Holy Saturday in the Holy City

Holy Saturday in the Holy City

Sit down with a cup of coffee for this one!

Saturday of Holy Week we attended the Orthodox (Greek, Russian, Egyptian, Armenian...) Ceremony of Holy Fire at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  In the Orthodox traditions all the sanctuary fires are extinguished on Good Friday, and in this part of the world, at least, relighted from a new fire that is miraculously kindled in the tomb of the Holy Sepulcher on Holy Saturday.  Thousands gather from all over Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia to witness the Holy Fire, and some come to take it home to relight those sanctuary fires on Easter Sunday. 

We left the college 8:30, walked around the Old City, and waited behind a security barrier until about 10:30.  

Waiting Behind a Security Barrier

Dressed for Holy Fire!

The Israeli security guards found entrance ID’s for our pilgrims, waved the clergy in, then, at the last minute, let Judy in--they said that with her black shawl, black jersey and black skirt, she could pass for a nun!

We walked from the Zion Gate to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, arriving about 11:00.  The security gates were closing right behind us, so we thought we might be the last to enter.  But when we got to the outer courtyard, there were thousands more waiting to enter.

About 11:15 more folks came in, and the pushing and shoving began.  About 11:30 another group entered, and the pushing and shoving became quite intense.  When things settled down a little, I made acquaintances with some folks from Egypt on my right from Russia on my left.  Then, about 12:00 noon, some folks showed up who bullied their way through the very densely packed crowd until they were up front. (I now understand that it is a kindness that they kill sardines before they put them into cans.)  By 12:10 the temperature in the crowd must have 98.6.  Waiting was excruciating.

The Procession Begins!

At a few minutes before 2:00 a great procession began around the tomb.   Then at 2:00 all the lights were turned off.  A few minutes after 2:00 the Greek Patriarch entered the tomb, followed shortly by the Armenian Patriarch.   (We couldn't see any of that.)  After a minute or two, they emerged with the Holy Fire.  They passed the flames to others, who passed it outward to the crowd.  Almost everyone was carrying at least one bundle of 33 candles (one for each year of Jesus’s life), so within seconds the church was brightly illuminated.   Within minutes it was also full of smoke.  As the passing of the fire began, there was a huge surge toward the tomb.  As the fire spread, there was a surge away from the flames.

It took nearly a half hour of being pushed and shoved to exit the smoke-filled church.  We left hot, exhausted, dehydrated and famished.

I think there were at least 10,000 inside the church for the ceremony.

The Ceremony Begins

About 8:00 in the evening, we attended the Ethiopian Easter Vigil (part of it anyway) on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  

The Light Grows.

Again the crowd was huge, and since the ceremony lasted for hours and hours, the Israeli security folks let groups up to the roof-top as crowd conditions allowed.  Our little group was among the few non-Africans on the roof-top during our time there.  We were welcomed with smiles, and made to feel at home.  A ceremony was taking place across the roof top, which seemed to involve lighting candles.  Soon the light was overcoming the darkness, and people were sharing their candles with us. 

The Darkness Is Overcome.

 A great procession began around one of the rooftop domes, with folks in elaborate costumes, a large banner, umbrellas (apparently at trademark of Ethiopian celebrations), and an elaborate processional cross and drums.  

The Great Procession

Before long folks were dancing in the procession, and our Course Director, Rodney, was pulled out of our little island of non-Africans and into the dance.  

One of Many Umbrellas

After a little more than an hour we made our way out, and others were allowed into the celebration.  I don’t know how many folks attended the Vigil, but I’m sure the party went on for a long time.  I smiled all the way back to Saint George’s College.

Friday of Holy Week--Good Friday in Jerusalem
We began the day by attending the Ecumenical Way of the Cross.  Together with Lutherans and Methodists and Anglicans of all description (about 200 of us), we sang, chanted and prayed our way through the traditional stations of the cross down the Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem.  At one point we converged with three other groups who were also doing the Stations of the Cross--what a chorus it was, and in at least 4 languages!  Then, after a late breakfast, we sat for an hour sharing perspectives on the passion--a very rich conversation indeed.  At noon we a Veneration of the Cross service at Saint George's Cathedral, with Holy Communion from the Reserve Sacrament.  Then, after lunch, we attended the Solemn Burial Service at the Armenian Cathedral--again, lots of very good chanting and lots of incense, and lots of processing.  The Armenians really know how to be ceremonial!  Between Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday observances, we finished the day having attended 8 Holy Week Liturgies.

