Our Visit to Belfast

Last January my wife, Nektaria and I, attended the Antiochian Sacred Music Institute in Santa Barbara that is held on the quiet, garden-like grounds of an interfaith retreat center in the foothills above the sea. There we met an Antiochian Priest from Ireland, Fr. Irenaeus and his lovely khouria, Genevieve. They had heard about the Sacred Music Institute just the week before and had felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to attend. This in itself seemed remarkable to me, that someone would fly halfway across the world to attend a regional music conference, but that was before I had heard their story, and the story of the return of the Orthodox faith to the green isle once known as Holy Ireland.

There was a time long ago, long before the Great Schism, when Ireland was the center of orthodox Christianity in the West. Missionaries from Ireland traveled among the wild, pagan tribes of Europe preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The green island was a place of monasteries, churches, holy places, and miracles whose legends and ruins remain to this day—all that was before Christianity in the West fell into the long centuries of darkness and tribulation brought about by the great heresies of Papism, Protestantism, and secularism. The history of Ireland during this period is a tragic story of great complexity that includes the colonization of the island and the attempted genocide of its people. It is a history that gave rise to the Irish revolution in the early twentieth century and, in the North, the great sectarian "time of troubles" that smolders even today.

It is into the hard soil of this sectarian mission field that our Lord called Fr. Irenaeus and khouria Genevieve less than two years ago to begin preaching and teaching the ancient, Orthodox Christian faith. Already they are serving at three missions separated by many miles of driving; one in Dublin, one in Armagh, and one in the city of Belfast, where they also live. In Belfast they were given charge of a congregation made up of about ten elderly Russians by a priest who was leaving the country. The church was meeting in a nondescript upstairs hall in an extremely militant Protestant area of Belfast—a city whose Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods are still divided by Berlin wall-type partitions that can be closed off by the police at any sign of trouble. With missionary zeal and the anointing of the Holy Spirit they began preaching and teaching until soon the upstairs hall was overflowing with converts. The “hard ground’ of Belfast was bringing forth an abundance of fruit.

Fr. Irenaeus had previously been an evangelical Protestant and had a great deal of experience in various forms of ministry—he knew how to preach, and he knew his bible cover to cover, but what he and Genevieve did not have a handle on was the Antiochian musical tradition of Byzantine chant. As anyone knows who has attended an Orthodox service, the greater part of any service is done by the chanters and the choir supporting the priest and covering most of the hymns, Psalms, and petitions. This is why Fr. Irenaeus and Genevieve had traveled half way across the world on the spur of the moment—they needed to learn more about Orthodox hymnody and chant and they needed to learn it immediately.

We spent a few happy days in Santa Barbara enjoying good fellowship with our fellow Antiochians greatly encouraged by hearing of the work the Holy Spirit was doing with Fr. Irenaeus and Genevieve. We felt the urgency of their need for getting the musical part of liturgics together in short order. We all wanted to help—not only with the music, but with exciting mission work in a land that desperately needs the healing of terrible wounds caused by centuries of heretical sectarianism. We had heard stories of the new converts and how they were, more often than not, shunned by friends and family for joining themselves to the living Christ and his ancient Church. We wanted to hear more, and we wanted to help more, yet we had to part, promising to keep them in our prayers.  

Several months later a trip Nektaria and I had been planning fell through. The first thing that occurred to us was that we were supposed to go to Belfast so that Nektaria could help Fr. Irenaeus and Genevieve with the music. One quick e-mail to Fr. Irenaeus confirmed this. “It is an answer to my prayers,’ the reply said. So early in May Nektaria and I found ourselves on a ferry from Stranraer, Scotland, crossing the Irish Sea to Belfast. I kept a bit of a journal during the trip and the following are some excerpts:

Belfast is a bit jarring to people who are used to the opulence of London or the quiet order of a Scottish town. It seems like a city that is either going to come together and be a European capital or disintegrate into utter chaos. The sectarianism that has ceased being newsworthy in the U.S.  is ubiquitous in Ulster. After checking into our hotel we were met by Father Irenaeus of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. He drove us to his house through neighborhoods decorated by murals proclaiming religious and political affiliation, decrying some atrocity by the enemy side, or provoking some sort of violence against the respective enemy side. In contrast to these disturbing surroundings Fr. Irenaeus and his presbytera Genevieve made us feel immediately at home, welcoming us warmly with open arms and the kiss of peace.

