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H o l y L a n d P
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STATIONS OF THE CROSS
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Church
of St. John the Baptist
Ein
Karem, which means, “The Spring of the Vineyard,” is considered by tradition
to be the hometown of Zechariah, Elizabeth and John the Baptist since
Byzantine times. The name comes from the abundance of springs to water the
many vineyards and orchards nearby.
Steps
Entering St. John the Baptist Church
During a time of famine
in the time of Judges (around 1100 BC), the Bethlehem family
of Elimelech and Naomi
and their sons Mahlon and
Chilion, moved to Moab. After Elimelech died, the sons married Moabite women,
Orpah, and Ruth. Then the sons died. Their mother Naomi decided to return home
to Bethlehem and Ruth accompanied her. Here on the [R] our group is entering
St. John the Baptist Church.
Story of John the Baptist
But the angel said to him: 'Do not be
afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will
bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.. . He is never to
take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy
Spirit even from birth. . . And he will go on before the Lord, in the
spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their
children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready
a people prepared for the Lord.' "
LUKE 1:13-17
Late
Evening View of Church and Monastery
Little remains of the Byzantine sanctuary which once commemorated the
birth of John the Baptist. However, unlike other houses of worship
constructed over holy sites in Jerusalem, it was not destroyed by
seventh-century Persian or Moslem invaders. Instead, this church was
apparently ravaged 200 years earlier, during an uprising of Israel's
Samaritans. Persecuted by the Byzantines, the Samaritans rebelled on
several occasions by massacring Christians at prayer and devastating their
chapels.
The Church of St. John the Baptist was rebuilt by the Crusaders, but after
they left the Holy Land the sanctuary was either destroyed or fell into
complete disrepair. A few centuries later, the Franciscan Order purchased
the site and work began on its reconstruction. Most of the church was
restored in 1674 with the aid of the Spanish royal family (their
coat-of-arms is located above the entrance inside the sanctuary). Many of
the paintings are originals, drawn by Spanish artists and donated by
Spanish kings. Diverse blue-and-white tiles considered to be Spanish in
style line the enormous square pillars and cover parts of the walls.
Further work on the church was carried out in the nineteenth century,
again with Spanish assistance. This included a new marble altar for the
grotto, donated by Queen Isabella
II of Spain.
Grotto Beneath St. John the Baptist Church
The most revered site in the church is the grotto.
Believed to be part of the home in which John the Baptist was born to
Zechariah and Elizabeth, and perhaps even the site of his birth, it was
incorporated into
the church's left apse. You reach the crypt by walking through an elaborately
adorned green and gold gate and descending a few marble steps. Beneath and
around the altar are white marble bas reliefs illustrating biblical events. On
the wall above the crypt and next to the apse is a picture of young John
wearing an animal pelt; on the opposite wall is a painting of John's last
moments on earth.
A wonderful little museum is located a bit further down that same wall. Pass
through the door to see fabulous embroidered vestments, superb candlesticks,
gold and silver vessels, splendid ancient icons, and the "comunichino": tongs
used for distributing the Holy Communion to people suffering from the plague.
Shepherd's
Chapel
Approximately 2 km to the east of Bethlehem lies the village of Beit Sahour, where one of the most sacred places to Christians; the Shepherds' Field; is found, identified as the scene where the Angel of the Lord visited the shepherds and informed them of Jesus' birth (pbuh);
"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And the Angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:8-10
The Roman Catholics and the Greek Orthodox each have their own Shepherds' Field. The Roman Catholic site features a Franciscan Chapel designed to resemble the shepherds' tent while the Greek Orthodox site features a 5th century church built over a cave.
Shepherds Flock
The area to the east of the city is traditionally
believed to be the area of the fields of the shepherds "keeping watch
o'er their flocks by night." Several churches have been built to commemorate
this event. Even today local shepherds can be seen tending their flocks in
this same area (even on Christmas eve!)
Entrance
to King David's Well
The niche
at the entrance to King David's tomb where the 200 year old charity box was
affixed. For thousands of years people have come to pray at the tomb of Kind
David. This well, used by millions of people who made pilgrimages to his
tomb became a symbol of hope that all prayers offered at the tomb would be
answered.
King David's Well
Wayfarers and Pilgrims would stop and drink, and legend
tells of the tears of supplication which fell into the deep well, mingling
with the cool waters that they would drink. Somehow, the waters of the
well seemed to do more than simply refresh and quench thirst. People
noticed that their prayers always seemed to be answered. It became known
that the well itself contained a blessing. Anyone coming to pray at the
tomb of David knew that their prayers would be answered if they first made a
blessing and then drink from the well.
