When the Mountain (of Mokottam) moved (Matthew 17:20)

Pavel Mosko

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Matthew 17:20 New International Version (NIV)
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”


This passages about "Faith that can move mountains" are often looked at as a metaphor etc. In 975 AD in Egypt an event occurred that resembles the Jewish Holiday of Purim. (The Coptic Christians faced genocide at the hands of Muslims unless they could make this miracle happen). This event was consider to be a true historic event even by the Muslims of Egypt all the way until recent times (Text books listed as taking place all the way to 2010). However with the rise of the Muslim brotherhood and Muslim fundamentalism it is now officially denied.

Simon the Shoemaker - OrthodoxWiki

 
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"I will tell you then this great marvel that occurred between Baudas and Mausul.

It was in the year of Christ 1225 that there was a Calif at Baudas who bore a great hatred to Christians, and was taken up day and night with the thought how he might either bring those that were in his kingdom over to his own faith, or might procure them all to be slain. And he used daily to take counsel about this with the devotees and priests of his faith, for they all bore the Christians like malice. And, indeed, it is a fact, that the whole body of Saracens throughout the world are always most malignantly disposed towards the whole body of Christians.

Now it happened that the Calif, with those shrewd priests of his, got hold of that passage in our Gospel which says, that if a Christian had faith as a grain of mustard seed, and should bid a mountain be removed, it would be removed. And such indeed is the truth. But when they had got hold of this text they were delighted, for it seemed to them the very thing whereby either to force all the Christians to change their faith, or to bring destruction upon them all. The Calif therefore called together all the Christians in his territories, who were extremely numerous. And when they had come before him, he showed them the Gospel, and made them read the text which I have mentioned. And when they had read it he asked them if that was the truth? The Christians answered that it assuredly was so. “Well,” said the Calif, “since you say that it is the truth, I will give you a choice. Among such a number of you there must needs surely be this small amount of faith; so you must either move that mountain there,”— and he pointed to a mountain in the neighbourhood —“or you shall die an ill death; unless you choose to eschew death by all becoming Saracens and adopting our Holy Law. To this end I give you a respite of ten days; if the thing be not done by that time, ye shall die or become Saracens.” And when he had said this he dismissed them, to consider what was to be done in this strait wherein they were.

The Christians on hearing what the Calif had said were in great dismay, but they lifted all their hopes to God, their Creator, that He would help them in this their strait. All the wisest of the Christians took counsel together, and among them were a number of bishops and priests, but they had no resource except to turn to Him from whom all good things do come, beseeching Him to protect them from the cruel hands of the Calif.

So they were all gathered together in prayer, both men and women, for eight days and eight nights. And whilst they were thus engaged in prayer it was revealed in a vision by a Holy Angel of Heaven to a certain Bishop who was a very good Christian, that he should desire a certain Christian Cobler, who had but one eye, to pray to God; and that God in His goodness would grant such prayer because of the Cobler’s holy life.

Now I must tell you what manner of man this Cobler was. He was one who led a life of great uprightness and chastity, and who fasted and kept from all sin, and went daily to church to hear Mass, and gave daily a portion of his gains to God. And the way how he came to have but one eye was this. It happened one day that a certain woman came to him to have a pair of shoes made, and she showed him her foot that he might take her measure. Now she had a very beautiful foot and leg; and the Cobler in taking her measure was conscious of sinful thoughts. And he had often heard it said in the Holy Evangel, that if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee, rather than sin. So, as soon as the woman had departed, he took the awl that he used in stitching, and drove it into his eye and destroyed it. And this is the way he came to lose his eye. So you can judge what a holy, just, and righteous man he was.

And when the appointed day was come, all the Christians got up early, men and women, small and great, more than 100,000 persons, and went to church, and heard the Holy Mass. And after Mass had been sung, they all went forth together in a great procession to the plain in front of the mountain, carrying the precious cross before them, loudly singing and greatly weeping as they went. And when they arrived at the spot, there they found the Calif with all his Saracen host armed to slay them if they would not change their faith; for the Saracens believed not in the least that God would grant such favour to the Christians. These latter stood indeed in great fear and doubt, but nevertheless they rested their hope on their God Jesus Christ.

So the Cobler received the Bishop’s benison, and then threw himself on his knees before the Holy Cross, and stretched out his hands towards Heaven, and made this prayer: “Blessed LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, I pray Thee by Thy goodness that Thou wilt grant this grace unto Thy people, insomuch that they perish not, nor Thy faith be cast down, nor abused nor flouted. Not that I am in the least worthy to prefer such request unto Thee; but for Thy great power and mercy I beseech Thee to hear this prayer from me Thy servant full of sin.”

And when he had ended this his prayer to God the Sovereign Father and Giver of all grace, and whilst the Calif and all the Saracens, and other people there, were looking on, the mountain rose out of its place and moved to the spot which the Calif had pointed out! And when the Calif and all his Saracens beheld, they stood amazed at the wonderful miracle that God had wrought for the Christians, insomuch that a great number of the Saracens became Christians. And even the Calif caused himself to be baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen, and became a Christian, but in secret. Howbeit, when he died they found a little cross hung round his neck; and therefore the Saracens would not bury him with the other Califs, but put him in a place apart. The Christians exulted greatly at this most holy miracle, and returned to their homes full of joy, giving thanks to their Creator for that which He had done.