That evening, sitting down to a meal in an Italian restaurant, Nektaria and I both habitually crossed ourselves in the Orthodox manner. Fr. Irenaus looked at us both and mentioned helpfully, "That's a good way to become a candidate for martyrdom here in Belfast." A bit of a chill went down my spine. I wasn't in Kansas anymore.

Just about the only tourist attractions unique to Belfast are the sectarian murals and the Berlin wall type of partitions the authorities have erected between the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods designed to shut off the sectors in times of unrest. Needless to say, tourism is not one of Belfast's strong suits. Nektaria and I combed the shopping areas near the University and unlike other cities of Europe, they are devoid of anything aimed at tourists.

The hall is positioned between two pubs, each belonging to an opposing Protestant paramilitary group. This is what will eventually destroy the Protestant influence in Northern Ireland. The Protestants are splintered into dozens of "paramilitaries" (as they say here) that often end up opposing each other like America's urban youth gangs. The Catholics, on the other hand, although not always in perfect harmony with one another, all share the common vision of a unified Ireland. I must say, as we entered the little hall in the evening dusk while dangerous-looking, shaven-headed Protestant youths hung out in front of the nearby pubs, it felt so eerie I almost crossed myself.

The hall soon began to fill with an assortment of Orthodox Belfastians, all of whom made sure that Nektaria and I were kissed and welcomed with great warmness. Here Nektaria was in her element, teaching her favorite subject to a roomful of eager learners. During each of the three sessions, the class members gave her their complete attention with a palpable desire to learn all she had to offer.

Fr. Irenaeus and Genevieve have an apostolic missionary vision for Orthodoxy in Ireland. This has led them to encourage the new converts to take the Antiochian Saint Stephens Course of Studies, a rigorous course usually only taken by people with aspirations towards the ordained ministry. This has led to congregations filled with knowledgeable, committed young Christians such as I have not seen before anywhere.

The evening came and we were whisked through the darkened streets to the little hall for another session. It was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the death of Bobby Sands, the IRA leader who was voted MP while in prison and who starved himself to death in a hunger strike. There were police on every corner and the chop, chop of helicopters in the sky above. Inside the hall was the warm world of dear friends, brothers and sisters.
The next day was mostly devoted to Byzantine chant sessions. At noon Fr. Irenaus and Genevieve presented Nektaria and me with a lovely Celtic cross and two Celtic candleholders as a token of their appreciation. It will be wonderful for us to place these in our icon corner and to be reminded of our dear brothers and sisters in Ireland every time we pray.

The next day was the Lord's Day and a beautiful day it was, the bright sky towering with white clouds. We arrived at Saint Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church and I was able to take some photos since all the paramilitaries were sleeping it off. By the time of the Epistle reading the upstairs hall was filled with worshipers. Nektaria was given the last minute job of leading the choir, something she did with zero preparation, not knowing what was coming next. I was very proud of her. The choir was beautiful, and all the beautiful souls we had grown to love were singing praises to God.

Father Irenaeus preached an inspiring sermon. He is a very good preacher, preaching from this heart, without notes. All the while I had the marvelous feeling that the anointing of the Holy Spirit was very strong on this parish. The Orthodox Christians of Belfast are experiencing the kind of thing that the early Church experienced. Many, if not all of them have made huge sacrifices to come to Orthodoxy. They have been shunned by their friends and family, both Catholic and Protestant. Fr. Irenaeus told how among the clergy of Belfast there are many Nicodemuses who come to him at night looking for the true Church. Belfast is ripe for harvest. Pray the Lord of Harvest send laborers.

This evening Nektaria and I will have one last visit with our dear Fr. Irenaeus and his sweet Khouria Genevieve and then tomorrow we are off for the U.S. This has been a very pivitol event in our lives and feels like the beginning of a new, and very exciting chapter.

We have remained in touch with Fr. Irenaeus and Khouria Genevieve sending them instructional CDs and other music. Recently they have moved from their cramped quarters above the pub to a larger hall in the respectable-looking Church of Ireland building I mentioned in my journal. This building will come up for sale in the not-too-distant future and it is our hope (and Fr. Irenaeus´s intention) to purchase it as the permanent home of Saint Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Belfast. The Lord continues to bless them and add to their number.  The Mission and Evangelism Committee of Saint George in our Parish had decided to take the work of Fr. Irenaeus and Khouria Genevieve on as a project that we will support with our prayers and finances. Some of the money paid to advertise in this newsletter will go to help them in their ministry. God bless you all for your help and prayers as the Orthodox Christian Faith returns to Ireland. May Ireland once again soon be called "Holy."

Athanasius Blalock