Vespers at the St. James (Armenian) Church

One of our students at the Jerusalem Center is half Armenian and while she has been here, she has become friends with people of the Armenian Monastery. In the effort to trace her Armenian ancestors, they have welcomed her with open arms. Garth and I, along with a number of JC students, were interested in going to a service at the Armenian Church, the Church of St. James.

The Armenian Quarter currently is one of the four quarters located in the southwestern corner of the Old City and accessed through Jaffa Gate.

The Armenian presence in Jerusalem is considered the oldest living community outside the Armenian homeland.

The Armenian Quarter occupies 14% of the Old City's total size and is comparable to the Jewish Quarter. Armenia was the first nation to declare itself a Christian when they adopted Christianity as a national religion in 301 AD before the days of Constantine but they had been living in Jerusalem since 95 B.C.

Photo: Housing for monks of the monastery. The Armenian Patriarch and the Brotherhood of St. James, together with the Greek and Roman Catholic patriarchs, are the sole guardians of this site.

Although formally separate from Greek Orthodox and Catholic (Latin) Christians, the Armenians consider their quarter to be part of the Christian Quarter yet their language and culture is different. Armenians are neither Arab nor Palestinian. However, for all intents and purposes, the 2,500 Armenians living in the Armenian Quarter are considered Palestinians by Israel and the United Nations and have therefore faced many of the same restrictions on their lives as have the Palestinians.

In order to visit the Saint James Cathedral, you have to enter the main gate of the Armenian Quarter; immediately after you pass a big iron gate you enter the outer courtyard of the Cathedral. The walls are decorated with typical Armenian stone crosses, the oldest of which dates from the 12th century.

Photo: Doors of the church. On the right side of the entrance is wooden gong, on which deacons strike a beater to mark the start of the service in Church.

Before we entered the church, Nicole explained a few things: we were NOT to cross our legs when sitting/worshiping in the church and we were not to take photos. However, the church was filled with tourists who WERE taking photos so I took some discretely.

When we entered the cathedral, the ceiling was filled with jars for incense and candles. Ropes hang down the walls to lower the jars so candles or incense can be added when needed.

The main altar was carved out of wood and completely covered and inlaid with gilded filigree.

Typical of Armenian architecture, there were four square columns and at the alter was a painting of Jesus on the cross. On the left side was a painting of Apostle James and on the right John the Baptist, holding the head of Apostle James near his heart.

The service began with the church bells ringing in the church tower and then we heard three loud knocks at the door of the church. Note: Jerusalem students sitting with no legs crossed.

Monks of varying ranks of the Priesthood then entered and took their place at the front of the church. Those with hoods held the highest rank of the priesthood.

A monk sat in a booth above the worshipers and he read some of the mass in Armenian. Then the monks began to chant and sing. (Note the blue Armenian tile mosaics on the wall)

On the side of the main sanctuary, there were two small rooms which were tombs. One was the tomb of the beheaded Apostle James. He was beheaded when he declared he was Christian and was successful in converting many to Christianity. His head was in the tomb and his body is supposed to be in Spain. Photo: Nicole, Armenian student inside one tomb.

Armenian services are held every day at 6.30 a.m. for Morning Prayers and at 3.00 pm Vespers. Holy Mass is Saturdays at 8.30 a.m. and Sundays at 9:00 a.m.

Photo: Mother of pearl doors into tomb of Apostle James. After the mass, we were shown the Baptistry where babies up to 6 month are baptized by immersion, confirmed and their first communion. No photos were allowed and we felt privileged to be shown this area. The photo below shows the entrance into that area.

It's a privilege to become better educated about the people, the history, and the religious historical sites in Jerusalem.

After mass, we were shown the library of the monastery and hopefully Nicole will be able to find a few records of her ancestors.

Photo: Cats are everywhere and even inside libraries!

We left the monastery but stayed in the Armenian Quarters to visit some potttery stores.

Nicole showed us several pottery stores and the artwork is beautiful but very expensive!

Photo: I LOVED this oval bowl but when I found out it was $450, my interest declined rapidly!

A couple of the students bought some Armenian plates from a lesser expensive store so the shopkeeper took us to his home around the corner. When he learned I played the piano, he asked me to play his electric keyboard because his daughter is taking lessons. His house was very comfortable and much nicer than we had expected.

Photo: The streets are very narrow and surprisingly buses and cars travel very fast down the streets so pedestrians WATCH OUT!