Rachel's
Tomb
The actual "tomb" consists of a rock with eleven stones upon it, one for each
of the eleven sons of Jacob who were
alive when Rachel died in childbirth. Over the centuries, the rock was covered
by a dome supported by four arches. (In the Middle East, domes were used for
structural support in small buildings until modern times due to a lack of wood
beams for roofs
Aerial View of Jerusalem from the North
This aerial photograph shows the main road to Bethlehem from
the north (Jerusalem). The
modern city stretches out from the historic center in all directions. Today
Bethlehem is controlled by the Palestinian Authority and has a population of
about 22,000 not including the suburbs of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour.
The
Basilica of the Nativity
The present Basilica of the Nativity was built by the
Emperor Justinian (527-565) on the site of the earlier (4th century)
Constantinian basilica, which had been badly damaged in the Samaritan revolt
of 529. The Basilica is dedicated to the Holy Mother of God (Theotokos).
The traditional site of the Nativity is enshrined in the grotto beneath the
choir. Bethlehem was first settled by the Canaanite tribes,
naming the city Beit Lahama. They built a temple to the God Lahama on the
present mount of the Nativity. Around 1200 BCE, the Philistines had a garrison
stationed in Bethlehem because of its strategic location.
Church of the Nativity
The entrance to the famous church in
Bethlehem is remarkably unimpressive. The large courtyard is perfect for
priests, pilgrims or tourists, but most noticeable are the vendors.
Palestinian police now patrol
the area. Buses no longer are allowed to enter the square, but instead are
directed to a large parking structure. This building is the oldest standing church in the Holy
Land. Originally built by Constantine's mother in the 4th century, Emperor
Justinian rebuilt the current structure in the 530s. It was apparently spared
destruction from the Persians in 614 A.D. because the invaders saw the
depictions of the Magi on the walls. Local Muslim-Christian friendship is
believed to be why the church was not destroyed during al-Hakim's rule in 1009
Ancient Mosaics
in the Church of the Nativity
Underneath the present floor are beautiful
mosaics of the earlier church. The church built at the direction of Constantine's
mother was octagonal in shape, typical of Byzantine memorial churches. Before
the Roman empire converted to Christianity, the area was a sacred grove of
Thammuz.
Birth Place of Christ
According to tradition, Mary gave birth to
Jesus at the place of where the star is located on the floor. The tradition
that the birth was in a cave is one of the oldest Christian
traditions. Justin Martyr mentions it in the mid-2nd century, as does the
Protoevangelium of James (also 2nd c.). Origen, a priest, notes
that the cave of Jesus' birth was pointed out in his day and no doubt this was
the same place where the Byzantine church was erected.
Jerusalem Old City
Wailing Wall
(the men's side [L], women [R])
Pilgrims can enter the Old City through a gate on the eastern wall, which is
known as St. Stephen's Gate by Christians, the Lion's Gate by Jews and the Gate
of the Lady Mary by Moslems. A short distance to the right is the property
of the White Fathers.
Inside
View of the Old City
Inside their gate is a garden, the Church of St. Ann and the excavations of
the Pool of Bethesda. A number of events from the New Testament and a
Christian apocryphal book called Proto-Gospel of St. James, are located here.
Church of Saint Ann
This Crusader church is preserved because it became an
Islamic school after the Crusades. It has some of the best acoustics in the
Holy Land, so many groups like
to sing here. The crypt below the church is a grotto where local tradition
says the Blessed Virgin was born. The New Testament mentions nothing of Her
birth, but the story is told in a second century Jewish-Christian book known
as Proto-Evangelion or First or First Gospel of St. James: The birth of the
Blessed Virgin Mary is not recorded in the New Testament, but the Proto-Evangelion
of James tells the story of her parents' childlessness in old age and the
birth of Mary to St. Ann and St. Joachim. St. Ann lamented her childlessness
in Proto-Evangelion 3:2ff.
Pool of Bethesda
Outside the Church of St. Ann are the excavations of the Pool of Bethesda. At
the east end are the ruins of the Byzantine church and the structure in the
center of the
pool is a Crusader church. Various pagan shrines can be found among the ruins.
