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| The Church of the Holy Sepulcher |
The Church is regarded as the holiest site for Christians around the world. It's one of those places where we would love to return and bring Mike's very devout Christian mother to, who can truly appreciate the significance of this place. (Akiko's mom would also have enjoyed the visit, but she's already in heaven. No need to visit Jerusalem anymore!)
We found a great iPhone app called "Jerusalem Old City Audio Walking Tours" that helped give us perspective on these important landmarks while we walked. As a side note, the app has several wheelchair accessible guided tours!
We know it's not the same as being here, but perhaps you could get a feel for the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross) walk and see the sites inside The Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
LION'S GATE
We started the walk around 11am on a Friday, and we're quickly caught up in the massive hoard of Muslims pouring in through the gate to attend service at the nearby mosque on their holy day of the week. We noticed a significant presence by the Israeli army and police force keeping vigilance.
BIRTHPLACE OF VIRGIN MARY and POOL OF BETHESDA
As soon as we got past the Lion's Gate, we came across St. Anne's church, erected over the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. Nearby is the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed a lame man. We didn't go in to see the pool.
STATION 1: ANTONIA FORTRESS
There are 14 significant parts along the walk, and this is the first. The fortress was the headquarters of the Roman garrison where Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to death. Today, this is a Muslim school for boys.
STATION 2: FLAGELLATION CHAPEL and CONDEMNATION CHAPEL
Across the path from the garrison are 2 chapels built over the sites where the Romans mockingly made Jesus wear a royal robe and crown of thorns while getting whipped (Chapel of Flagellation); then sentenced to death by crucifixion where Jesus took up the cross for the first time (Chapel of Condemnation).
Then, once again, the path towards an arch.
"ECCE HOMO" ARCH
At this arch, Pontius Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd before sentencing him to death.
The path continues into the Armenian Quarter along the Armenian Patriarchate on the left.
STATION 3: ARMENIAN CATHOLIC CHAPEL
This is where Jesus fell for the first time, bearing the cross.
STATION 4: ARMENIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Right next to the chapel is the church built to commemorate Jesus meeting his mother, Mary.
STATION 5: SIMON OF CYRENE
A quick right turn heading uphill towards Calvary is a Franciscan chapel built at the site where Simon of Cyrene (a pilgrim to Jerusalem) helped Jesus bear the cross.
A significant ritual is for Christians to place their hand on the stone where Jesus leaned on.
STATION 6: VERONICA
So you're starting to understand that a chapel or church is built at every significant site around Jerusalem! Here's another one. This is where Veronica came out of the crowd to wipe Jesus's face, leaving an imprint of his face on her cloth.
Note the uphill path Jesus had to walk, bearing the cross.
STATION 7: JESUS FALLS A SECOND TIME
STATION 8: JESUS COMFORTS THE WEEPING WOMEN
This is the spot where Jesus, while bearing the cross, turns to the weeping women and says, "daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, weep for yourselves and your children." Luke 23:27
As we continued to climb the path, we saw some kitties taking a siesta. We knew we were finally getting close to Calvary as we got a glimpse of the dome of The Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
STATION 9: COPTIC PATRIARCHATE
This Egyptian church is where Jesus fell again for the third time.
ETHIOPIAN CHURCH
To access The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, we went across the rooftop where the Ethiopians have built their own church. The interesting connection is that the Ethiopians claim to be descendants from Judah. As the story goes, Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon (which is recorded in the Bible), and they had a son (which is conspicuously missing from the Bible).
STATION 10: COURTYARD OF THE CHURCH
From here on out, we'll just refer to The Church of the Holy Sepulcher as "The Church". We finally made it to the courtyard of The Church where Jesus was disrobed, and saw The Church for the first time. It was built over Jesus's crucifixion and tomb sites under the direction of Constantine's mother during the Byzantine Empire.
STATION 11: JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS
There are 2 chapels inside and upstairs of The Church. The Latin or Roman Catholic Chapel is the site where Jesus was nailed to the cross.
STATION 12: CRUCIFIED ON GOLGOTHA ROCK (CALVARY HILL)
The Greek Orthodox altar is built over the actual rock where the cross stood. Part of the rock can be seen where there is a fissure caused by an earthquake that is said to have occurred as soon as Jesus died. People get in line to touch the hole in the rock where the cross was placed.
STATION 13: STONE OF UNCTION
Downstairs is the Stone of Unction where Jesus's body was taken from the cross, laid, washed, anointed with oil and spices, and wrapped in strips of linen. Many pilgrims not only come to touch and kiss the stone, but bring cloths and souvenirs to place on the rock, hoping to take home some of the holiness.
The beautiful mural behind the rock depicts Jesus being taken down from the cross, being prepared for burial, and placed in Joseph of Aramathea's tomb.
STATION 14: THE TOMB OF JESUS
At the center of The Church is the tomb of Jesus, and the most important pilgrimage for Christians. As such, the line was very long to get into the inner sanctum of The Edicule and be able to touch the marble slab where the body once would have laid. The space was so small, only 5 people could go in at once, and of course everyone wanted to spend more time than they could, so the Orthodox priest had his work cut-out for him, being crowd-control-patrol-man!
CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER
With so many Christian sects, who occupies and controls The Church? Well, today it serves as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, while control of the building is shared between several Christian churches and secular entities in a complicated arrangement unchanged for centuries. The primary custodians are the Eastern Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, and Roman Catholics, with the Greek Orthodox having the lion's share.
Well, this concludes our first day in the Old City. We are very blessed to have been able to make a pilgrimage to the places we've heard about all our lives.