Jerusalem and Bethany

This posting describes the rest of our day on Thursday, June 27

After our break, we'll visit additional holy sites in Jerusalem before traveling to Bethany in the afternoon.  In the evening we return to the Church of All Nations (Basilica of Agony) for a holy hour as we near the end of this pilgrimage.

Church Exterior

Back near the Lion's Gate just north of the Temple Mount in the Muslim Quarter is the Church of St. Anne.  This church marks the traditional home of Jesus grandparents, Anne and Joachim, and is the birthplace of the mother of Jesus.  So you don't get confused, the Lion's Gate also is known as the Sheep's gate or St. Stephen's gate.

Church Interior

This is a Crusader era church built between 1131 and 1138AD replacing a previous Byzantine era church that was built nearby around 450 AD.  Unlike other churches, the Crusader era church was not destroyed in the 1187 conquest of Jerusalem because the Muslims converted it into an Islamic law school.  After several centuries of use, it was abandoned.  In gratitude for help during the Crimean War, the Sultan of Istanbul turned it over to Napoleon III in 1856.  France restored the church as closely as possible to the original construction.   A second reconstruction occurred after it was damaged in the Six Day War of 1967.

Beautiful Main Altar

The church is solidly built and has a simple stone interior which is known for having perfect acoustics (listen).  Designed in Romanesque style it has three aisles and cross vaulted ceilings. On the front of the main altar are scenes of the Nativity, the Descent from the Cross and the Annunciation; on the left-hand end is the teaching of Mary by her mother, on the right-hand end her presentation in the Temple.

Altar in Crypt

Below the church is a crypt believed to be the home of Mary's parents.  There is a small chapel there dedicated to the birth of Mary.

Artist's Conception of the Pools

Next to St. Anne's Church are the Pools of Bethesda.  The pools were a series of reservoirs built to collect rainwater to serve the Temple built on the nearby Temple Mount.   There were also pools built as part of the complex which were believed to have healing powers.

Ruins Today

Jesus performed one of his miracles here curing a man who had been ill for many years.  Jesus was persecuted for this cure because he cured the man on the Sabbath.  Here is the story of the cure according to John:

Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep [Gate] a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. 

One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.

When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” 

The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” 

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” 

Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.


In the Greek and Roman periods apparently there was a healing temple or Asciepion at the pools.  Later, a large basilica built by the Byzantine's to commemorate the location of Mary's birth was built near the pools.  Like many churches of this time, it was destroyed by the Persians in 614.  The crusaders used part of the ruins to build the Church of the Paralytic and part of these ruins still stand. Today, the pools like the church next door, are the property of France.




We're also going to go back to Ecce Homo which we passed on the Via Dolorosa in the morning to spend time visiting the Church there and to see the remains of the first century Roman plaza which is underneath the Via Dolorosa in the convent of the Sisters of Zion.

First Century Paving

The Basilica

The Lithostratos stone slab has grooves carved in it, which are thought to be either channels for rainwater or traction for horses. The squares and triangles on the slabs were made by game-playing Roman soldiers. The floor has been dated to the time of Hadrian (AD 117-138) and therefore was installed after Jesus, but still an amazing find due to its age.

The convent is also home to the Ecce Homo Basilica. The arch on the street outside continues through the wall of the church, where the smaller northern arch now frames the tabernacle. Above it is a golden mosaic with a Byzantine era cross.  

Western Wall

Our next stop is the Western wall, sometimes called the Wailing Wall, and in Hebrew, the Kotel.   I learned that Jews don't like the term Wailing Wall so we'll refer to it as the Western Wall.  

The Western Wall is really a retaining wall at the base of the Temple Mount which is the top of Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem.  King Herod the Great doubled the size of the temple Mount through the use of huge retaining walls built of limestone blocks built around the natural part of the mount.  

Temple Mount 

The Temple Mount is considered holy by Jews, Christians and Muslims. All three religions recognize this place as the mountain where Abraham brought his son,Isaac, to be sacrificed before God told him to stop.

For Jews, this was the place where their Temple once stood housing the Ark of the Covenant.  King Solomon built the first Temple around 950-1,000 BC and this was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.  The Second Temple was built around 516 BC and underwent almost a complete reconstruction and expansion by Herod in 20BC, but eventually this Temple was destroyed in 70BC by the Romans and was never rebuilt.  Jews believe that a Third Temple will be built in time for the Messiah's return.  This video shows what the Temple Mount would have looked like in the Second Temple era.

For Christians the site is holy because of its connection to Jesus.  This was where he was presented as a baby, where he was lost as a 12 year old boy and found among the teachers, and later he prayed and taught here and turned over the tables of the money changers.