Maundy Thursday in Jerusalem

Wow did the pace of things pick up on Maundy Thursday!  We started out the morning by heading to the Holy Sepulcher for an Orthodox Foot Washing ceremony.  The ceremony is held to remember and re-enact Jesus's washing of the disciple's feet on the night of the last supper.  The ceremony in held on the Parva, the large court yard outside the entrance to the church. We never made it into the  court yard because, an hour before the scheduled start of the ceremony, it was already full.  So we turned right, went up a few stairs, and attended a Coptic ceremony instead.  There was room for us to sit, lots of chanting, lots of changes of vestments, but I had to leave 75 minutes into the ceremony (because of the Chrism Mass at Saint George's Cathedral) without seeing any feet being washed.  In the afternoon we attended another Foot Washing ceremony at the Armenian Cathedral.  There were places to sit for (only) the clergy, there was lots of very good chanting, lots of incense, and the Armenian Patriarch  washed the feet of his bishops.  Then in the evening we attended the Foot Washing Mass at Saint George's Cathedral--our pilgrims and course leader were among the 12 representatives of the people who had their feet washed by our Diocesan Bishop, Suhiel Dawani.  By the time we made it to bed, we had been into the Old City twice, and attended 3 (some of us 4) substantial liturgies.

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Wednesday of Holy Week

Wednesday of Holy Week was crowned by a time of reflection at the Church of Peter in Gallicantu--the place that commemorates the house of Caiaphas the High Priest, where Jesus's trial took place and where Peter denied him.  The art work of this beautiful place truly captures the scope of Peter's denial, remorse, and his restoration into the role Jesus gave him as the "keeper of the keys."

We spent the afternoon with a lecture of the Orthodox liturgies of the next 4 days.  Now our stage is set for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Morning.

Saint Peter in Gallicantu Church

And Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Tuesday of Holy Week

The Risen With Christ Course started the day at Pater Noster, the church originally built over a grotto where it is believed Jesus taught his apocalyptic discourses during the first Holy Week.  Today it mostly commemorates the teaching of the Lord's Prayer.  The conversation about Jesus's teaching about the end times, and the relation those lessons have to preaching and teaching in the 21st century was very rich.  Then we walked down the Mount of Olives, retracing much of the route we took on Sunday, to the Church of all Nations (also known as the Church of the Agony) and the Garden of Gethsemane.  The combination of the garden and church and the passage out of Luke about Jesus's prayer in the garden was sobering, to say the least.  We finished the day with a lecture anticipating the Ceremony of Holy Fire on Saturday--something very new to me as a western Christian.

Monday of Holy Week

The Raising of Lazarus

Lazarus's empty tomb

 For Monday of Holy Week we read the Gospel narratives of Holy Week--comparing and contrasting.  What an experience to be doing so with so knowledgeable group of lay and clergy as those who have come to be part of Holy Week here this year.  In the afternoon we traveled to Bethany, the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, to reprise the stories of Jesus's the two times Jesus was anointed there in the week or so before his crucifixion, and of course to visit Lazarus's tomb and the church which commemorates the way Jesus raised him from death.  As we gathered on the SGC rooftop to reflect on the day, we could see the full moon rise--marking the beginning of Passover.  One of our pilgrims brought this nugget:  Eastern and Western Holy Weeks coincide every three years, Passover occurs during Western Holy Week once every 17 years.  It must be awhile before all three will happen like this again.

Palm Sunday 2014--In Jerusalem!

Today was a day of liturgies.  The first was a small Liturgy of the Palms and Palm/Passion Sunday in the Cathedral of Saint George's Saint Michael's chapel.  The second was a much larger service which formed up in the Saint George's College parking lot for the Liturgy of the Palms, and a grand procession into the Cathedral for Holy Eucharist.

The third was the ecumenical procession from the Church in Bethphage down the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley and up through the Lion's Gate and into the city of Jerusalem.  An early estimate forecast a crowd of about 30,000.  I don't know how many people were in the procession, but the 2+ mile walk took a little over 2 hours to accomplish.  We had people of every nation walking with us, and many were using portable amplification systems to share their music and songs.

There were guitars and drums and trumpets, and music of every kind and in all kinds of languages.  And, of course, there was dancing in the street.  It was enough to put one in mind of Pentecost!  How joyous!  How wonderful to be here where it all happened! What a great way to begin our participation in Holy Week!

Muslim-Christian Interfaith Dialogue--Part 2

 As we continued our week together, the Christians in the group were invited to enter the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on the Harem es Sharrif--a rare privilege considering today's political situation.

The Al Aqsa Mosque is a place of prayer, and five times a day the call to prayer begins with the singing of a phrase in Arabic that means "God is grater than".   Our Muslim lecturer told us that in English the thought is incomplete, but in Arabic it means that God is greater than whatever you are doing, and that it is time to pray.  On Fridays at noon there are about 10,000 who come to the Al Aqsa to pray.  During Ramadan there are upwards of 200,000 who attend Friday noon day prayers there, over flowing onto the entire Harem.


Next we visited the Dome of the Rock, a shrine commemorating Muslim remembrance of a night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem by the prophet Mohammed.  For Muslims its the place where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Ismael.  The interior is now under restoration, but the depth of its decoration makes the Al Aqsa look plain by comparison.  The rock under the dome is held by Jews to be the Foundation Stone, from which all creation began, and the place where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Issac.  It might also be the place where the Holy of Holys of the Jewish temples stood. For Christians it marks the location of the temple where Jesus over turned the tables of the buyers and sellers, and had his final (or initial) conflict with the Jewish temple elders.


This last photo is of part of a quote from the Koran's version of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary that she would have a son.