THE HERMITS OF MOUNT CARMEL THE POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS SITUATION OF PALESTINE The crusades With the Crusade

e of 1099 western Christianity after centuries of separation finally drew near again to the birthplace of Christianity. Although pilgrims, and to a certain extent merchants, had maintained some contact, nevertheless since the High Middle Ages there had been something of a separation due to circumstances in Western Europe. Renewed interest in affairs in Palestine had begun towards the end of the eleventh century. The Emperor of Constantinople asked for assistance against the Turks who had invaded Anatolia thus rendering insecure the route of European pilgrims. Thus was born the first Crusade which in 1099 took possession of Jerusalem. Politically, in Palestine and Syria, this period saw the creation of a series of small feudal states which at least nominally recognized at their head the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In the newly conquered territories were constituted western Knights, often members of noble families in search of fortune, and merchants from Italian coastal towns who established their commercial bases in sections of the Palestinian port cities. These westerners, called by the natives Franks, obviously represented no more than a tiny minority of the resident population. The effects of the crusades in the ecclesiastical life In the ecclesiastical sphere this period saw the development of Latin institutions in a region which had previously looked towards the traditions of Constantinople. A Latin episcopal hierarchy dependent upon Rome was established having at its head and representing the Pope, the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Classical forms of Religious Life were also transplanted into the Holy Land. Groups of Canons Regular took over the administration of the principal churches, including the Holy Sepulcher, the Temple of the Lord and Mount Sion. The Benedictines founded four

monasteries for men and the same number for women. The Premonstratensians had two communities. The new military religious orders One new form of Religious Life, characteristic of the Holy Land, was that of the military orders; the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers of St John, the Teutonic Knights, armed religious groups founded for the defense of the holy places, the protection of pilgrims and the help of the sick. To these, in the first decades of the thirteenth century, were added the Franciscans and the Dominicans. All these different groups existed alongside Greek monasticism which continued in its centuries old traditions. The eremitic latin life The Franks brought with them another form of religious life which had developed in Europe during the eleventh century partly in reaction to the rather institutionalized large monastic communities; eremitism, with its tendency to greater personalization of the religious life and the rigorous practice of poverty. From this movement grew diverse religious groups including the Cistercians, while others led a more individual style of life as for example Peter of Amiens, The Hermit, the famous preacher of the Crusades. The eremitic life in Palestine This was nothing new to Palestine; already in the first centuries of the Christian era, together with Egypt and Syria, the Holy Land had welcomed a significant number of people wishing to live an eremitic life in the country of Jesus. The western hermits lived alongside groups of eastern hermits continuing the traditions which had been established in the Judean desert, in the arid regions around the Dead Sea, on Mount Tabor and in the Valley of Jehoshaphat near Jerusalem.

 The victory of Saladin and the 3th crusade After the initial arduous campaign of 1099 the kingdoms of the crusaders had to struggle continually to preserve their existence, being helped with a varying degree of fervour by the Christians of the West. The pressure from the Egyptian sultans progressively reduced the territory occupied by the Europeans. The victory of the Muslim Saladin at Hattin in 1187 took Palestine from the control of the westerners, leaving them only the city of Tyre. In 1191 the third Crusade recaptured for the Franks the city of St John of Acre as well as a strip of territory along the coast as far as Jaffa. The Patriarch of Jerusalem established his see at Acre and the Latin hermits, after having been scattered throughout the country, were able to take up their way of life again under the protection of the Crusader Kingdoms.

