Eye On Israel

NICOLE JANSEZIAN
Travelujah

The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul is celebrated by Catholics, Orthodox and a few other Christian denominations on 29th June, marking the martyrdoms of the two great apostles of Christendom.

In Israel, at least three churches are dedicated to Peter, the disciple who declared to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God”. Solemn masses will take place on Wednesday at all three of these churches in Jaffa, Tagbha and Tiberias. The churches will hold a solemn mass and ordinations on this day. Another church named for Peter is St Peter Gallicantu in Jerusalem.

“It is a big feast for the church,” Father Athanasius Macora told Travelujah. “Peter and Paul were considered to be the great apostles. Of all the apostles, these two stand out for various reasons.”

Peter, a Galilean, was a fisherman by trade. He was one of the few apostles who witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus. Peter was the most outspoken of Jesus’ 12 disciples and is mentioned in the gospels more than the others. His boldness led to the salvation of 3,000 people on the day of Pentecost as he preached his first public message. Peter became a natural leader of the early church.

Paul was a Pharisee of the highest order who persecuted the first believers. His dramatic conversion took place as he was heading toward Damascus. His salvation turned him from persecutor to missionary plus he became the most prolific writer of the New Testament, setting church doctrine. His ministry was mainly to the gentiles. He was born in Tarsus, located in present-day eastern Turkey. He was a tentmaker by profession and was a Roman citizen.

While Paul’s missionary journeys took him around the Middle East, Europe and Asia Minor, Peter’s ministry was concentrated in Israel. Accordingly, several sites in Israel are dedicated to Peter including the three churches and Capernaum, his home town .

Both Peter and Paul were believed to be martyred on the same day.

Nicole Jansezian writes for www.travelujah.com, the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Travelujah is a vibrant online community offering high quality Christian content, user and expert blogs, travel tours and planning services for people interested in connecting with or traveling to the Holy Land

NICOLE JANSEZIAN
Travelujah

“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” John 19: 17-19

Through occasional rain drops and thick clouds, thousands of Christian pilgrims carrying wooden crosses made their way along the slick stones of the Via Dolorosa to retrace the steps of Jesus as he carried his cross to Gologotha and was crucified on Good Friday in Jerusalem.

The Via Dolorosa, or the Way of Suffering, is marked by 14 Stations of the Cross, where Jesus is believed to have stopped on his way to Golgotha. The final four stations are in side the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Some 100,000 Christian pilgrims from Egypt, Ethiopia, Italy, Russia, Armenia, France, the United States and many other nations, are visiting the Holy Land for Easter Week. Hundreds were crowded into the courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre this morning awaiting their turn inside the church that most Orthodox and Catholic Christians contain the original crucifixion and burial site.

Jesus was sentenced and crucified on Good Friday, and rose from the dead three days later.

“It is awesome, how can I explain?” said Meaza Yohannes, an Ethiopian pilgrim who was in Israel for the first time. “Especially for me being a Bible teacher. Everything that is in the Bible I am seeing with my own eyes. The Bible is coming alive.”

An Italian tourist, Mirella from Florence, said that every stone in the Old City was special.

Local Christians were busy preparing for the holiday, the highlight of the Christian calendar for the community here. Candles were being sold in anticipation of the Saturday of Light, the climax of festivities for Orthodox Christians.

On Good Friday, each church held its own procession from its Old City headquarters to the Holy Sepulchre to hold mass there. Some churches hold a burial service in the afternoon as well and then prayer vigils in dark churches throughout the night.

Nicole Jansezian writes for www.travelujah.com, the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Travelujah is a vibrant online community offering high quality Christian content, user and expert blogs, travel tours and planning services for people interested in connecting with or traveling to the Holy Land.

NICOLE JANSEZIAN,
Travelujah

The Holy Sepulchre is more than just a large, ancient church, but is a holy site for Orthodox and Catholic Christians divided into many smaller chapels dedicated to different parts of the Easter story.

Also known as the Church of the Resurrection, the cavernous church commemorates the hill of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ’s burial. It sits on the edge of the Christian Quarter in the Old City and is home to several Christian denominations: Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Orthodox and the (Latin) Roman Catholic are the larger denominations while the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox, the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syrian Orthodox also possess rights and properties in the building.

Originally built by Constantine’s mother in 330 AD on top of a pagan worship site, inside the church many first-century tombs hewn from rock were discovered there, one identified as that of Joseph of Arimathea, used for the body of Jesus after his resurrection.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has weathered many attacks during various periods of history in the Holy Land. Most of the present building is the result of 12th-century reconstruction by the crusaders. Since 1520, the keys of the church have been kept by a Muslim family rather than one of the Christian groups.