At the west end of the pool is a stone wall still partially covered with
plaster. This is probably the eight century wall of the Upper Pool mentioned
in Isaiah 7:3.
From
Galilee
Jesus Christ again went up to
Jerusalem
fover.
Moving
Water Healing Pool of Mercy
Not far from the
Temple,
by the sheep gate through which they drove the sheep for sacrifices, there was
a pool with five porticoes or galleries. This pool with the galleries was
called
Bethesda,
which means house of mercy. In the galleries beside the pool, lay many
sick, blind, lame and withered. They were all waiting for the moving of the
water, for an angel of the Lord went down at a certain season into the pool
and stirred the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the
water was healed of whatever disease he had.
Jesus Christ visited
this house of mercy. There, He saw a man who had an infirmity thirty-eight
years. Jesus Christ said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"
The sick man answered,
"Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred; and
while I am going, another steps down before me."
Jesus Christ said to
him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."
Chapel
of the Flagellation
After leaving St. Ann's and Bethesda, continue
walking West (turn right) up to the property of the Franciscans, a couple of
blocks on the right side of the street. This property contains a school, a
museum,. and two chapels, one on either side of the courtyard.
Inside
Dedication to Jeses' Scourging
Inside the church
is dedicated to Jesus' scourging and crowning with thorns. The windows depicting
Christ's scourging and crowning are made of alabaster, not glass. This a a good
place to consider Our Lord's suffering.
Pilate then had Jesus scourged. The soldiers
wove a crown of thorns and placed it on his head and they clothed Him
David brings the Arc of the Covenant to Jerusalem
David’s decision to build and House for God
(This picture was taken as we appproached the Temple where Jesus was
preaching when his mother came back looking for him at age 13.).
The name "Bethpage" mans the "house of unripe figs." This is
a place to remember an event that took place following Palm Sunday nearby in
Mark 11:12-14. Recall that is was here that Jesus said: "Therefore I say to
you, whatever you ask for, having prayed, believe that you have received it
and it will be yours. Whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything
against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven may forgive you of your
trespasses. For if you don not forgive, neither will your Father who is in
heaven forgive your trespasses."
Bethany
Lazarus' Tomb Street
The village of Ananiah of the tribe of
Benjamin (Nehemiah 11:32) became Beth Ananiah or Bethany in the New Testament
period. Today the village is named Al Azariah after its most famous citizen,
Lazarus. Lazarus' tomb was know in the early 4th century and Byzantine
churches were built later in the 4th and, after an earthquake around 518.
Queen Melisande bought the village and built a Benedictine convent for her
sister, Abess Jovita in 1143.
Elijah's Hill
Byzantine tradition connected Elijah’s ascension into heaven (in a whirlwind,
at the appearance of a chariot of fire) with the same area as John’s baptisms. Scripture
only says that Elijah was taken to heaven on the other side of the Jordan. The
6th-century pilgrim Theodosius refers to this hill, called at the time “Hermon.”
A number of Christian buildings were erected at Elijah’s hill, including the
Rhotorios Monastery, the Cave Chapel, and the “Arch Church.”
Northern View of Jer
icho
Notice the abundance of lush
vegetation here. The area you see is irrigated by the Jordan River and
the water that flows down from the mountains in the background. Jericho is the
oldest city in the world.
We read about Jericho the first time in Joshua 2, when Joshua the son of Nun
secretly sent two spies from Shittim on the east side of the Jordan River and
said: "Go, see the land and Jericho." They went to the house of a prostitute,
whose name was Rahab, and they slept there. After Rahab was ordered by the
King of Jericho to turn over the two men she hid them in the flax on her roof.
The men promised her: "May our souls instead of yours belong to death! If you
do not reveal our business, then when the Lord gives us the land, we will do
covenant love and truth with you."
Western
View of Jericho
The western view shows the excavation site that revealed
materials dated as old as 2, 800 years.Tell es-Sultan is the site of ancient Jericho, a Neolithic settlement from the
eighth millennium BC.
Joshua Captures Jericho
After the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River, Joshua circumcised all
the men who had been born during the desert wandering, and celebrated their
first Passover in the Promised Land, then the time came to conquer the city of
Jericho as related in Joshua 6.
.
