Church of the Holy Sepulchur - Part II

Now that you've learned that the key to the Holy Sepulchre is in the entrusted to two Muslim families, I want to tell you more about this very famous church.

Photo: Do you notice anything unusual in this photo? Believe it or not, the ladder is famous!! It has been nicknamed the "immovable ladder". It is made of cedar wood and very possibly came from Lebanon and has remained above the facade of the church under the window since the 18th century. There is "Status Quo" understanding that "no cleric of the six ecumenical Christian orders may move, rearrange, or alter any property without the consent of the other five orders."

There has been a lasting conflict between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church but there are actually six Christian religious orders which claim rights over the use of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  According to various accounts, the ladder once belonged to a mason who was doing restoration work in the church. It was thought to be owned by the Armenian Apostolic Church along with some very old lithographs which show the ladder was in place by the late 1830's. The ladder leads to a balcony where the Armenian superior used to drink coffee with his friends and tended his flower garden and it is there so that the balcony can be cleaned.

The Franciscans, however, make no reference to the ladder and the earliest photograph showing the ladder dates from the 1850's. Back in 1981, someone attempted to remove the ladder but the Israeli police prevented it from being taken and the culprit got away. In 1997, the ladder was removed and was missing for a few weeks. It was later returned and the rumor was that it was a prank because of the conflict between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.

In 1964, Pope Paul VI described the ladder as a "visible symbol of Christian division" and is generally regarded as a visible symbol of the "Status Quo" agreement between the six ecumenical Christian orders. Who would have thought that an old ladder who cause such a stir among Christian churches? TO BE CONTINUED . . . .

Church of the Holy Sepulchre - Part I

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem is considered by Christians the holiest of all churches in the Holy Land. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was erected in 325 AD over the site where it is believed Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. Upon approaching the structure, you could not possibly imagine what you might find inside. The church is managed by five very competitive Christian denominations: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic and Syrian Orthodox. There is also small Ethiopian Orthodox chapel on the roof.

For centuries, two families have been caretakers of the keys: one man from the Joudeh family and another from the Nuseibeh family. The two Jerusalem Palestinian families have been the custodians of the entrance to the Holy Sepulchre since the 12th century. Christians believe that this church is the location of the Rock upon which Jesus was crucified.

Photo: The iron locks are very unusual and every night the huge doors are locked. The story behind the key is fascinating. Read on!

Photo: Wajeeh Nuseibeh. The Joudehs, a Muslim family, holds the key to the Holy Sepulchre and for centuries the Nuseibeh family and their ancestors have opened the doors to the church every morning at 4:30 a.m. I took some photos off the websites of the two families shown below.

Photo:  A member of the Joudeh family is holding the key. Come rain or shine, Abeed Joudeh walks from his apartment outside the walls of the Old City to bring the key to the church, just as his father and forebears did before him. Once there, Abeed entrusts the key which looks like a 12-inch long iron wedge to Wajeeh Nuseibeh, who knocks at the gate to call the priests and the pilgrims who have spent the night praying inside.

From inside the church, a wooden ladder is passed through a port hole. The photo shows Wajeeh's father on the ladder so he could unlock the upper part of the enormous door.

Every evening at nightfall, after three raps of an iron doorknocker spaced out over half an hour, Wajeeh closes up the church and gives the key back to Abeed Joudeh for safekeeping overnight. It's intriguing to know that two Muslim families are entrusted to safeguard the key and to be the doorkeepers for such a famous, holy sight for Christians. About 100 years ago, the key was stolen. Although it was eventually recovered, a spare key is now kept in a locked room inside the church.

Wajeeh, age 55, explained that this responsibility is passed down from father to son or one generation to the next. He first opened the church when he was only 15 and at that time he thought it was a fun thing to do. However, as he grew up, he realized it was truly an honor and a job other Christians denominations would fight for. He inherited this job from his father and grandfather, in tradition going back more than 1,300 years.

Sometimes the tensions over the right to clean or to pray in a particular area of the Church spills over into violence. Wajeeh's family has helped keep the peace between them since Caliph Omar Ibn Kattab first conquered Jerusalem for the Muslims in 638. The only gap was during 88 years of Crusader rule in the 12th century.

For Wajeeh's labor, he receives $15 every month, an income he supplements by giving tours of the church and I would speculate that Abeed receives the same. He said the honor is worth more to him than the token payment. When tensions boil over between the denominations, Wajeeh is the one who calms the waters. He calls people from the Christian churches his "brothers" and said sometimes they have problems. The two Muslim families are neutral people in the church and he explained they help preserve peace and settle disputes in this "holy place."

Wajeeh said, "I know every stone. It is like my home, but I go to pray at the Omar Mosque next door." The Omar Mosque is adjacent to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Nuseibeh said he is deeply touched by the Christian rituals and feels a close affinity with the church but he does not pray there. As we have visited mosques and synagogues, we have also recognized that those are also "holy places" and it feels good to watch others pray and show reverence to a Higher Power.

