The Cup

CHAPTER 31

Stephanie came into Elizabeth's office and sat down on a chair near the desk.

"Why don't you sit on the couch?" Elizabeth said. "It's more comfortable."

"Not anymore," Stephanie said. "Not until the baby gets here. It's too hard to climb out of it."

"You look as though you've discovered something."

"That monk on the tile they found in Greece? He's a Syriac Orthodox monk."

"Syriac? From Syria?"

"He might be from Syria but that's not what Syriac means. It's a branch of Christianity. They claim to be the oldest Christian church in the world, beginning in 37 CE at Antioch. Their Patriarch is in Damascus."

"I've never heard of them."

"I'm convinced the two tiles together form a message about the Grail. Anastasius had it and gave it to the monk on the second tile."

"The Syriac monk."

"Yes. So looking for the Grail means looking for a Syriac Orthodox monastery."

"How did you identify the monk?"

"From the staff on the tile, with the two snakes and the diamond cross on the top. That's the symbol of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate. The Patriarch holds one as his staff of office, like the Pope's shepherd's crook."

"At least it narrows things down a little bit."

"More than a little," Stephanie said. "The Grail changed hands at the end of the fourth century. There was only one Syriac Orthodox monastery in the right timeframe, Mor Gabriel. It was founded not long after Anastasius left Italy for the monastery at Sumela. It's also in Turkey."

"It still exists?"

"It does."

"And you think the Grail was taken there."

"It's a logical assumption, if I'm right about the tiles."

"That's a big if."

"Yes. There's a problem, though."

"There's always a problem. What is it this time?"

"People have been murdering monks and nuns at Mor Gabriel for centuries. The Turks, the Assyrians, Tamerlane, the Kurds, it's one long history of persecution. Now the current government is after them."

"Why?"

"The Kurds and Turks killed thousands of Syriac Christians during World War I and the monastery has been lobbying for international condemnation of the murders as genocide. There's also a dispute over land the monks have owned since it was founded. Ankara is getting ready to take it over and kick the monks out."

"If the Grail is there, they'd find it."

"I'm not sure they would," Stephanie said. "The monks have hidden it this long. I can't see them leaving it where the Turks could get it."

"That makes sense if they know what's coming," Elizabeth said. "But if Ankara pulls a surprise raid, they might not have time to get it out of there. Assuming it's there in the first place."

"There's only one way to find out. You have to send the team to Turkey."