Dome of the Rock

Al-Asqua Mosque

Muslims call this al-Haram al-Shariff (the Noble Sanctuary) since they believe that it is the place from which Muhammed visited heaven in the 7th century on his night journey.  The site is not name in the Quran, but it says Muhammed traveled to the farthest mosque which they believe refers to the Al-Asqua Mosque on the Temple Mount, which they now consider the third holiest site in Islam.  The Dome of the Rock was built over the rock where ihe supposedly journeyed.  Today, in a complicated arrangement, Israeli forces maintain security here but the Temple Mount is managed by a Islamic waqf (religious trust) under the care of Jordan.  This area is the epicenter of tension between Jews and Muslims.

Jews are permitted on the Temple Mount on certain days and times, but the agreement the Israeli government made forbids them to pray there or wear religious symbols.  Orthodox jews believe that no jewish person should set foot on the Temple Mount because no one but the high priest was allowed to set foot in the Holy of Holies (the innermost part of the Temple).  Since they are not 100% sure of where this was on the Mount, you could be walking on it.

Today's Temple Mount has the Dome of the Rock, the Dome of the Chain, the Al-Asqua Mosque,and 4 minarets.  It is accessible by 11 gates, but non Muslims must enter only through one of them.  Since 2000, non Muslims have not been permitted into the Dome of the Rock and entry to the entire Temple Mount is often cut off for security reasons.

The Western Wall is a relatively small section of wall on the western side of the Temple Mount as shown on the drawing below.  Buildings in the Muslim Quarter block access to most of the wall.  The large plaza in front of the Western Wall actually was actually not constructed until 1967.  Before that access the access was very narrow.  During Jordanian rule from 1948 to 1967, Jews were not allowed to worship at the wall.

The stones that make up the wall from Herod's era (remember these date from 20 BC) are immense.  There are 45 courses in total with 17 of them below ground!  The smaller courses were added in more recent years.  The wall is 105 ft. high with 62 ft. of it being above ground.
  

Three Popes have visited the wall, John Paul II,  Benedict XVI, and Francis

Text of what John Paul II put in the wall

Prayers left in the wall

The area in front of the wall is considered to be as sacred as a synagogue so appropriate dress is required.  Men and women must cover their heads (a kippah or yarmelke for men) and men and women have different prayer areas.  It is traditional for notes or prayers to be left at the wall and we've all witnessed Pope and dignitaries doing this.  More than a million notes are put in the wall each year.  They are periodically cleaned out to make room for more.  The notes removed are buried on the Mount of Olives.

When leaving you walk backward away from the wall.  




In the afternoon we head to biblical town of Bethany which today is known as al-Eizariya (place of Lazarus).  The map shows that its pretty close to Jerusalem and Jesus would have walked over the Mount of Olives to get to it.  The Israeli government has constructed part of its West Bank border wall along the main road, so you have to take a detour to get to it.  The border barrier is about 400 miles long and was built after the Second Intifada to deter terrorism.  

Tomb Entrance

Bethany was the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus who were friends of Jesus. For Jesus their home was a place of rest.  John's gospel tells us of the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead.  When Lazarus was dying, his sisters sent word to Jesus that he was dying.  Jesus did not travel there right away and by the time he got there, Lazarus had died and was in his tomb for 4 days.  Jesus told them that their brother would rise and said:"I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live."  Jesus asked them to roll back the stone and commanded Lazarus to come out.

Inside the Tomb

A week before Jesus crucified he had dinner at the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany in the company of Lazarus and his sisters and Mary poured an expensive bottle of perfume over his feet, an action that Jesus saw as anointing of his body for burial.

Like the other sites we have seen, as soon as Christianity could be practiced in public, pilgrims began coming to see the tomb of Lazarus.   Churches were built on the size and destroyed with the entrance to the tomb becoming a mosque.  Another entrance was cut into the tomb by the Franciscans in the 16th century and pilgrims go down well worn stairs into the tomb.

Catholic Church, Mosque and Greek Orthodox Church

Nearby the modern Catholic Church of St. Lazarus, designed by Antonio Barluzzi, was built in 1954. He designed the church without windows so it feels like a tomb, but the dome has a flood of light.  There are rich mosaics here as well like the other churches he has designed.

Adjacent to the church are a mosque and a Greek Orthodox Church.

Church Interior

This evening we go back to the Church of All Nations for a Holy Hour.  Its a good opportunity for us to be grateful we could make this pilgrimage and to pray for the intentions you gave us to carry with us on this trip.