THE LATIN HERMITS ON MOUNT CARMEL The religious life in Palestine (1216-1228) The flowering of the Religious Life in Palestine is described in a famous passage from the writings of Jacques de Vitry who was Bishop of St John of Acre from 1216 until 1228. Holy men renounced the world, according to their different loves and desires and their religious fervour, choosing their dwelling in conformity with their aims and their devotion. Some of these, being especially attracted by the Lord's own example, chose the blessed solitude of the Quarantine, where Our Lord had fasted for forty days after His baptism, to live there as hermits and to valiantly serve the Lord in humble cells. Still others, in imitation of the holy anchorite, the prophet Elijah, led a solitary way of life on Mount Carmel, especially in the area which lies above the city of Porfira, now called Haifa, near to the spring named Elijah's spring, not far from the monastery of the holy virgin Margaret, where in little beehives of cells, these bees of the Lord gathered the honey of spiritual sweetness. The location of the latin hermits The cave The hermits thus described by Jacques de Vitry lived in a narrow valley situated about an hour's walk from Haifa facing the sea and known as Wadi 'ain es-Siah, The caves hollowed out from the sides of the mountain, once more numerous than today, witness to the existence of a laura, more precisely a Byzantine monastic settlement. In particular, one larger cave with two levels had been given the name of cave of Elijah and Elisha's dwelling for each of the two rooms which composed the cave. Local legend identifies the cave as the place in which the prophet Elisha was accustomed to rest. The spring Another element connecting the valley with the prophet Elijah and believed to be the site of the earliest monastic settlement is the spring which still flows today a little way above the opening of the valley which

takes its name from the prophet. Legend affirms that it was here that Elijah quenched his thirst. The date of the first settlement of the Carmelites It is probable that the small group of Latin hermits would have wished to choose as a setting for their life of prayer a place already hallowed by a long monastic tradition. In 1191, the year in which the Crusaders gathered in Acre for the reconquest, Mount Carmel had become an important military base for Saladin's troops. Historical sources make no reference to Latin hermits living by the spring of Elijah. In all probability the hermits first gathered on Mount Carmel at a date sometime after the end of the 12th century. The motives of the first Carmelites They formed a group not yet within an established monastic structure, coming together spontaneously to do penance as was then said, or more precisely, to dedicate themselves to a life of prayer and asceticism, free from any canonical structures then recognized as pertaining to the Religious state. They possessed neither a church nor a name by which they could be identified. They were simply lay hermits, converts seeking to live the life of a pilgrim on earth as Christ lived. To this end they had abandoned the world to dedicate themselves completely to a more fervent living out of the Christian vocation. They were willing to embrace the way of evangelical perfection even without the official recognition of any ecclesiastical authority.

ALBERT'S RULE Origin: the brothers request The first written document testifying to the existence of Latin hermits living on Mount Carmel is the Rule of Life written for them by Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem. At some unspecified date between 1206 and 1214, the years which mark Albert's sojourn in the Holy Land, the hermits asked their Patriarch to prepare a written rule which would codify their already established practices. Albert responded to their request with the letter commonly called the Rule of the Carmelites. Though the original text cannot be reconstructed with precision, it is possible to extract its most important elements. The Rule took its inspiration from the way of life normally followed in the Palestinian lauras in which the hermits would obey a superior. The importance of the rule Albert's letter marked the official recognition by the bishop bestowing upon the hermits the status of a Religious group. The roll of the superior Although the nature of this reciprocal relationship was not usually very detailed in written codes of practice, an attitude of respect on the part of the subject corresponded to the service given to the community by the superior. The style of life of the hermits a) The spirit of the group: every hermit had his own cell separated a little from the others, in which he was to remain day and night mediating on the Word of the Lord and watching in prayer. b) The prayer: The traditional practices of penance, fasting and prayer were prescribed for them as for similar groups. c) The Eucharist: The hermits gathered together every day for the celebration of the Eucharist. In former times a meeting to participate in the Mass and hear an exhortation from the superior took place only once in the week on Saturday or Sunday.

d) The prayer of Psalms: It is probable that they did not recite the canonical Liturgy of the Hours. The Rule prescribed the recitation of the Psalms following the traditional practice, it being customary for the monks to know the Psalter by heart, or at least a good part of it. e) Poverty and manual work: To the regulations concerning prayer are added other rules typical of an eremitical life; poverty and manual labor to sustain the community. f) The habit: The Rule did not prescribe a particular habit but it seems that the hermits wore a tunic of undyed wool with a belt, a scapular and a hood (cover) over which they placed a cloak colored with black and white stripes. The patronage of Our Lady, origin and implications a) An oratory dedicated to Mary: Particularly significant is the invitation to build an oratory in the middle of the cells around which the group would be united. Information dated to within a few years of the presentation of the Rule tells that the oratory was dedicated to Our Lady, with the result that the hermits came to be known as the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. b) The group was suppose to defend the interest of the Patron: In keeping with the feudal understanding of patronage a patron saint was considered as the Lord of the group and under their flag the members would commit themselves to the spiritual battle and defend the temporal interests of their association. The conviction later developed among the hermits that the order had been founded for the service and honor of Mary, the Mother of God. This understanding was affirmed in the General Chapter held in Montpelier in 1287. c) The legends referring to Mary and the Order: With the passage of time the idea that the Order had arisen to render honor to Mary gave rise to legends. One witness to this is Louis of Saint Teresa, who in 1662 reported affirmations by then commonly made in the Order. He wrote that Elijah had a prophetic vision of Mary in the clouds which rose from the sea bringing rain to Israel which was suffering from drought. On that occasion, wrote Louis of St Teresa,