Because many denominations share the building, disputes often arise regarding the space. One is the continuing dispute between the Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox concerning ownership rights in the Chapel of the Ethiopians, located on the roof of the Chapel of St. Helena. Also, during Easter fights sometimes break out between the Greek and Armenian Orthodox during the Holy Fire ceremony.

Click here for a list of services and the various chapels in which they take place.

The following is a description of the chapels and significant locations within the church, memorializing the death and resurrection of Christ.

The Tomb of Jesus
The tomb, also known as the edicule, is at the center of the Holy Sepulchre Church, and symbolically sits under the largest dome in the church. The tomb is used in turn by all of the denominations for daily mass. A rectangular, tall structure built of red granite and adorned with candlesticks outside the door, the edicule houses two small rooms - the Chapel of The Angel and the tomb itself. The Chapel of the Angel contains a stone, which represents part of the larger stone that was rolled away from Christ’s tomb on the day of the resurrection, according to tradition. On this stone is an imprint of a hand believed to be that of one of the angels who waited in tomb to announce the resurrection. A Greek monk is always present in this room to guard the Tomb of Christ. The Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre contains the tomb of Christ, the 14th Station of the Cross and the holiest site in Christendom. A marble slab lies in the place where Jesus was laid.

Stone of Anointing
Upon entering the Holy Sepulchre from the spacious courtyard, the Stone of the Anointing or Unction, lies just beyond the iron doors. Tradition has it that this is the spot where Jesus’ body was prepared for burial by Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus was anointed and wrapped in a clean linen cloth according to the Jewish tradition of those days. The limestone slab dates to 1808 replacing the one destroyed in the 12th century. Opulent lamps hang above the stone. Many pilgrims stop here first to kiss the stone before moving on to the rest of the church.

Golgotha (or Calvary)
To the right of the stone is a staircase that leads to two chapels on the tip of Golgotha, where Jesus was nailed to the cross. The first room is a Catholic Franciscan Chapel with an altar dedicated to the Nailing of the Cross (Station 11 of the Via Dolorosa). The Greek Orthodox Calvary is the second room, with the actual Rock of Golgotha (Station 12 of the Via Dolorosa) that can be seen through glass. Pilgrims may touch the rock through a small opening in the glass.

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene
This Franciscan chapel, to the north of the tomb, is believed to the where Mary Magdalene watched Jesus’ burial, as recounted in Mark 15:47, and also encountered Jesus after his resurrection. This is the Catholic area of the church.

The Prison of Christ
This small area is believed to be where Jesus was temporarily held with the two thieves before he was crucified.

The Chapel of the Division of the Robe
The Armenian chapel is the location at which it is believed the soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ robe according to John 19:24.

The Chapel of St. Longinus
The Greek chapel is dedicated to Longinus, the Roman soldier who led the group of soldiers that escorted Jesus to Golgotha. According to Matthew 27:54, after the crucifixion the Roman centurion acknowledged that Jesus was the Son of God.

The Chapel of the Crowning of the Thorns
This Greek Orthodox chapel is located at the base of Golgotha and, as the name suggests, memorializes the abuse Jesus suffered at the hands of the Roman soldiers. According to John 19:2, the soldiers mocked Jesus and put on him a purple robe and crown of thorns. A small fragment of the column from the Prison of Christ is in this chapel.

The Catholicon
The main chapel facing the Tomb of Christ is a large rectangular area with a dome and is considered the “naval of the world” - the spiritual center of the earth (Ezekiel 38:12). Two thrones are on the altar, one for the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and the other for the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. The ornate chapel is a large area used by the Greek Orthodox.

The Chapel of St. Helena/Chapel of St. Gregory
The Greeks consider this Helena’s Chapel while the Armenians call it the Chapel of St. Gregory. Located at the base of the stairs near the Crowning of the Thorns, there is a throne and an original mosaic from the church which has been preserved. Along the stairway small crosses carved by medieval pilgrims are etched into the wall. The chapel has two apses, one dedicated to the repentant thief and the other to St. Helena, mother of Constantine who searched for the true cross, according to tradition.

The Chapel of St. Vartan
This Armenian chapel, not often open to the public, is adjacent to St. Helena’s Chapel and was only discovered in the 1970s. Remnants of the wall date back to the 2nd century and one is etched with a merchant ship and an inscription which translates “Lord, we shall go.”

