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Τρίτη 7 Δεκεμβρίου 2021

I WAS CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY BY APOSTLE PAUL Raphael Musan-Levi

 


A tour guide like Raphael is hard to find. Who can talk about the Holy Land better than the person who was born and raised there? Raphael Musan-Levi is a native Jerusalemite who conscientiously converted to Orthodoxy. He is well versed in theology and history and speaks beautiful and idiomatic Russian. Luckily, I had a voice recorder with me, so while our pilgrims were handing in the memorial requests in the Church of Mary Magdalene, Raphael and I sat on a bench in the monastery park and had a chat. This interview is now available for the readers of Pravoslavnyi Vestnik [the original article was published in Pravoslavnyi Vestnik]. We also provided some quotes from Raphael’s tour programs.

 

 

 

—Raphael, your Russian is very good. It sounds as if you lived in Russia for a long time.

 

—I was born in Jerusalem. My father was born in Jerusalem too, while my mother is originally from England. Many generations of my family lived in Jerusalem. I don’t really speak Russian that well, I often make mistakes, mix up the cases, and so on. But I do know Russian, probably because I have a Russian soul.

 

I was eleven years old when I came across a Russian textbook for English speakers. It had a Russian alphabet in it. I was bored, so I started studying it. I wasn’t sure why I was doing it—I lived in Jerusalem and my family was Jewish. I guess Russian language played a certain role in my conversion to Orthodoxy. The first prayer book I bought was in Church Slavonic. Later I found prayer books in English and Hebrew, but I still say my prayers in Russian. Since I’m a member of the Jerusalem Church, I also pray in Greek.

 

Somehow, I was always drawn to Russia. I admired it. I like Russian literature very much. At first, I read the translations, then I moved on to reading the originals. I also worked in a Russian language theater. I learned my roles in Hebrew at first, and then in Russian. Sometimes I learned the roles in Russian right away. That is why I have a good vocabulary. As far as idiomatic expressions are concerned, I learned them from my wife who is a Muscovite.

 

—Where did you meet your better half?

 

—We met at the theater where I was performing. Our daughter is two years and seven months old now. She also speaks Russian. She understands English and we want her to know this language too, because her grandmother speaks English. She must know Hebrew also, of course. And if she picks up some Greek while talking to Greek nuns, it would be great.

 

—Is it natural for people to speak so many languages here?

 

—A person living in Jerusalem simply must know Arabic, Greek, Russian and Hebrew. Jerusalem is a city that unites the people of various tribes and beliefs, and, most importantly, Orthodox people of various ethnicities. When Orthodox Christians go on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, it is important for them to feel that Orthodoxy is a universal religion, rather than regional. Naturally, various people have their own customs and traditions. But the Church Rule and the Gospel are for everybody. There could be some minor differences, but they are not important. Holy Communion is one and the same for everyone. One can particularly feel this in Jerusalem. I’ve visited cities in England and France and I couldn’t get that feeling there.

 

—What did you find attractive in Orthodoxy?

 

—It was very easy for me. I’ve been a believer since childhood. I knew the Old Testament and Jewish prayers. I was never an atheist. So, conversion to Orthodoxy was very natural for me. All my life before that was a catechesis, a preparation for the Orthodox faith. I’m surprised that most of the believing Israelis don’t understand it. But for me it was a simple and natural transformation. This may sound like an exaggeration, since most of the people in this country do not have good feelings toward Christianity and some even openly hate Christ and Christians.

 

I never had this attitude. In this sense, my family was unusual. We always communicated with various people, even though my parents were believing Jews. Our neighbors were Protestants, some of my father’s coworkers were Muslim—we always treated everybody well. Yet we knew that Judaism was our religion.

 

When I became a teenager, I realized that either all of this was made up nonsense or all the Old Testament prophesies were indeed about the coming of Christ, and they all came true when Christ was born, crucified and resurrected. Basically, I knew the Gospel when I was a teenager. But it was St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans that finally converted me to Orthodoxy. I believe that when you face some difficulties in your life, it is very useful to read St. Paul’s epistles, for there you can find answers to all your questions. So, you can say that I was converted by St. Paul. He used to be a Pharisee, a devoted Jew and a persecutor of Christians, and then Christ appeared to him. St. Paul’s example and his epistles opened this world to me.

 

Why did I choose Orthodoxy out of all possible denominations? Because only in Orthodoxy I could find the continuation of the Church of the Old Testament and it was the only denomination that had apostolic succession. It is not because our Church is better or worse than others. Sometimes people say, “Yes, I would like to be a Christian, but they have such problems… And their priests and Patriarchs are so and so…” I converted to Orthodoxy when there were big problems and even scandals in our Church. But I didn’t convert to Orthodoxy for the sake of a good or a bad Patriarch; I did it to come to Christ.

 

I wasn’t baptized right away. At first, I simply went to the Holy Sepulcher. You can say that the divine grace of this holy site was very important. There I met some priests who invited me to attend the Divine Liturgy that was celebrated at night. Before that, I thought that people in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher only wandered aimlessly, but during that Liturgy I saw the Holy Sepulcher in a different light. It is different during the day when there are tourists wandering around; however, at night, during the Divine Liturgy, everything is the way it should be.

