I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most people call us Mormons. When I set out to travel to Israel this year, I did so because I wanted to identify better with my Saviour, Jesus Christ. I wanted to see the Holy Land, to see the places where He walked and preached and taught, and come to understand better, for myself, what is taught in the Bible.
And while that journey is incredibly personal to me, I was not alone in my desires; I was one of thousands doing that exact thing in the Holy Land.
Visiting Jerusalem was indeed, a life-changing thing. It was affirming to be in a place where religion, be it Christian, Muslim or Judaism is forefront in the lives of everyone present. It was beyond touching to feel the sweet affirmation of the Spirit in certain places, and just as suddenly, nearly in the same breath, to know that another part of what I was seeing was not right. Jerusalem is a land of faith and of extremes. It's inhabitants live on a knife's edge, while trying to live their faith. It is not an easy balance.
It was all too easy for me to fall into feeling cynical at times, and I had to continually remind myself to not only to be open-minded and to show love to everyone, but also to be a traveler and not a tourist. Sometimes I succeeded, others, not so much.
One of my biggest struggles was with the Catholic idea of the Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross are the points along the path that Jesus supposedly traveled while carrying the cross to His crucifixion. Stations 1-9 are scattered along Via Dolorosa, the way of agony, and some are quite difficult to find despite large metal plaques.
I love the idea of this walk, of saying "Hey, this is where such and such happened, take a look!" But in practice, the stations irked me because they aren't exactly what they claim to be, they are what A) Emperor Constantine's Mother decided they should be in 325 AD. Until then, the path was approximate. Or, B) What a Pope certified to be such at one point in time or another. But there was no actual marking of the path during Jesus' time that was handed down and preserved from that moment on.
Stations 10-14 are inside of Jerusalem's "most holy church," The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (The Catholic/Christian version, at least. The Muslims claim Al Aqsa as their own version of the most holy sites in Jerusalem on Temple Mount, and the Jews have the Western Wall, which is the only lasting exposed part of the ancient Temple of Solomon .)
I didn't take a lot of photos inside of the church, in fact I didn't spend a lot of time inside of the church because the incense burning inside was enough to pickle one's insides and also, the same incense it gave me a blinding headache and made me angry. Yah. There was a lot going on in that church. Including several denominations all practicing their own rites in their own corners of the church simultaneously. And that was all kinds of impressive, that despite the denominational differences, all are welcome. So many different aspects of this world we live in ought to adopt a similar policy, and actually practice it.
In Jerusalem, we are all pilgrims. We all search, and ponder and look for our own peace with the path of Christ. Ultimately, I think the most important thing to remember in this journey is Christ, His sacrifice for us and His love.
And while that journey is incredibly personal to me, I was not alone in my desires; I was one of thousands doing that exact thing in the Holy Land.
Visiting Jerusalem was indeed, a life-changing thing. It was affirming to be in a place where religion, be it Christian, Muslim or Judaism is forefront in the lives of everyone present. It was beyond touching to feel the sweet affirmation of the Spirit in certain places, and just as suddenly, nearly in the same breath, to know that another part of what I was seeing was not right. Jerusalem is a land of faith and of extremes. It's inhabitants live on a knife's edge, while trying to live their faith. It is not an easy balance.
It was all too easy for me to fall into feeling cynical at times, and I had to continually remind myself to not only to be open-minded and to show love to everyone, but also to be a traveler and not a tourist. Sometimes I succeeded, others, not so much.
One of my biggest struggles was with the Catholic idea of the Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross are the points along the path that Jesus supposedly traveled while carrying the cross to His crucifixion. Stations 1-9 are scattered along Via Dolorosa, the way of agony, and some are quite difficult to find despite large metal plaques.
I love the idea of this walk, of saying "Hey, this is where such and such happened, take a look!" But in practice, the stations irked me because they aren't exactly what they claim to be, they are what A) Emperor Constantine's Mother decided they should be in 325 AD. Until then, the path was approximate. Or, B) What a Pope certified to be such at one point in time or another. But there was no actual marking of the path during Jesus' time that was handed down and preserved from that moment on.
Stations 10-14 are inside of Jerusalem's "most holy church," The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (The Catholic/Christian version, at least. The Muslims claim Al Aqsa as their own version of the most holy sites in Jerusalem on Temple Mount, and the Jews have the Western Wall, which is the only lasting exposed part of the ancient Temple of Solomon .)
I didn't take a lot of photos inside of the church, in fact I didn't spend a lot of time inside of the church because the incense burning inside was enough to pickle one's insides and also, the same incense it gave me a blinding headache and made me angry. Yah. There was a lot going on in that church. Including several denominations all practicing their own rites in their own corners of the church simultaneously. And that was all kinds of impressive, that despite the denominational differences, all are welcome. So many different aspects of this world we live in ought to adopt a similar policy, and actually practice it.
In Jerusalem, we are all pilgrims. We all search, and ponder and look for our own peace with the path of Christ. Ultimately, I think the most important thing to remember in this journey is Christ, His sacrifice for us and His love.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from the outside, not much to look at.
Inside
Nuns worshiping in one of the many chapels
I had no clue when I snapped the photo of the really great wall art, but there's a station of the cross beneath the bar of lamps in the foreground. It's supposed to be Calvary, or Golgotha, where Christ was Crucified.
One of the services going on simultaneously in this sprawling church.
A very, very Byzantine church.
Great dome.
I'm pretty sure I studied this Triptych in art history. Just don't ask me which one it is/who painted it. No clue.
Another place to hold mass/services. One was beginning just as we arrived here, so we were escorted away from the area by the police who were doing crowd control. In a church.
This is, I believe, the last station of the cross, and one of the sites suggested for Christ's Tomb. All right inside the same church. Again with the police assistance.
I don't know what significance this chalice/candle thinger has, I just thought it was cool.
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