Monday, February 19, 2018

HOLY LAND - WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS (CONT'D)

Altar of the St Anne's Church in Jerusalem. The acoustic effects in the Church are excellent. We sang "Hail Mary" and it sounded awesome. 

The Sheep Pool in the Church compound where Jesus healed a paralytic who had waited 38 years for someone to put him in the pool for it was believed that each time the pool whirled, the first person to dip would be cured of his illness The account of it is given in John 5: 1-9.

The Church of the Flagellation where Jesus was scourged at the beginning of His Passion on Good Friday. The pillar to which He was tied is found within.

Doing the Way of the Cross in the Via Dolorosa, a busy Jerusalem street, leading to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Queuing at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to enter the Sepulchre to see where Jesus was resurrected. The wait was three hours but we endured it. Most Protestants avoid this Church for it's always crowded and noisy preferring the Garden Tomb, which was discovered later by the British military.
 
Pilgrims waiting to enter the Tomb for only a few seconds to see the resurrection spot. This area is under the control of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Notice the ladder on the ledge of the entrance to the Church. Interestingly, it has been the subject of a 150-year quarrel between two of the six denominations managing and administering the Church. This goes back to the 1852 Mandate passed by Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Great when he handed the Church over to them. Fights and quarrels have occurred over the boundaries of administration and control. Hence, it was decided that nothing moves or changes unless all the groups agree to them, hence the ladder's fate. The six denominations are the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholics, Egyptian Copts, Ethiopian Orthodox and Syrian Orthodox. Before Ottoman rule, the Church was under the sole purview of the Franciscan Friars after St Francis came to the Holy Land.  

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