Unity through Repentance: The Journey to Wittenberg 2017
Chapter 14
Antakya & Berlin
You’ve read Chapter 14, and you’re hungry for more? Don’t worry, we got you!
Antioch Network, in Antioch
Soccer buddies, the one on the right is Remsi who helped us find the Catholic Guest House
Thomas joins a football game in the streets of Antakya
Football players (well, at least 3 of them)
Map of Antakya (Antioch), Turkey
Antakya (Antioch) is well known as a city that is important to Muslims as well as Christian Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant.
Courtyard, Catholic Church, Antakya (Antioch)
Site of the old Jewish synagogue in Antakya (Antioch), now a museum
Orthodox church, Antakya (Antioch)
Icon of Peter & Paul, Orthodox church, Antakya (Antioch). This icon is significant for Catholic-Protestant reconciliation, since Catholics look to Peter as the first Pope, and most Protestants (certainly Martin Luther) ground their theology in Paul's writings
Amy on the streets of the old city of Antakya (Antioch)
Verena Lang outside St. Peter's Cave Church, Antakya (Antioch)
Antakya from St. Peter's Cave Church
Hanna with Belinda & Terry from Singapore, above Antakya (Antioch)
Ryan Thurman the photographer, now himself photographed!
Thomas Cogdell, the would-be photographer, now himself photographed!
The Antioch Network gathering, meeting in one of the Protestant churches in Antakya (Antioch)
Amy with some of the A2J youth from Phoenix, in the Antioch Network gathering in Antakya
Danny Malakowsky and Megan Comstock, two young Americans who traveled to Turkey for the Antioch Network gathering in Antakya
St. Peter’s Cave-Church
Antakya, Turkey
Worship in St. Peter's Cave-Church, Antakya (Antioch)
Information placard posted about St. Peter's Cave-Church, Antakya (Antioch)
Worship in St. Peter's Cave-Church, Antakya (Antioch)
Altar, St. Peter's Cave-Church, Antakya (Antioch)
With Sr. Carmel in front of St. Peter's Cave-Church, Antakya (Antioch), Turkey
Berlin, Germany
One more story should be told from the Berlin meeting in 2011. One day, we all went to Wittenberg together – it was a short one-hour train ride from Berlin. Julia and I led them to a sign of hope that we had discovered in 2010. In the main square of Wittenberg are two prominent statues, engraved with various quotations and scriptures. One is of Martin Luther, holding a Bible … the other of his good friend Philipp Melanchthon. It is well known that Melanchthon was the more moderate of the two, a peacemaker.
On the west-facing side of his statue was engraved the scripture, Ephesians 4:3 – “Make every effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” What a wonderful place to pray, in the heart of Wittenberg, for all believers around the world to “make every effort” in our day, in our time! As we were praying, Verena noticed a sticker that was affixed to the statue just below the scripture. It was partially torn off, as if someone had tried to remove it, and the piece that remained contained only this one word: “against.”
Against.
This one word summarizes so much of the attitudes of the body of Christ towards one another. Catholics against Protestants. Calvinists against Arminians. Non-denoms against Mainliners. And on, and on, and on. Rather than honoring each other, we are against each other. And the Trinity, which contains no “against” between the persons, is misrepresented.
“Hans-Peter, why don’t you take out your knife, and remove that sticker?” suggested Verena. So her gentle husband worked away slowly until all traces of “against” were gone, and Paul’s words were clean and pure:
“Make every effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Verena borrowed a bicycle and went cycling with Hans-Peter
Singing hymns, Berlin
Listening to each other, Berlin
Verena and Hans-Peter praying for Amy - Berlin
In the Berlin train station, waiting for the train to Wittenberg
The Antioch Network team from Berlin is led up the stairs by the Langs, as we arrrive in Wittenberg
Praying through Wittenberg 2017 Principle #1 at the Luther Oak
3 intense people! (in the Melanchton room of the Best Western)
Visiting the Leucorea on our trip to Wittenberg
A view of the entire Leucorea room, which seats 183, has a lovely grand piano, and also has translation facilities for up to 6 languages
The American studies (!) library at the top of the Leucorea building
The renovation of this buidling and the library was funded mostly by the US Congress, thanks to the work of US ambassadors to Germany who were strong Lutheran believers
The "upper room" in the University ... a great small meeting room, would also make a great prayer room!
Hanna & Greetje on a bench, Wittenberg
Thomas & Jayson, in prayer - Wittenberg
If there's a picture of Thomas, it was probably taken by Ryan Thurman!
Grieving and praying below the Judensau on the Stadtkirche, Wittenberg
Praying Wittenberg 2017 Principle #4, below the Judensau on the Stadtkirche, Wittenberg
A well-known painting inside the Stadtkirche, showing corrupt Catholics on the left and hard-working Protestants on the right, with the divide in the middle
Thomas leading a time of prayer in the small chapel that he and Julia had found in the Stadtkirche, Wittenberg
A team dinner at the end of a long and wonderful day in Wittenberg
Preparing to depart Wittenberg and head back to Berlin
In 2011, Thomas and Amy invited a small group of us from Antioch Network to walk the streets of Wittenberg and pray. Thomas suggested that Julia and I stand as Jews on one side of the water and the others, representing a variety of Christian traditions, stand on the opposite bank of the narrow channel. We prayed for each other in mourning for our history and then crossed the water, coming close together, calling on the Lord. As one, we yearned for the wider reconciliation.
-Hanna Miley