Take, Eat

The sisters in St. Jacob's Monastery, Deddeh (in northern Lebanon), sent me the book "Take, Eat", a collection of sermons and talks by Metropolitan Youhanna Mansour, of thrice-blessed memory, compiled by Samer Awad (published by Ain al-Zuhur, Latakia). I am not stating anything that is not felt by many people if I said: “the book delighted me”. Metropolitan Youhanna, for those who are, like me, remotely placed from him, is all about stories, each of which keeps you in silence and amazement. From his stay as a monk in Deir El-Harf in Lebanon, to his service as a priest and then a bishop in Latakia, he lived a prolific and faithful life. In one word, we who are far away have known him by the words of loyal people, and through his extensions in some of the brethren who came from him. This is a disclosure that keeps a secret. The book came to clarify some of the secrets in the disclosure. Man is all about his words. Metropolitan George Khodr once said about him that he is: “a pillar of purity”. I will leave you now to continue reading. Thanks to the brother who has compiled it and the sisters who have sent it.