The Christian Jerusalem
Trip Start
Sep 17, 2007
1
208
272
Trip End
Oct 08, 2008
Jerusalem,
Israel
Monday, June 30, 2008
I say "we." Obviously I have nothing to do with these churches, but I am a Christian, so there you go. But it's also not that easy. The only place in Jerusalem where I found some real spiritual satisfaction was in a Lutheran Church that had nothing to do with any holy place at all. The vast majority of Christian sites in the Holy Land are maintained and run by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic churches
Christian Quarter
. None of these are Protestant. Some people don't really get the differences among these faiths, and that's fine, but I do, and it certainly made an impression on my travels in the Holy Land. Briefly - Coptic and Ethiopian Churches are ancient and they disagree with Orthodox Christianity because they believe that Christ was wholly divine rather than a divine human. I can't go much deeper because my studies haven't delved into these branches thoroughly, but that seems to be the basic gist. Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism differ in several ways, but I think the best way to describe it is to think of the Roman Catholicism as the brain, logical and calculating (not in a bad way), while Orthodoxy is the heart, more involved in the ephemeral and contemplative (also not in a bad way). You can sense this when you enter one church or another. Catholic Churches feel orderly, but still spiritual, while Orthodox Churches tend to have a bit of the mystical about them. And if you go to an Orthodox mass most people are praying and worshiping together but there are always people running around praying at Icons and doing their own thing also. It's not something you generally see in a Roman Catholic Church. The difference between these and Protestant Churches I'll come to in a moment.
Pretty much every Christian holy site in the Middle East was "discovered" by Empress Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine
Greek Orthodox Patricharchate
. Her conversion led to his, and then onward to the Holy Roman Empire (did you always wonder why it was holy?). So Helena decided to go root out holy things and proceeded to find everything she searched for. Thus, the traditional sites - the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dormition Abbey, the Church of the Annunciation, Mt. Sinai - are all thanks to Helena. The most famous is of course the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Here Helena found three crosses buried and hauled the biggest one back to Constantinople as a relic of the cross Jesus himself was crucified on. So there you have it. A woman with absolutely no historical or archaeological training has dictated numerous places of worship where piles of Christians now prostrate themselves daily. We began our Christian explorations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A less spiritual place it would be hard to find. The church is a massive cave run by Catholic, Orthodox, and Coptic Churches (this leads to conflicts regularly about things as little as maintenance) and it is so jam-packed with tourists (both religious and non-religious) that one would be hard-pressed to find a quiet place to pray anywhere. The main event is the sepulchre itself, a large, wooden edifice standing under the grand rotunda. To enter you must stand in line (it goes moderately quickly) and wait your turn.
While Travis and I were standing in line a woman with a sleeveless shirt tried to enter after standing in the line for ages and was refused entry due to indecent dress. I lent her one of my scarves, and next to me the Catholic praying on his rosary commented that I was a good person. I just know that I'd be massively irritated if I'd stood in line for half and hour and didn't know I needed to cover my shoulders because there was no sign
nuns processing the Via Dolorosa
. Just so you know, you can't go to any holy site of any faith with your shoulders or your knees showing, and in Orthodox churches and mosques women should also cover their heads. The sepulchre was quiet in the middle of the chaotic church, a simple marble tomb quietly lit in a rather Orthodox fashion. But soon our moment was over and we were back into the crowd. Wandering the church we appreciated loads of different artwork. There was a grotto for prayer down a couple levels, and I was startled a couple times by priests coming about shaking their incense thingies. In one room there's a stone where the cross was supposed to have stood, and then in the main entry of the church a stone slab. I later learned that this was the stone of unction where Christ was prepared for burial, which explained why people were praying over it and kissing it. In the upper levels of the church are three of the last four Stations of the Cross. All are richly decorated and all are busy with praying people. All in all it was good to see this site of tradition, but it was so chaotic and no information was provided by the church about the site, I was glad to escape to the calm of the street.
The Stations of the Cross. You can walk on your own down the Via Dolorosa to see all the stations before finally arriving at the Holy Sepulchre, but on Fridays the Franciscans lead a procession, and that is a whole different experience
monks and nuns
. I knew that the Stations were a Catholic thing but I had no idea how much this was true until we started processing. I felt like the only person on the procession who had no idea what the hymns were that we were singing. But each time the monks stopped and said their little piece at each station I felt like it was a valuable and interesting experience. We were a massive group of people, and there were loads of monks and priests and nuns making their way in worship as well. I think it was possibly the only time that a group of Christians took over streets of the city. Mt. Zion is a place of legend. Jerusalem is known poetically as Zion, of course, but still, there's a certain ring to Mt. Zion. The present Mt. Zion is not, in fact, on Mt. Zion, but it's accepted as is. This is the location where Mary was said to have lived and died and is also held to be the site of the Last Supper. For good measure the Tomb of David is also on Mt. Zion (but the truth is that it's not a tomb - it's a cenotaph - the actual tomb is in the City of David a couple miles east).
