Chapter XL
Sitt Katarina was sitting at the table already and motioned to me to sit at her right hand.
"Welcome, Fuad," she said as the servants brought food and put it on the table. "Today is Friday and so today we do not eat meat. There is, therefore, nothing here which will offend you. There are beans, salad, couscous, and wine or water to drink. Eat, in the name of God."
"Sitt, you are most kind," I said.
Sitt Katarina did not eat, but sat attentively and made sure that plenty of food was put before me, urging me to eat until at last I belched loudly and sat back.
"Are you sure you have eaten enough?" she enquired anxiously.
When I assured her that I was full she clapped her hands and the servants brought figs and raisins and set them before me. This time, to encourage me, she took up a bunch of raisins and picked at them while I ate a couple of figs.
"I don't often receive Muslims in this house," Sitt Katarina remarked. "Usually I have to put up with those heretics, the Greeks or the Franks."
"Heretics?" I raised my eyebrows. "But surely they are Christians, like you?"
"They call themselves Christians," Sitt Katarina said, "but they are far from the true faith."
"Well," I said, taking another fig, "I know of the differences between Greeks and Latins, that it is a matter of the Spirit of God. What is the difference between you and them?"
Sitt Katarina leaned back in her chair. "I am only a woman, so I do not understand these matters perfectly. Nevertheless, I will do my best to explain it to you. Are you the same flesh as a dog?"
"Of course not!" I exclaimed, drawing myself up.
"Are you the same flesh as myself or Madame Melisande?"
"Yes, I think so."
"This is what in our language we call 'ousia'. You and I are of human 'ousia', but you and a dog are of different 'ousia' - as are djinn and afrits, fish, birds and angels. We believe that Jesus was of the same 'ousia' as us but he was also of the same 'ousia' as God."
I nodded. "Yes, I understand this. I do not accept it, but I understand it."
Sitt Katarina smiled. "I am not asking you to believe anything. I am merely explaining as best I can. So you understand that Christians believe that Jesus had two forms of 'ousia' - He had human 'ousia' and He had divine 'ousia'?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Now," Sitt Katarina continued, "everything also has a nature, which dictates how it will act. It is the nature of dew to rise to the heavens, it is the nature of rain to descend. It is the nature of dogs to bite and it is the nature of fish to live without air. It is the nature of a woman to be submissive and to care for her children, it is the nature of a man to be strong, to fight and to enjoy adventures. Do you understand this?"
"I think so," I said.
"Now we are certain that Jesus had the nature of a man, because He was a man. The question arises whether He also had the nature of God, or whether in some way the nature of God was mixed in with the nature of man to produce a Divine-human nature."
"Surely Jesus had both the nature of man and also the nature of God," I said.
Sitt Katarina nodded her head. "These heterodox Franks and Greeks say that Jesus had two distinct natures but somehow they were united to make a mixture of human and divine, but the holy Nestorius taught us that Jesus had two natures - human and divine - that were both distinct and separate."
"But surely your Injil will tell you of this?" I protested.
"No," Sitt Katarina threw up her hands. "This is not written in our book - at least, so far as I know it is not written. Those who wrote our holy books were simple men who wrote what they knew and understood. It has been left to other men to decide these more complicated matters, and of these Nestorius is the greatest and the only one to teach the truth."
"Wallah!" I sat back in my chair. "Truly God alone is wise, all-knowing. I am a bedu of the Bani Ibrim. What do I know about such matters?"
Sitt Katarina smiled at me. "Even a bedu may understand matters as I have explained them to you. Anyway, I think that you are not as simple and ignorant as you make out. Seek for a priest of our religion and let him talk to you; he will convince you of the truth of what I say."
After this we talked of many things and Sitt Katarina told me that she dared not speak of her beliefs openly to other Christians, for they would cause trouble for her. Indeed, in the time when the Rumi were ruling in Philistine those who followed Nestorius were greatly persecuted so that some were killed and many fled to Persia to find relief.
"When you Muslims ruled here, we were free to worship openly," Sitt Katarina told me. "Now, however, we have to be careful again, for the Latins rule in our land and they are no lovers of the truth. That is why I can only speak of these things to people like you."
"What about Madame Melisande?" I asked.
Sitt Katarina shrugged. "She is a good soul and means well, but even to her I dare not speak of such things. She intends no harm but she is a Frank and only simple matters find room in her head. Even if she understood the difference between two natures united and two natures separate, she would be confused - and if she should seek counsel from her priest then I would be in trouble."
In the morning Sitt Katarina kissed me as boldly as the Frankish women and bade me stay with her if I came to Kerak again.
"It was good to talk to you last night," she said. "Even to Muslims I usually do not dare to speak of such matters, but you are young and somehow I sensed that you would understand."
