While we were up north, we visited the Samaritan community on Mount Gerizim. There are two Samaritan communities now days, the other is near Tel Aviv. There are only about 750 Samaritans in total. The first picture is of the Dean of Saint George's College, the Very Rev. Graham Dean, greeting the Samaritan Priest who spoke to our group of pilgrims from VTS. The second picture is of the priest introducing the Samaritan alphabet to us, explaining that it is different from the Hebrew alphabet because it has never changed--and is thus the true alphabet for the children of Abraham.
The Samaritans accept as scripture only the Torah. They still practice animal sacrifice, but only at passover. On that occasion the whole of the Samaritan people gather on Mt. Gerizim for the celebration on their liberation from bondage in Egypt. To understand more about who the Samaritans are and how they came to be separate from the the Jews, Nehemiah 13 is helpful.
Mike
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