Episcopal Press and News
Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf Is Eager to Begin Reconstruction of Churches
Episcopal News Service. February 28, 1991 [91063]
Michael Barwell, Director of Communication for the Diocese of Southern Ohio and editor of Interchange
"I'm quite sure we're going to have a massive job of reconstruction," said the Rt. Rev. John E. Brown, the Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, in anticipating what lies ahead for the church in the Middle East.
Brown said that he has had no solid news about damage to the churches in Baghdad and Kuwait, or about their congregations. "I have had no contact; indeed, I have no congregations left in Baghdad or Kuwait. They were all expatriates. Many of them were hostages and were sent out before Christmas. Very few are left in Jordan now," Brown added. "Most have flown home."
The majority of Brown's congregants were expatriate British citizens or Asians from South India, Sri Lanka, and other areas who fled Iraq and Kuwait through Jordan after Iraq's invasion last August 2. His jurisdiction includes Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, and other Persian Gulf territories, as well as his home base of Nicosia, Cyprus -- itself a city in a land divided by the conflicting interests of Greece and Turkey.
Brown's last contact with Kuwait was shortly after the invasion, when he telephoned from Wales, where he was attending an Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) meeting. He did, however, spend the New Year holiday in Baghdad. "I took the last service in the Anglican church there. I went to say goodbye to my congregation. A few days later, everybody left," he said. "It was a very optimistic time. The British ambassador and I drove through the streets of Baghdad, and the restaurants were full; thousands were in the streets. The Iraqis had no idea what was going to happen."
Brown also met with Iraq's religious affairs minister, attempting even at that late date to position a resident Anglican priest in Baghdad. "We get along very well together," he said. "I'm hoping and praying I'll be able to go back."
Yet, assuming Brown returns to Iraq, he fears what he will find. "I worry about the Baghdad church," he said. "It was right next to the communications center, which was the first building to be bombed. It will be tragic if it is gone; it was the best church in the diocese." The church, he said, was filled with British memorabilia from the Mesopotamian Campaign during World War I. "If the church was destroyed, I'll ask the British and American governments to build me a new one!"
Brown said that he also wonders about the rest of his congregations, especially in Jordan, Yemen, and other Persian Gulf states, where reaction to the United States is not favorable. "There are lots of scattered groups out there -- probably less now because of the situation." Although he does not fear Muslim reprisals against any of his congregations, "the repercussions in Yemen and Iraq will be difficult for some time to come."
Surprisingly, reactions to the United Nations actions in the Persian Gulf are largely favorable, Brown said. "Most of the Gulf is solidly in favor of what the U.S. and Britain are doing. But we must remember that this is a United Nations action. That will be very important from now on," he insisted.
Brown said that he takes exception to those who have predicted that Christian-Muslim relationships will be torn by the war. "The people making these comments obviously don't know what they are talking about.... We have very cordial relationships," he said. "We haven't yet had the opportunity to test out bridge-building again. That's what I'm going to be doing."
Reacting to Bush administration rhetoric on coalition war objectives, Brown said, "I don't know what President Bush means by 'a new world order.' He seems to be using a jargon phrase. People here believe it means the U.S. wants to control the Middle East."
The hope for the Middle East "is to be found in the churches," Brown said. "We must prick the consciences of the governments" to seek a regional peace.
"I would say to people in the churches -- whatever denomination they belong to -- that all of us working in the Gulf and the Middle East will need your response in prayer and in material resources. People like me will have to go out to these places now to strengthen the Christian presence. [That will be] my main task in coming years...."
While attending last summer's ACC meeting in Wales, Brown carefully monitored news reports and other information concerning the Iraqi takeover of Kuwait. He told the ACC participants that the Western churches often forget that Christians in the Middle East, including many Palestinians, can trace their ancestry to the early Christians.
A decade-long decrease in numbers of British and U.S. citizens working for oil companies has dramatically hindered the capabilities of his diocese to continue its work -- at the very time when the indigenous Christians often face incredible persecution in their homelands. But with the eyes of the world on the region now, Bishop Brown said that he sees an exceptional opportunity for the diocese to continue to spread the Gospel in the midst of a troubled environment.