And now you have heard in what wise took place this great miracle. And marvel not that the Saracens hate the Christians; for the accursed law that Mahommet gave them commands them to do all the mischief in their power to all other descriptions of people, and especially to Christians; to strip such of their goods, and do them all manner of evil, because they belong not to their law. See then what an evil law and what naughty commandments they have! But in such fashion the Saracens act, throughout the world.

Now I have told you something of Baudas. I could easily indeed have told you first of the affairs and the customs of the people there. But it would be too long a business, looking to the great and strange things that I have got to tell you, as you will find detailed in this Book." - Travels of Marco Polo.

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Marco Polo tells a very similar story, but he sets it in Baghdad (Baudas), not in Cairo. The date also differs significantly. However, I see Simon the Tanner is supposed to be from old Cairo which seems to be called Babylon as well - perhaps some significant name association is going on here - Baghdad/Babylon and thus Marco Polo just heard a garbled account of this?
 
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Pavel Mosko

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Well in this case there is some geological evidence that confirms the Coptic account that something happened around that time. I'm also not aware of any anthropological evidence on the Syriac side of things (Orthodox and Catholics etc. love to build churches, monasteries etc. in places where miracles happened).


It should also be noted that the Coptic pope at that time came from Syria. I have heard that Syrians tell stories like this, but my theory had been that it was because the Pope's countrymen were circulating the story, but the details got garbled and people began to assume that it happened in Syria. Up until, hearing your version, I've heard stories, but nobody gave a specific time and location which is always a bit fishy.

But anyway I believe this story got passed onto the East Syriac Church which was schismatic from the Oriental Orthodox (Because of Nestorius and Nestorianism) but the two did occupy some territories together in the middle ages. And since the Nestorians had churches up the Silk and Spice road that would explain how it would have been passed to the Mongols and Chinese since the Church of the East was well established there until the genocide by Tamerlane in the high middle ages.
 
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Reading a bit about this, I read now that the original settlement at Cairo was called Babylon. It was a fortress built under the Persians, perhaps by some of their Babylonian troops. The Romans later rebuilt it, and it was a bishopric in Roman Egypt. This town of Babylon is the nucleus of Old Cairo, later absorbed by the new town built by the Fatimids.

Now, Baghdad in Iraq has often been equated to Babylon, due to geography and serving as the chief town of Mesopotamia. In mediaeval times it was often assumed to be Babylon - as other towns like Ctesiphon or Seleucia as well. So a Tanner from Babylon could easily be understood as a Tanner from Baghdad to a Syrian.

The Travels of Marco Polo doesn't give as much detail as the Coptic version though. I think the exact date of 1225 is on account of this being the last year of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Nasir - the last really effective Caliph at Baghdad. You'd rather give a downturn to a real villain, an actual threat to the Christians in the tale, than the paper tigers the Caliphs became. Regardless, I am fairly convinced this is merely a re-telling of the Coptic version.
 
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Well in this case there is some geological evidence that confirms the Coptic account that something happened around that time. I'm also not aware of any anthropological evidence on the Syriac side of things (Orthodox and Catholics etc. love to build churches, monasteries etc. in places where miracles happened).
What Geologic evidence if I may ask?
It should also be noted that the Coptic pope at that time came from Syria. I have heard that Syrians tell stories like this, but my theory had been that it was because the Pope's countrymen were circulating the story, but the details got garbled and people began to assume that it happened in Syria. Up until, hearing your version, I've heard stories, but nobody gave a specific time and location which is always a bit fishy.

But anyway I believe this story got passed onto the East Syriac Church which was schismatic from the Oriental Orthodox (Because of Nestorius and Nestorianism) but the two did occupy some territories together in the middle ages. And since the Nestorians had churches up the Silk and Spice road that would explain how it would have been passed to the Mongols and Chinese since the Church of the East was well established there until the genocide by Tamerlane in the high middle ages.

It need not have travelled up to China or Mongolia. Marco Polo travelled via the Middle East to reach the court of Kublai Khan, so he could easily have heard it in Antioch or Damascus as well. That is, if Rustichello di Pisa, that actually wrote the Travels, didn't just add it of his own accord, and he made the Babylon/Baghdad error with just an invented date for effect.
 
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What Geologic evidence if I may ask?

Well I recall the event actually was covered in Egyptian geological and natural science text books all the way into 2010 (where Muslim brotherhood began affecting policy). In the same way you can date trees by their rings, you can do the same thing with rock and rock layers etc. So if I recall there are signs of an earth quake in the rock that date to the Coptic event and also the rock of Mokkatam, matches the characteristics and signature of the type of rock of the area it was cut from (Their is a small hill or rock formation where the event started that was left behind).
 
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