to be our speaker at the Bishop's Bible Week during the last week of August 2008.