The
South View of Jericho As You Enter
This view of Jericho shows the flat terrain as you enter from the south of the
city. The scripture of Joshua 2 continues: "I know that the Lord has
given you the land and that fear of you has fallen upon us and that all the
inhabitants of the land melt before you. For we have heard that the Lord dried
up the waters of the Sea of Reeds before you when you left Egypt. We heard what
you did to the two kings of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan,
Sihon and to Og, when you put them under the ban. We have heard and our hearts
melt and no longer does the spirit of any man stand before you, because the
Lord your God, the God in the heavens above and on the earth below." Rehab was
true to her promise to the men and our Lord.
Mount Zion
Few structures combine the ancient with the new as successfully as the
dazzling Church of St. Peter on the eastern slopes of Mount Zion. Erected
in 1931 to commemorate Peter's triple rejection of Jesus and his
subsequent remorse, the church is an amazing blend of contemporary lines,
primitive art, and antiquity. All have been brilliantly fused together to
create a superbly designed masterpiece which make it far more than an
ordinary house of worship.
Beneath the church are a series of carved-out chambers from the Second
Temple period. Since Catholic tradition positions the palace of Caiaphas
on this very site, it logically follows that Jesus may have been
imprisoned in one of these very same underground crypts.
A Byzantine
shrine dedicated to Peter's repentance was erected on this spot in the
middle of the fifth century and was later destroyed by Moslem invaders.
The chapel was rebuilt by the
Crusaders and given a new name: St. Peter's
in Gallicantu. Galli-cantu means cock-crow in Latin and today a golden
rooster protrudes prominently from the sanctuary roof.
At least one tour guide believes that the grotto in which Jesus was held
is missing a pillar. It is to this column that Jesus was tied, he reports,
and notes that when the Crusaders rebuilt the Byzantine shrine they
removed the sacred pillar.
Pilgrims to the church will notice that much of the writing is in French.
St. Peter's belongs to the Assumptionist Fathers, which is a French order
established in 1887 and named for Mary's Assumption to heaven. The Order
has its headquarters in Jerusalem's monumental Notre Dame de France
complex, built in 1889.
On your way into the Church of St. Peter, look for a strange mosaic
"window" which lets in no light: it is located on an outside wall as you
approach the entrance to the upper sanctuary. Walk through wrought iron
doors covered with bas reliefs which have a biblical motif. The display on
your right includes two Byzantine-era mosaics found during excavations,
probably part of the floor in the fifth-century Byzantine shrine.
The extraordinary church interior is a giant, multi-colored mosaic portraying
New Testament figures. Most of the colors are joyous and lively; they also
fade into one another and offer subtle gradients of each shade. Perhaps the
most striking feature of this unusual church is the ceiling. It is dominated
by a huge cross-shaped window designed in a radiant variety of colors.
In other Jerusalem sanctuaries I have seen the Via Dolorosa depicted by either
bas reliefs, small sculptures, or paintings. Here the 14 Stations are marked
only with a simple cross. The mosaic illustrations, too, are less
sophisticated than those in many other churches. Set within the ultra modern
lines of the chapel, they look intriguingly ancient.
Three nearly life-size mosaic pictures cover the back and two side walls of
the church. Facing the entrance is an illustration of a bound Jesus being
questioned at Caiaphas' palace; on the right Jesus and the disciples are shown
dining at the Last Supper. In the mosaic
Peter, considered the first
Pope, is pictured in ancient papal dress.
Although in the beginning Peter sometimes argued with Jesus, after the
Crucifixion he became the foremost apostle and greatest miracle worker of the
Christian Church. One of the venues in which he preached was Rome. In the year
64, homicidal Emperor Nero played his fiddle while the city of Rome burned to
a crisp before his very eyes. At the time there was talk that the mad emperor
had started the fire and, perhaps to divert suspicion from himself, Nero
blamed the Christians. Peter was martyred during the persecutions that
followed. According to tradition, Peter
asked to be crucified upside down so that he would not die in the same manner
as Jesus.
Beneath the upper church is an unusually light and airy glass-enclosed chapel
which incorporates stone from ancient grottos inside its walls. Visitors can
look down a hole in the center of the sanctuary to see caves that may have
been part of the Byzantine shrine. Their walls are engraved with crosses left
there by fifth-century Christians.
On an even lower level there is easy access to a succession of caves from the
Second Temple period. And finally, you exit into an excavated yard which
includes a stone trail probably dating back to that same era. Many Christians
believe that Jesus followed this path down to Gethsemane on Holy Thursday
night.
PAGE 2 PICTURES |
STATIONS OF THE
CROSS
Shepherd's
Chapel
icho
Inside/Outside
View of the Dominus Flevit Church