Elijah, having known through a revelation that the mother of the Messiah would be a virgin, resolved to imitate her. Not only would he do this himself, but he imposed it upon those of his disciples who entered into the Religious Order instituted by him and which he had dedicated to her honor.

THE HISTORICAL PROCESS OF THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE ORDER The fourth Lateran Council 1215 In the year 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council gathered in Rome, called by Pope Innocent III to discuss Church reform and the Crusades. Among the first of the decisions to be taken, largely through the pressure brought to bear from those bishops present, was the limiting of the proliferation of religious groups which were growing rapidly in this period, often avoiding any form of episcopal control, and suspected of heretical beliefs. The means chosen to tackle the problem was to channel the new movements into existing ecclesiastical structures, which consisted of the monastic or the canonical life lived according to the Rule of St Benedict or the socalled Rule of St Augustine respectively. The reaction of the Carmelites to the Lateran Council Albert's Rule seemed to some contemporaries to have been included among those religious movements which the Council had sought to prevent. The Carmelite Sigbert de Beek (c.1280-1332) describing this situation some decades later wrote, Some prelates in the Holy Land, where Mount Carmel is found, began to attack the Friars of our Order as though they were in opposition to the Council's prohibition and had never received an approved Rule. The roll of Rudolf, Albert's successor Albert died shortly before the Council so the Carmelites brought this unforeseen problem to the attention of his successor, Rudolf, who seemed at that time to have succeeded in resolving the difficulties. However, the problem remained. The Carmelites were not observing one of the Rules recognized by the Lateran Council. One possible solution would have been to adopt either the Rule of St Benedict or the Rule of St Augustine, as other groups had done to ensure their continued existence. The Carmelites however chose the more difficult way of seeking approbation for the vitae formula received from Albert.

 The first pontifical recognition (1226) Honorious III Among the first results of this decision was the imposition upon the friars by Pope Honorius III in 1226 to observe the Albert's Rule for the remission of sins. This act was the first implicit approval given to this particular way of life. The approval by Honorius III did not put an end to the attacks of the Order's enemies among the hierarchy. Even though their way of life had ecclesiastical approbation, it did not yet enjoy the independence reserved to the monastic and canonical orders with a longer tradition behind them. This explains the later petition to the Apostolic See which was made following the election of the new pope so that, for greater security, that which had previously been granted might be confirmed. The intervention of Pope Gregory IX 1229 a) The confirmation of what Honorius have done: The year 1229 witnessed several decisions by Gregory IX, who was familiar with the new religious movements having been for many years a supporter of St Francis of Assisi. He confirmed, with full pontifical authority and forever, all that had already been done by Honorius III. This signified that no lesser power than the Pope himself could be able to oppose the way of life being followed by the Carmelites. b) The right to have possessions: Gregory also intervened to clarify a doubt raised as to the right of the Order to claim possessions. The text of Albert's Rule prohibited the hermits from possessing property. There was a lack of clarity as to whether this applied only to single friars or to the group as a whole. At that time in the monastic orders personal property was forbidden to the monks but a monastery was not bound by this rule. Among the newer religious groups, such as the Franciscans, even the right of the group to own property was renounced. c) The resolution: It is possible that the Carmelites had been offered

