This day we caught buses that took us to New Gate, which is in the Christian Quarter. The first stop on the list was to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I will admit that I haven't thought very highly of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher before, but I really, really enjoyed it. It was great going through every part with the professors. I was under the impression that everyone was crazy for thinking that was the site of Christ's crucifixion and burial and resurrection, but I was informed that there is valid evidence for it, and that it is as much a candidate as the Garden Tomb is, because they both meet all the requirements.
They were both outside the walls of the city at the time of Christ. They both have hills where he could have been crucified, and both have tomb candidates. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher just has a church built over it, so the tomb isn't really preserved (or the hill) in its natural form. The tomb walls have all been carved away and etc, and now there's an etitaph (?) over it. Or a big....wooden....tent, thing. Kind of like a mini house. Oh it's made out of stone with a scaffolding around it, because it's so old.
Anyway. Here's some history. Constantine, the emperor of Rome who converted to Christianity and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, sent his mother, who was a Christian that married a pagan emperor, Helena to the Holy Land in the 4th Century to find the Holy Places of Christ's life and to build churches around them. He gave her a huge bank account, basically, and told her to go find Christ in the Holy Land. So, she came here and talked to Christians in the area and asked them where they sanctified Christ for all of the different parts of His life. So all the areas that are traditional and have huge churches built on top of them are because of her and the traditions of Christians in the area. And they could be valid, it's true. I mean, if it is passed down from people, it could still be the same places that Christ did perform these acts. But that's the story.
Anyway, the Church today is pretty funny because there are about 6 denominations that lay claim on it. They all have a set schedule for worship, and the whole thing is divided into sections that each denomination claims. The three main ones are the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, and the Armenian Church. The others include the Syriac Church, the Ethiopians, and some others. It's pretty crazy. They have had disputes, and actually there have been some fist-fights, between priests over some things like sweeping a particular area at the right or wrong time. Kind of interesting.
So we went around and saw Golgotha, which is in the Greek Orthodox side, and then Adam's Church underneath it, because most Christians believe that Adam's tomb is underneath Golgotha and that is why it is "the place of the skull." We went around to all the different denominations, and where they think Christ was held in prison. Christ's fourth prison, and the different places where they....pay tribute (I guess) to the different events, like the Roman Soldier spearing Christ's side, the soldiers dividing his clothes, and then there's a spot where Mary fainted when she saw Christ on the cross. It's really an interesting place. It's even more so now that we know what each little nook and cranny means.
This is Brother Emmett outside the Church in the courtyard, teaching away :)
This is upstairs at Golgotha. It's really an interesting layout of the Church. Like they found the holy site and then constructed this huge building to fit into the landscape. I didn't understand it at first, but now I do and it is easier to make sense of.
These are out of order, but this is outside at the top of the column on the left hand side of the entrance.... it's graffiti from 1389. You can't see the date very well, but it's there, on the left of the bit triangular thing... How cool is that? These places are OLD!
Kind of fuzzy...but proof that I was here!
It was a bad hair day.....but don't worry, I eventually put it up haha. So, there's the Church of the Holy Sepulcher!After that we went to Saint Savior's Church, where brother Whipple played the concert a while ago, with all the Mendelssohn Sonatas. A Filipino Priest, Father Angelo, who is the only one who will take Mormons on tours for some reason or another, and who is an amazing, brilliant man who decided to become a monk at age 39 (and sold everything he owned to do so -- which I have heard included a $3 million dollar home...), took us around the monastery. He showed us where Orson Hyde stayed there, once upon a time, and carved his name into the back of a door. I guess that's one way to leave your mark...literally. But hey, it's pretty sweet.
This is Father Angelo, leading us around the Monastery. I just liked it...
Orson Hyde's graffiti... :)
The door the Orson Hyde scratched his name into is in a room that is now the tailor's office, so here's all 41 of us cramming into the tailor's room :)
This is, from left to right, Adam Bahr, Richie Beck, Chelsea Ellsworth, Father Angelo, Me, and Michelle Christensen.After that we went over to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and we saw a courtyard which Brother Emmet pointed out is similar to a lot of styles of courtyards in homes of Muslims and etc, so the women don't have to be exposed to the outside world and can have a private outside area. Then we went into a chapel and we all sang hymns from their hymn books! There were a bunch in English. We sang mostly Christmas songs, in English, and then at the very end we sang Silent Night in German! It was beautiful.
This is the inner courtyard, which was beautiful...perhaps I should have one in my home someday. Complete with ivy and big beautiful trees...oh and a very old church. Yes?
The Lutheran (Protestant) Chapel. I just like the contrast between Catholic churches and Lutheran Churches.
Us singing from their hymnals. They had a ton of Christmas music in there! It was great!Our last stop for the day was to St. Mark's Church, which is the Aramaic Church. Aramaic is the original language of Jesus Christ, it is believed. That church is also where the Upper Room supposedly is (there are two claims on the upper room....), but it's in the basement now because of having 2000 years of growth built up around it. It's pretty crazy. It also has been cut in half because they started entombing priests in the other half of the room... So there you go! The woman who is the caretaker is quite the Character. She spoke English, but not entirely fluently, and she told us about the miracles that have happened in the Church. There was one she said happened a year ago, and a man who spoke only Hebrew came to talk to her, in Hebrew (which she doesn't speak) and she heard English and responded in English, and he heard Hebrew. They talked for an hour, never realizing it, and then he left. Three months later he came back, and tried speaking to her again, and they both became very frustrated (and the man was angry because he thought she was just not speaking Hebrew to him.) Then a man came and translated and they figured out what happened. So. Miracles do happen. I sat there skeptically, listening to her, and just thinking she was some crazy lady. And someone pointed out that as Mormons, we don't have the corner on miracles. If someone has the faith to be healed, they can be healed. God loves all of His children, and gives equally to all those who are faithful. So that put me in my place a little bit. I repent.
St. Mark's Church - which is called "The First Church."
This is inside. It's pretty humble, not very big. That is the Aramaic-speaking lady :) God Bless her :)
This is the basement, which is the upper-room!
And here's me in the upper-room, even though the flash only shows me, instead of the room...After that we had a little bit of free time, and we got some bread with Zatar - that spice that I love so much. It was yummy. Then we got our lunches from the bus, and we all hopped on and we rode to part two of the day....the herodian fortress!
The herodian fortress is one of Herod's many projects. He built it for...you guessed it....war! It's a fortress...come on people. It was cool though. It had a great view at the top, a lot of old foundations of buildings. Some crusader buildings on top of those buildings...and a huge cistern/water system underneath. SO basically it was very, very familiar to us....but the cool thing is that it had an awesome view of Bethlehem, Shepherd's fields, and it was in the West Bank! We had to go through a checkpoint to get there. It was cool. You could see the differences. It definitely looked less "big city" and more poor. It was a neat experience. Especially because we're going to Bethlehem on Thursday!
Me and the Herodian Fortress.
That is Bethlehem off in the distance!
Bethlehem to the back top right, and the Shepherd's fields off to the left!
This is inside the fortress, with the tower and etc. Love ruins! They're so....old.
YEESSS! More cisterns! Actually, they are way cool. There just not as unique or uncommon as I once thought they were. :)Anyway, after that we rode home and got our tired bums off the bus, and went to dinner!
Ma'salame folks!
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