Wajeeh becomes anxious when there are special ceremonies in the church or large crowds and he worries the doors will not unlock but that has never happened in the 20 years since he took over from his father. He hopes that one day his son Obadah, now 21, will step into his footsteps, but that's not certain. His son is in college studying to be a sports trainer and said, "Maybe he will not follow me and then my brother or my cousin will take over."

Even though The Joudeh and Nuseubeh families are the doorkeepers, each of the three major sects receives the key for one day during the Holy Week (Easter). On Holy Thursday the key is held by the head of the Franciscan Monastery. On Good Friday the key is held by the Greek Orthodox Monastery. On Holy Fire Saturday it is held by the Armenian Orthodox Church. Other sects may use the church but only these three may hold the key. TO BE CONTINUED . . . .

An Afternoon with Friends

It is always fun when the service couples and professors and their wives get together. We had a few hours on Sunday to get away so we took advantage of the time.

Photo: Jeff & Joyce. As the Smiths prepare to leave Aug. 4, we appreciated the invitation to explore another area of the city and a restaurant Jeff wanted to visit once again. For the first few months, we never realized there were modern places to explore, not to mention great places to shop that bring us back to the 20th century.

Photo: Mamila Mall Parking just ahead. We piled into two cars and parked at Mamilla Mall in the underground parking. The empty parking spaces are marked with green lights. We had no idea how long we would be parked but we could leave our cars in covered parking and from here we would be on foot.

Photo: The system of parking here is awesome. When you go in, a photo is taken of your car and license plate so when you have paid and are pulling out, the gate automatically opens. It's a great system!

We left on foot and followed Jeff's lead.

The area of Ben Yehuda Street is always fun to walk around. This used to be a popular area where people shopped but when the new malls were built, customers left and went to the newer stores. In the effort to attract visitors, the business district goes to great lengths to make the area attractive and a place people want to return to. We LOVED the umbrellas! I can't imagine how many were hung to create this most attractive ceiling of color. The last time we were here, Chinese lanterns were hung.

Photo: Janna and Doug Coombs and crazy Jeff. Jeff couldn't resist jumping into the photo! We are really going to miss him and Joyce.

We found another beautiful street and who wouldn't want to return to an area like this? There were open air restaurants along with some nice clothing shops.

'

Dr. Skinner said this belt shop was here the first time he was here with his family. He and his family have lived here 4 or 5 times. When his family (17 of them) came to visit recently, they returned to this shop because his son wanted a new belt and said, "I want another just like this one!" and found the exact one still being made. That was more than 20 years ago so the belts they sell are quality merchandise.

Along the way we were pleasantly surprised to find a very nice park.

The art work in the newer areas of Jerusalem is very contemporary.

Photo: Street art on the sidewalk.

As we walked, we saw a structure going up with another facing of stones but puzzled to see very large number painted on each block.

Photo: It was lunch time and Jeff was dying to have a hamburger at his favorite restaurant one last time. Garth and I ordered Greek salads (which were divine) but most everyone wanted hamburgers.

After lunch, we decided to walk back to the Old City and take the new service couple, Carol and Reg Christensen, to see the shop owned by Omar Mohammed. Omar is Muslim and we have purchased a number of items from his store. His store is filled with many beautiful things.

Photo: Carol and Reg.

Do you see what I see?

Photo: I just learned that the blocks were numbered because they are remnants of the 1967 war and were originally part of the old archway near Mamilla Mall.

I love this butterfly art work.

Another interesting art piece. Do you recognize who this is?

Photo: Entrance to Jaffa Gate.

Photo: Chris and David Heiner. Chris left last night due the death of her father.

Omar's shop is filled with all kinds of antiques, ceramics, hand needle work, handmade jewelry (Omar and his sons make the jewelry and set Roman glass and widow mites into pendants), furniture, and many other wonderful items.

'

Omar treats his customers royally and had fresh mint lemonade slush brought to each of us. It was delicious!

Photo: Doug relaxing. Omar boasts that his shop is 338 years old and has the deepest original well in the Old City. The building is 3 stories tall and his aged parents live on the floor above.

Photo: This camel lock caught my eye. I think I need to buy it!

Jeff has had his eye on an ancient headpiece (helmet in photo) along with an arm piece, sword, and shield. He has come to be a very good friend to Omar and his sons and hopes to buy this to take home.

 

Joyce, on the other hand, wants this crown. Garth has his eye on this ancient tea pot. Gosh, we need to get out of this shop!

I'll bet you can guess what caught my eye!

Regardless, there are many wonderful things in Omar's shop and we love visiting it often.

Garth can't stop looking at this teapot.

I love the Armenian ceramics but not necessarily these colors.

Cats are everywhere and we seldom see dogs. This cat purrs contently as customers go in and out of the store.

We left Omar's store and went to an art shop. Garth loves this painting but when he asked the price, he suddenly lost interest. It was $12,000.00!! Seriously, we need to go back to the Jerusalem Center. It's always fun to look and drool over things we would love to have but then as Joyce says, "It's just ss!!" (That stands for stupid stuff.)

We left and had just enough time to get back to the Jerusalem Center so we could set up the auditorium for the Sunday night concert of an acappella choir. It was a great way to end our day.