some particular property as a gift and that this led to their appeal to the Pope for clarification of this aspect of their Rule. Gregory IX wishing to eliminate the occasion of once more dirtying their feet for those who had already washed them to climb the mountain of contemplation, prohibited the Order from receiving land or income. He allowed only the possession of male asses to be used as beasts of burden and the breeding of animals and poultry on a small scale. When one remembers that generally the pontifical curia approved the proposals of those making requests one can see behind this papal declaration the radical choice for poverty being taken by the Carmelites. As with other pauper movements being found throughout the Church at this time, they refused to live on any secure income, preferring to live by their own modest labors. It should not be forgotten that even those professing absolute poverty were also often required to become involved in financial concerns for the good of their community. d) The election of the prior: In the same pontifical letter a third matter was discussed concerning the election of a prior. This was to take place only with the approval of the community. The declaration is perhaps justified by the attempts at external interference not infrequent in the history of Religious Orders. e) The permission to celebrate mass behind closed doors: In the same year, 1229, the Emperor Frederick II concluded his Crusade with a peace treaty with the Sultan Malik alKamel, which was to last for ten years. A political realist, Frederick foresaw that a treaty was the only means of allowing Westerners an undisturbed residence in the holy places then under Islamic occupation. The demands of the treaty were received with hostility in religious circles. The Pope issued an interdict which prohibited acts of public worship in his overseas territories. This prohibition is reflected in a letter written by Gregory IX in 1229 which permitted the Latin hermits of Mount Carmel to celebrate Mass behind closed doors in the event of an interdict over the whole country.

 The assistance of Innocent IV While the ten year period stipulated in the treaty of Frederick II was drawing to an end the position of Latins in the Holy Land was becoming ever more precarious. In 1239 the Crusaders suffered a serious defeat in Gaza at the hands of the Muslims. The Latin Empire, with its capital at Constantinople, established in 1204, began to totter. Jerusalem was finally conquered by the Egyptians in 1244.

The first foundations outside Palestine The general climate of political insecurity was felt also among the hermits of Mount Carmel, some of whom began to consider returning to their countries of origin. Traditionally the first migration of Carmelites from Mount Carmel to Europe is dated to 1238. This however must be considered as an approximation, and the movement probably took place in stages. The oldest foundations outside the Holy Land were in Cyprus, in the desert of Fortamia or Frontaine, a location which it is no longer possible to identify; at Messina in Sicily; at Aylesford and at Hulne in England; at Les Aygalades near Marseilles in Provence; and at Genova in Liguria. According to the tradition of the Order the very first foundation was that in Valenciennes, in 1235. The first two monasteries in England were established in 1242, the work of Carmelites who had returned together with William Vesey and Richard Grey, two knights who had participated in the Crusade of 1240 in the company of Richard of Cornwall.

Problems with the local Bishops in Europe Having arrived in Europe, the hermits faced again the problems they had encountered in the Holy Land in the first years of their existence. They were considered as foreigners living according to an unknown Rule, thus

raising the suspicions of bishops. Their striped cloak or mantle was viewed with little sympathy and they had no sufficient economic base. Pope Innocent IV had to intervene several times to recommend the newcomers to the kindness of the diocesan clergy.

The new situation in Europe requested modification in the rule of life Another problem quickly arose. Albert's Rule had been written for a small group living in very particular conditions which were significantly altered by the migration of the hermits away from their original setting. The first General Chapter of which we have any information took place in 1247 in the course of which a certain Godfrey was probably elected as Prior General. The Chapter's analysis of the difficulties encountered during the Order's first decade in Europe suggested a further appeal to the Apostolic See. The Chapter sent Br. Reginald and Br. Peter to Lyons where at that time the Pontifical court had its residence. They were to ask that the Rule be adapted to better suit the Order's new situation. The requests were presented to Cardinal Hugo of St Caro, and to William, Bishop of Antaradus, both Dominicans. The result of their work was published on 1st October, 1247, in a pontifical letter into which, according to the customary practice of the papal clerks, was inserted the text of the modified Rule: a) The Order was permitted to found new houses not only in deserted places but in whatever situation was offered to the friars, providing that it was suitable to their way of life. b) Meals were to be eaten in a common refectory instead of in the cell of each friar. c) The recitation of the Canonical hours was introduced, which seems to confirm the theory that the original Rule stipulated only the recitation of the Psalms. d) Silence was prescribed from the office of Complete until the

celebration of Prime the following day. e) Abstinence from meat was mitigated for the sick and for those who were required to make a journey. These seemingly minor changes in fact marked a profound change in the Carmelite way of life. The foundation of houses in large centers of population was now permitted and the introduction of a more cenobitic way of life was a movement away from the eremitism of the Order's beginnings.