The Dormition Abbey is beautiful. The church is round and looks like a castle and is decorated with amazing mosaic. In the crypt there's a wooden sleeping Mary with some kind of white inlay for her face and hands
holy people
. As we proceeded down there was a man worshipping with particular ardor, and I can appreciate that, but I couldn't really get past the way that the image of the dead Mary creeped me out. I took refuge in more Mary and Christ artwork that lined the walls. Additionally, being the cynic that I was destined to be for this leg of the journey, I couldn't figure out how the dormition of Mary resulted in her being carried bodily to heaven, and yet she was supposedly buried in Jerusalem. Moving on we wound up in the tomb of King David. As a Jewish site we were segregated and I was the only woman on my side while Travis got to contend with Hasidic Jews. So I got a slightly more up close and personal look at the tomb which I only later learned was a cenotaph. I was a little bummed. It would have been pretty sweet to have laid hands on David's tomb and he was actually in it.
Somehow on this trip we completely missed the Coenaculum - the room of the Last Supper. What we did do was climb onto a roof (the view from the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer is way better) and rescue a kitten. Coming down from the roof I noticed a couple who had a habit of carrying cat food and plates and feeding cats they found. At Zion there was a mother and a slightly aged kitten
stations of the cross
. It wasn't full-grown, but it was at an age where it would have been hunting for itself, and it certainly would have had its eyes open. But it is the way of the world that all kittens do not open their eyes. The eyes were not happy with the situation and a disgusting quantity of puss covered the poor kitten's face. The woman was quite unhappy about this, so I happily informed her that all she had to do was pull the eyes open. My farm kid friends always laugh when I make as if I'm not a city kid, but the fact is that I did learn some stuff back at the ranch. And so we saved the kitten's life and let it see and it totally made my (and that lady's) day. I'd have to say there's more to being a good Christian than just visiting the sites. When we finally found the Coenaculum - it was smaller than expected, and quite plain. The flat table-like niche is supposed to be where Jesus sat. But there was a mihrab. Why was there a niche pointing the way to Mecca in a Christian site? I guess it wasn't always the site of the Last Supper.
Last stop on the list of Christian things to do - Mount of Olives. I think most people actually go to the Mount of Olives to get a nice view of the Old City with the Dome of the Rock front and center. Our goal was to do this, but also to see the spot where Jesus was betrayed. We climbed up to this little chapel where Jesus was supposed to have cried over Jerusalem. It was a very apt place, having as it did a perfect view of the city. As we made our way back down the hill we passed the Jewish cemetery. Travis informed me that the Mount of Olives is where the Judgement Day is supposed to start happening and so the cemetery's there so those people can be first in line. I asked why there would need to be a line if God were omnipotent, since God could judge all people simultaneously
walking the sorrowful way
. Couldn't figure that one out. At the bottom of the hill is the Basilica of the Agony, a large, slightly gloomy place. It plays host to the garden of Gethsemane, and the olive trees (which can honestly grow for thousands of years) are supposed to have witnessed Christ's betrayal. Across the way is the Grotto of Mary, where she's supposed to be burried. Back to the problem with the whole carried bodily to heaven and still buried on earth. I couldn't stay long, but Travis took a moment to appreciate the grotto. They're big on grottos in Christian sites. The Franciscans got kicked out of that grotto, so they had their own little grotto of Gethsemane right next door, and I was much more comfortable here. But then it was closing time and the friendly priest waved us home.
Now, none of these places are really Protestant. Certainly none are run by Protestant churches. There is, in Jerusalem, one notable exception. This is the Garden Tomb. The Garden Tomb is held by many Protestants to be the true site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. The reasons are thoroughly outlined in the free tour (something you also don't get anywhere else). Basically, people started looking for other sites because the present Holy Sepulchre is inside the city walls and Jesus was obviously killed outside the city walls. Well, at the time of the crucifixion the Holy Sepulchre was actually outside the city walls, but the searching had begun and some people thought they found a more sensible place. It was on a main highway next to a hill that looked like a skull (Golgotha and Calvary both mean "skull"), and it was next to a garden owned by a rich man who had a shiny new tomb that just happened to have a closing stone about five times the normal size
the Holy Sepulchre
. Romans crucified people on highways so they would be seen by others, Golgotha and the garden are mentioned in the Bible, and three women would have had no problem moving a nomal stone, so why were they fussing about how to move the stone on Sunday unless it was monstrous big. It's all quite sensible and interesting, and there's an acutal ancient tomb there. And they don't say that it is for absolute certain the site because it's impossible to say for certain. But that's not what makes the Protestant different from the rest. The difference is that there's a little spot for prayer and worship, but no church. It doesn't have the ceremonial kitsch. Protestants have ceremony, sometimes very like Catholic ceremony, but when you get down to the grit of it, Protestantism is a bit plainer. In the 15th century religion got reevaluated and stripped down and we got Protestantism. Of course, the history is quite complicated, and it greatly influenced me in zillions of ways and not only in Jerusalem, and if you'd like to hear all the gory historical details at any time I'm more than willing to bore you senseless.
So Christian Jerusalem isn't really a land situation, although you've got the Christian quarter and it is chock full of Christian stuff (particularly candles), but it is a huge presence in the city. And not only because of the hoardes of Spanish, American, and Italian tour groups.
Erin