 

It took a long time for me to make sure that I really wanted to convert. You can say that I went through a certain catechesis and became a practicing Christian even before I was baptized, which was also important. I’ve learned the prayer book and more or less knew the Liturgy—in Russian, of course. The priests also participated in this process. I can’t say that they were training me in any special way, but it was their prayers that ultimately got me to baptism. After my baptism, I found a spiritual father. He is from the Jerusalem Church, the Jerusalem Patriarchate. He guided me, and it was he who gave me his blessing to work with pilgrims. I am thankful to God that He didn’t leave me without help—I was baptized, I met people who are praying for me, I have my wife and my daughter as well as my work with pilgrims, which is very inspiring for me.

 

—It seems to me that working with pilgrims is not easy.

 

—When we see Orthodox pilgrims from Russia or other countries here in the Holy Land, and it is a big help for us. Our country is predominantly Jewish and Muslim, and most of the people belong to those religions. That is why it is important when Orthodox people from other countries come here and show the local Orthodox that they are not alone and that Jerusalem still holds an important part in the hearts of the Orthodox people from all over the world, because it is our spiritual capital.

 

—Is there anything special about the pilgrims from Russia?

 

—Pilgrims from Russia are very congenial. You can tell that they love the Holy Land. But because life in Russia is quite hectic nowadays, when Russians come here you can feel the energy of the modern world in them right away. Usually, it takes two or three days for people to get accustomed to the different rhythm of life in the Holy Land. But by the time they get used to it, it is time for them to return home. So, it is good, of course, to see pilgrims who have kept their Russian spirit intact, because sometimes people don’t have that Russian soul even though they were born in Russia.

 

Thankfully, I mostly work with “Radonezh”, and when I work with other pilgrimage services, I select them carefully. It is difficult to talk about holy sites with people who don’t know and don’t want to know anything and who for some reason bought a ticket to the Holy Land instead of going to a resort in Turkey. But I’m happy to work even with these people, because sometimes people change. It shows that despite their superficial atheism, they have very deep Orthodox roots. Maybe they have ancestors who pray for them, or maybe their ancestors were saints, who can tell?

 

Naturally, besides having theological knowledge, a guide should be able to solve various problems that may arise here. Thank God, I’m getting more and more experienced. When I just started working here, I made big mistakes, so I’m very sorry and ask forgiveness of all people whom I offended by my behavior or misunderstanding.

 

—Raphael, what is the most important thing about the pilgrimage to the Holy Land?

 

—It is important for people to change their ways of life after coming here. If a person returns from the Holy Land and continues to live just like they did before the pilgrimage, it is very bad.

 

—Is pilgrimage a time of temptations?

 

—When I talk with pilgrims, I see more things that give me joy and hope than any temptations. Even with this group there were various temptations, but I see people receiving divine grace. Even though it is still difficult for them, because something wasn’t provided to them or some event wasn’t well-organized; but these are trifling matters, there are more important things.

 

Temptations are always there, and that is good. The enemy uses various ways to ruin people’s impressions from the trip. But there is nobody and nothing that can separate us from God. The enemy attempts to present some hurdles, but people cannot be stopped, if they have a heart and desire to overcome them. That’s all it takes. If a person travelled to the Holy Land instead of Honduras or Hawaii, it means that this person needed to do it, even if he or she didn’t understand it. Every man is a whole world. And each group of pilgrims is a whole world too.

 

Some pilgrims have experienced serious tragedies and come here in hope of getting help. Some people come because their spouses are non-believers and they hope that things will change after this trip. Sometimes it happens, but doesn’t happen always, because there’s divine grace, and there’s man’s will. God does not force people to be saved—it depends on our heart and on the choices we make. You can’t force a person to be religious, even if you love this person very much. For example, I love my mother very much, but I can’t force her to become an Orthodox Christian. She’s not Orthodox, she’s not baptized. I love her and hope that God will have mercy on her. Although, I know that it is very difficult for unbelievers and people who weren’t baptized.

 

It is the same with other people. They could be Christian, but fail to understand anything. I can love them very much, but it doesn’t mean that everything is going to be alright with them. Sometimes women bring their children here thinking that if they force them to visit holy sites, their children will become Christian. However, one needs to change his or her way of life to do that.

 

I think it is useful that people who come here feel the simplicity that has been preserved here in both social and church life. We have clerics with diverse personalities, but most of them are easily accessible. Here pilgrims see people who basically lead a rural way of life, and if after returning home a pilgrim would use the harmful modern technologies at least a little bit less, it would be good because so many souls are lost because of these technologies. Elder Paisios the Athonite also used to say that one must become a different person after a pilgrimage.

 

Svetlana Ladina

spoke with Raphael Musan-Levi

Translation by Talyb Samedov

 

Pravoslavnyi Vestnik

 

12/1/2021

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