Economical problems of the new situation and the apostolate The changes were necessary given the difficulty of living in desert places, with the resulting economic difficulties that this produced. Reflected also in the papal letter is the general tendency among new religious groups, encouraged by the pontifical curia, to develop the structures of a Religious Order in which priests soon come to predominate. The friars dedicated themselves to an apostolate in the cities, alongside, and often in opposition to, the secular clergy. In this way they helped to extend pontifical influence to counter the often independently-minded bishops and secular clergy. That these developments were being sought by the Carmelites is indicated by the concession granted in the Bull Paganorum incursus issued 26th July, 1247, some months before the emendation of the Rule, which shows that the friars had asked explicitly to be able to dedicate themselves to the care of souls.

The changes in Europe meant changes in the situation on Mount Carmel The institutional changes introduced certainly had consequences for the daily life of the hermits who were still living on Mount Carmel. It is probable that the common refectory was constructed alongside the oratory

to conform to the prescription of Innocent IV. This was to form the nucleus of the monastery which was to be built over the following years. In 1263 Pope Urban IV encouraged the faithful to contribute to the construction of a monastery which had been undertaken by the Carmelites on Mount Carmel. The remains of this construction, described by the Pope as a sumptuous project, can still be seen today.

The foundations of the Middle east "Tyre and Acre" Not only in Europe was the Order expanding but also in their country of origin. The existence of communities in Tyre and Acre is known with certainty. The first was founded at a date before 1254 and the second, at the nearest port, was perhaps founded to meet the needs of the hermits as they began their emigration towards the west. This house was certainly in existence in 1261 as in that year the Bishop of Acre refused the Carmelites the permission to open their church for public worship. The friars appealed to the Pope, and Alexander IV recognized their right to open their church to the public and to have both a bell-tower and a cemetery. The bell informed the public of the hours of worship and the cemetery could be used by those requesting a burial there. On this occasion the Pope ordered the Patriarch of Jerusalem to protect the Carmelites from further disturbance. Further protection seems to have been necessary given that in the following year the Pope withdrew the Carmelites from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Acre and placed them under that of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Syria and Cyprus In 1261 the Carmelites obtained a further Papal Bull granting indulgences to anyone offering alms towards the construction of churches of the Order in Syria and Cyprus. This indicates a project of apostolic expansion from Mount Carmel including even overseas territories.

Perhaps there was an excessive optimism about the strength of the Latin kingdoms or a hope that it would be possible to peacefully coexist with a religious and civil authority in principle hostile to Westerners. In fact, while the Carmelites were engaged in their project of expansion in the Holy Land, in 1265 the Sultan Ruknad-Din Baibars of Egypt began a campaign of reconquest against the kingdoms of the Crusaders. The entire Palestinian coast fell into his hands with the exception of Athlit and Acre. The town of Haifa fell in a single day. A certain number of the inhabitants of Mount Carmel joined with the Latins who had decided to return to their countries of origin. A Bull of Clement IV recommended to the kindness of western bishops the Carmelites who had fled from their monastery on Mount Carmel before the Muslim invaders.

In 1272 Baibars agreed to a truce of ten years with Prince Edward of England which assured to the Latins the possession of a strip of coast between Acre and Sidon as well as the right of pilgrims to use freely the road to Nazareth. From this time the presence of the Carmelites by the spring of Elijah was interrupted. The Second Council of Lyons (1274). The bishops request to suppress the religious groups. The problems facing the Carmelites came not only from Islam. Within the Church difficulties were still being encountered. At the Second Council of Lyons in 1274 yet again the existence of the Carmelite Order was under threat. The bishops who had gathered for the Council renewed their protest against the proliferation of religious groups and asking for them to be suppressed. In fact a large number of groups founded in the course of the thirteenth century ceased to exist. The Franciscans and Dominicans, who had by now assumed a notable importance in the Church, had their right to exist easily recognized by the Council Fathers. To the Carmelites and the Augustinians the Council permitted the right to maintain their present situation until they received further instructions.

