As part of a genuine Muslim-Christian dialogue, Christian and Muslim pilgrims go to this place to celebrate together the cult of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.
Seven youths of Ephesus palace walled up alive after refusing to renounce their Christian faith
The story of the Seven sleepers is common to Eastern and Western Christians as well as to Muslims. According to the legend, in the third century, seven young Christians from Ephesus , -the name of a Greek and pagan city from Anatolia-, hid in a cave to resist the obligation to worship gods of Rome and to eat unclean meat. After being walled up alive with their dog, they fell into a mysterious sleep, then awoke miraculously for a few hours several centuries later in 448, when Emperor Theodosius II was reigning in Byzantium.
The Seven Sleepers, a symbol of resistance to persecution for both Christian and Muslim believers
For Christian as well as for Muslim believers, the Seven Sleepers symbolise the resistance to persecution because they dared to assert their faith in a unique God. This miraculous story, which made the “Seven Sleepers early witnesses of the Resurrection, as well as heroes of the abandonment to God in solitude” (see Qantara– the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus), belonged to both Christianity and Islam.
Some Greek missionaries accompanying eastern traders on the route of pewter allegedly introduced the cult to the Vieux-Marche.
In 1954, Louis Massignon, a famous French Orientalist advocated to bridge the gap between Christians and Muslims at a time of turmoil in French Algeria. To support this cause, he set up a Muslim-Christian annual meeting in the hamlet of the Seven Saints/town of Vieux-Marche, which is still continuing until today.
Still alive in this place, druidic traditions fit in harmoniously with Christians and Muslims rituals
This year, the pilgrimage is of special relevance. Indeed, it coincides with the beginning of the Ramadan. It marks also the 50th anniversary of the death of Louis Massignon.
Father Jean Jacques Pérennès, director of the Dominican Institute of oriental studies in Cairo, in presence of Jean-Marie Lassausse, priest of the Mission de France at Tibhirine in Algeria, celebrates mass of the forgiveness in the chapel of the Seven Saints, built on an ancient dolmen.
Then, a Christian procession crosses the field while Muslims break the fast a few meters away. Called Tantad in Breton language and symbolizing the renewal, a bonfire is later lit in the village.
Druidic roots of Brittany are still alive in this village. In a kind of syncretism, druidic traditions fit in harmoniously with Christians and Muslims rituals.
Muslim figures like Ghaleb Bencheikh, at this time president of the World Conference of the Religions for the Peace, and Mohammed Idali a plastic calligrapher, attend the ceremony. A Muslim-Christian couple is also here.
A Sura dedicated to the martyrs of Seven Sleepers of Ephesus is recited at the fountain of the Seven Saints
The following morning, in front of Muslim and Christian pilgrims, the Imam of the prison of Rennes, Mohammas Loueslati, at the nearby fountain of the Seven Saints, chants in Arabic language Sura 18 of the Koran dedicated to the martyrs of Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.
Undoubtedly, this surprising gathering is unique in France. It takes on particular resonance in these times of Arab Spring but also of religious tensions across the world.
