"We only hand out the keys to groups," the decision is clear. No couples, man or woman, are allowed to enter the church and we have our reasons.
This is, in short, what the visitor hears upon arriving at the Saydet al-Nourieh Covent, one of the most renowned in Lebanon and the north.
Luckily for my brother and his wife, I decided to accompany them on their visit, according to the monastery's janitor, who checked us out from head to toe with inquisitive looks to confirm our good will before handing us the "golden" key to the church.
Upon giving us the key, he told us, with a comforting tone: "Don't be afraid or surprised on your way to the church. You will be startled by tissue papers "Kleenex" hung on the branches of trees.
We didn't stay and argue and were eager to finally reach the church. We made sure to follow the man's guidelines and opened the gate and locked the door behind us, abided by the 20 minute time limit.
We went down the stairs and then came the shock: A weird and initially terrifying sight of thousands of tissue papers covering trees left and right, dangling akin to white fruits. A rare and weird sight all at once, as the tissues are all tied in a similar fashion.
Our thoughts were distracted by what we had seen but the holiness of the place and its serenity helped us pray without really paying much attention to the surroundings.
We left the church, locked the doors, returned the keys and went on our way…
Questions haunted my mind the entire way back which led me to call Father George Safiti to ask about the security measures.
"We will not allow anyone to turn the monastery into a love nest because the complaints we are getting are countless," he answered, adding that the measures are aimed at protecting and safeguarding the Covent's holiness and sanctity.
When I asked him about the efficiency of not allowing couples to enter the church, he reassured me that horrid incidents have taken place and that they are working on avoiding any recurrences.
“There are some who have engaged in sexual acts inside the priests rooms outside the old church, and many more details that are too shameful to describe,” he said, noting that such acts were behind the decision to keep the keys available for families and groups that are there to pray only.
It is worth noting that these measures are solely applied during weekdays excluding Saturday and Sunday when everyone can enter the church.
As for the issue concerning the abundant number of tissue papers covering the place, stripping it of most of its charm, Father Safiti revealed that it is an Indian tradition that spread on the land due to the large number of trees.
“The location allowed Indians to practice their old tradition which calls for hanging threads on the trunks of trees as a souvenir or a blessing,” said Safiti, noting that some Lebanese have taken a liking to the fad and hang their own tissues without even knowing the background of what they’re doing.
Father Safiti added that given the monastery’s tight budget, security cameras cannot be set-up and a guard is also out of bounds.
Despite Father Safiti’s answers to all our questions, the fad didn’t lose its weirdness. What is taking place at this special and ancient Covent calls for a lot of meditation…
Article Originally Written in Arabic by Gisele Naim
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