This decision seriously worried the Carmelites at the time, even though the popes who came after the Council of Lyons did not, for various reasons, renew the threat against the existence of the Order. The friars set themselves to consolidate their position against the possibility of future attacks. 1282 The support of the local bishops towards the Carmelites In September 1282, Richard, Archbishop of Nicosia, William, Bishop of Hebron and William, Bishop of Tiberias, sent a letter to Pope Martin IV in which they drew attention to the difficult situation in which the Carmelites found themselves. The decision of the Council had again created difficulties with the bishops and had caused the Order to lose a large part of the alms on which they depended. The consolidation of their juridical position would create benefits also for the Latin Christians still living in the Holy Land. Similar petitions were also made by the Grand Masters of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem and of the Knights Templar. Edward I of England, following an appeal from the Prior General Peter of Millau, asked two Cardinals to bring the matter to the attention of the Pope. The response of Martin IV is not known but his successor, Honorius IV, overturning the policy of his predecessors, favored smaller religious groups, among whom were the Carmelites. It was the first step towards the abandonment of the problematic decision of the Council of Lyons, which was taken by Boniface VIII in 1298.

The change of dress (1287) In the meantime the General Chapter held in Montpelier in 1287 adopted a significant change in the friars' dress. Until that time they had worn a mantle or cloak with white and dark stripes which had earned them the name of striped friars. The mantle was the typical dress of lay penitents rather than of Religious in the strict sense which the Carmelites now understood themselves to be. The striped mantle raised doubts in the minds of the faithful as to the status of the members of the Order and

perhaps discouraged possible aspirants, especially those coming from the universities, from entering the religious among the Carmelites. The General Chapter of 1287 removed this inconvenience, adopting in its place a simple white mantle. It is not perhaps coincidental that from this time the Order's presence in the universities grew ever stronger.

The last testimony The last clear information we have concerning the inhabitants of the Wadi 'ain es-Siah dates from the year 1283. In that year Burckhardt of Mount Sion, a Dominican who lived for many years in Acre, visited the Religious on Mount Carmel. To the left of Haifa, about a league along the road which leads to the Castle of the Pilgrims (Athlit), on Mount Carmel, there is the cave of Elijah, the place where Elisha dwelt, and the fountain where once lived the sons of the prophets and now live the friars of Carmel. I have been there together with them.

Sultan Qalawun (1289) and Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil (1291) The Sultan Qalawun, successor of Baibars, took up again the military project of ridding the Holy Land of the presence of Westerners. In 1289 his troops captured Tripoli. The following year he marched against Acre but he contracted a sickness which brought him speedily to his death. His son, Al-Ashraf Khalil, inherited his title and in 1291 attacked the last stronghold of the Latins. The siege of the city lasted from 6th April until 18th May, when the Muslim forces broke into the city and its inhabitants were slaughtered or taken into slavery. The fortress of the Knights Templar managed to hold out a further ten days. The Sultan ordered the systematic destruction of the city so that it might never again serve as a base for a Christian assault against Syria.

 The destruction of Haifa On 30th July Muslim troops occupied Haifa, meeting no resistance, from where they moved out to burn the monastery on Mount Carmel after having massacred the community of friars. According to one chronicle of the events, probably apocryphal, attributed to the Carmelite William of Sandwich, The Saracens completely devastated the city of Acre and the beautiful house of this Order (of the Carmelites) which was found there. From there they set out for the not distant Mount Carmel. This they climbed, destroyed the monastery of the Friars of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel with fire and put all the friars to the sword. These men met their deaths whilst singing the Salve Regina. It is difficult to assess the veracity of this account, at least regarding the fate of the monastery. Whilst it is almost certain that the Muslims destroyed the monasteries of St Margaret and of St Elijah, the Carmelite house in Wadi 'ain es-Siah seems to have remained standing, since it is described in accounts written by several travelers in the following centuries. It seems probable that, as the danger of attack drew near, remembering clearly the events of 1265, the Carmelites had abandoned their monastery and set sail for Europe. The collection of the books of Wadi ain siah 1294 What is certain is that the constitutions of 1294 ordered the Prior General or his vicar to collect all the books belonging to the Holy Land which had been dispersed throughout the different provinces and to keep them until they could be returned to their original home when Mount Carmel should once again be in Christian hands.