Today we say goodbye to Abouna Boulos (he always said that it’s fine to call him Abouna even after he became “Sayyedna”). Sayyedna always scratched his endless humble holy soul.
We say goodbye to him in the exact manner that we say goodbye to pascha this week. We know that pascha is always with us in every service and in every hymn.
You don’t mourn the passing of people like Boulos Bendaly. You don’t mourn the departure of Mary Drouby. You just keep celebrating their wonderful lives. His life was full of compassion and love. He loved when he was a physics teacher as much as he loved when he was a priest and a metropolitan. The teacher in him was always there.
How can I ever forget his Christmas lecture few years ago? He taught us that we can only achieve Christmas by giving birth to Christ ourselves to our neighbors. At the end of the lecture he humbly thanked Costy for everything he taught him.
I am so happy that I grew up in the shadows of fantastic people such as Abouna in Mina. This was a lifetime blessing.
The only thing I am really sad about is the situation of Antioch itself and the sad state of affairs of our holy Synod. The synod’s loss of Boulous is simply irreplaceable. I write these words and we, in Britain, have been without a Metropolitan for almost a year now!
May God inspire the remaining Archbishops to elect a suitable bishop for Akkar an area that was so dry and lost before the arrival of Boulos. May our god Lord prevent the waste of his wonderful fruitful efforts.
Rest in peace oh wonderful Abouna.
You’ll always be with us.