Archimandrite EUSTINUS Guardian Jacob's Well Church – Nablus "It's true, I got very tired. But I am happy, why? Because I am a soldier in the Holy Land, a soldier of the faith and a soldier of the Christian heritage that has been handed down to us by our ancestors." While the traces of time are clearly visible on his face, Archimandrite Eustinus - Archimandrite is the superior of a Greek Orthodox monastery - recounts a 41-year experience living in the corridors and basement of Jacob's Well Church in Nablus. All the challenges surrounding the place have not deterred his determination to continue his mission, even at the cost of his life. Archimandrite EUSTINUS Guardian Jacob's Well Church – Nablus "To face most of the days of my life, my fatigue, my fear and all that I have experienced here I draw my strength from God. I have been here in Palestine for 61 years: I served for a year and a half in the Jerusalem Patriarchate and then moved to Bethlehem until the 1967 war. Then I spent 10 years in Beit Jala, then in Tiberias, and in 1980, when the priest who was here was killed, I came in his place. I have been here for 41 years." Immediately after his arrival in Nablus, Father Eustinus took care to complete the construction of Jacob's Well Church, first built in the 4th century. It was destroyed several times in subsequent periods until its construction was completed in 2018. Archimandrite EUSTINUS Guardian Jacob's Well Church – Nablus "Yasser Arafat came to honour me for what I gave to the poor during the war, so I told him: Why these medals, I don't need them! He replied: We owe you. So I asked him for permission to complete the construction of the church and, thank God, in 10 years I was able to complete the building. I was the engineer, the contractor, the beggar and the painter. I painted all the icons in the church." Yet Archimandrite Eustinius was not only an engineer, an entrepreneur, a watchman and a painter, but also a kind of 'barkeeper', who offered visitors of different religions a cup of love, peace and coexistence from Jacob's Well. The name of the church, 'Jacob's Well', is due to the name of the well underneath it: the Bible says that when Jacob returned to Shechem, he camped in front of the town, bought some land and built a well and an altar. In the same place Jesus met the Samaritan woman, to whom he said "Let me drink". The amphora that the woman carried is still kept in the church. Do not be fooled by the wrinkles on Archimandrite Eustinus' face, his white beard, his slim body and his age, for in the soul one never grows old. Archimandrite EUSTINUS Guardian Jacob's Well Church – Nablus "I really hope to get permission to build a church in Sebastia, on the site where John the Baptist was beheaded: the area has been in the possession of Muslims for 240 years, and I bought it about 36 years ago. I ask the Lord, before closing my eyes, to give me permission to complete this church, the Church of John the Baptist." Archimandrite EUSTINUS Guardian Jacob's Well Church – Nablus "I am 81 years old, my grave is already outside the church: This is life for me, and one should think not of earthly life but of eternal life. All this effort to be six feet tall." Life is not measured by the number of days, but rather by good deeds and willingness to give, both of which were always present in the life of Archimandrite Eustinus. Read More