Letters from the Bema

What a deacon does on a weekday

A short list, for the people who ask.

• 7:00 Qurbana: I light the candles, read the Gospel, call out the prayers.
• 9:00 – 12:00 lessons at the seminary: Syriac, canon law, pastoral care. My hands smell of ink.
• 14:00 visits to the sick, with Fr. Gewargis or alone with the book.
• 18:00 Ramsha, the evening prayer. I carry the incense.
• After: homework.