Mennonite Central Committee

First Person: Father Tony Kasih

From the January/February 2006 issue of "a Common Place"

God drew me to the priesthood. At the age of 9, I became an altar boy at my family’s Syrian Orthodox church in the village of Zaidal. Zaidal is a Christian village of about 6,000 people. We trace our history to another Syrian community that embraced Christianity in the first century.

In the last few generations, many people have left our village to emigrate. A lot of my relatives went to the United States. They worked in masonry and did very well. So my relatives would talk to my father and say, “Look, you have a son who’s young and strong, let him come to the United States, and you could retire with the money Tony would send you.”

When I was 14 my family decided that I should go to the United States. We got an appointment to apply for a visa at the U.S. Embassy. My father was delighted, and I was happy that I could do something to make him happy. But inside, I felt extremely unhappy because it was not what I wanted to do. I asked St. George, the patron saint of my church, “Why are you leaving me now when I need you?”

The embassy rejected my visa application. My mother had applied earlier for a U.S. visa, and on that application, she had written that my uncle was living in Jacksonville, Fla. When I applied, I forgot to write down the name of my uncle and the address. I didn’t deliberately omit it —
I just forgot.

When I heard the news, I felt like a new person. But my parents said, “We’re going to apply again tomorrow.”

We returned the next day. For some reason, the staff person at the embassy denied me a visa again and put a black stamp in my passport, meaning I couldn’t apply again for a year.

So I told my family, “I think that’s a clear signal. Now I want to pursue what I was called to do when I was born.” On a conscious level and on an unconscious level,
I have always felt called to be a priest. The call was what mattered most, and I felt called to be here with my people.

After I graduated from high school, I went to study at St. Ephrem’s Seminary to become a priest.

I got married after completing my studies, and the following year I was ordained at St. George’s Church here in Zaidal. My wife Roula and I have two little sons, and we named our first son after St. George.

I studied languages in seminary, including three years of English taught by Eldon Wagler (an MCC country representative, see page 23). Learning languages helps me to get to know people, and Eldon’s become a good friend of mine.

God chose for me to make friends instead of money.

 

— Father Tony Kasih and his family live in Zaidal, Syria. Father Kasih serves at St. George’s Church, where he leads services in Syriac, an ancient language similar to the one spoken by Jesus.