The Chapel of the Finding of the Cross
According to tradition, St. Helen discovered Jesus’ cross here in 330 AD. She found three crosses - one for Jesus and the two thieves crucified with him. She brought a sick man to touch each cross and determined that the one at which the man was healed was the cross of Christ.

The Coptic Chapel
Located on the other side of the tomb, the small chapel has its own separate entrance.

The Syrian Chapel
For the Syrian Orthodox Christians, this chapel on the east end of the church was used for burials in Jesus’ time.

Nicole Jansezian writes for www.travelujah.com, the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Travelujah is a vibrant online community offering high quality Christian content, user and expert blogs, travel tours and planning services for people interested in connecting with or traveling to the Holy Land.

NICOLE JANSEZIAN
Travelujah

In a big boost to Israeli tourism, hundreds of Christians with several leading pastors and politicians from the United States visited Israel this month to tour the Holy Land and to meet with key leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres.

These visitors help continue the trend of record-setting tourism numbers in the Holy Land. According to figures published today by the Central Bureau of Statistics, some 250,000 tourists visited Israel in January, a record for the month with a 17 per cent increase on January 2010.

During the tour, Pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen held an event called a Night of Hope at the Jerusalem Theater last week. Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) aired the service earlier this week.

“As Christians, Victoria and I feel that it is important to stand in support of the nation of Israel and the Jewish people,” Osteen said in a statement. “As always, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. That’s our Christian roots. That’s where our faith started.”

Osteen, one of America’s most well-known Christian figures, pastors a 40,000-member church in Lakewood, Texas. His services are televised weekly and he has several books that have made The New York Times bestsellers list. Osteen was also named as one of ABC News personality Barbara Walters’ 10 most fascinating people of 2006.

The Osteens were part of an 800-person tour organized by TBN and led by Matt and Laurie Crouch of TBN.

At the same time, former Arkansas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Huckabee made his 15th trip to the Holy Land. An ardent supporter of the country, Huckabee broadcast his Fox TV show from Israel. He was ccompanied by actor Jon Voight.

Another notable Christian on the tour was Kim Clement, a prophet and teacher originally from South Africa. Clement, who now resides in the US, visited Israel for the second time. He is planning to lead a large tour to Israel in September.

Nicole Jansezian writes for www.travelujah.com, the leading Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Users can learn, plan and share their travel experiences on Travelujah.

NICOLE JANSEZIAN
Travelujah

The Feast of the Presentation on 2nd February, often called Candlemas, commemorates the presentation of Christ in the temple, which took place 40 days after his birth as Jewish law required, recounted in Luke 2: 22-23: “When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord.’”

When Jesus was brought to the temple to be dedicated, two elders prophesied over Him and His parents and declared His calling as the Messiah of Israel: “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.’” (Luke 2: 25-32)

Moments later, the prophetess Anna, who was 84, also gave thanks for the child sent for all looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Many Christians today dedicate or baptise their children in the same tradition. The parents present their child at a church or congregation for prayer and exhortation.

This feast also commemorates the purification of Mary, Jesus’ mother. According to Mosaic law, a mother who had given birth to a boy was considered unclean for seven days.

Although there are no special masses in Israel on this feast, visitors may want to visit the model of the second temple at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem or at the Temple Institute or, of course, the Temple Mount itself Another site is the Hulda Steps at the Temple Mount, a favorite site to say the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, and the Valley of Josaphat (or Jehoshaphat), which is the site priestly tombs from the second temple period. The valley wraps around the eastern side of the Old City walls.

The name Candlemas comes from the activities associated with the feast as it came to be known as the Candle Mass. In the Western Church, a procession with lighted candles is a traditional rite.

The feast falls on 2nd February, coinciding with the US tradition of Groundhog Day. Farmers believed that the remainder of winter would be the opposite of whatever the weather was like on Candlemas Day.

Nicole Jansezian writes for www.travelujah.com, the leading Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Users can learn, plan and share their travel experiences on Travelujah.

KARYN MARKWELL

Khanuka (the Festival of Lights), is an eight-day Jewish holiday which commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the Syrians in the second century BC. After the victory by the Maccabees, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the amount of time required to press, prepare, and consecrate fresh oil.

Khanuka starts on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which this year is 1st December.

Jews celebrate a series of rituals each day throughout Khanuka:

• Jews light one extra candle on a nine-branched menora on each night, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra candle called a shamash (’guard’ or ’servant’) lights the others and is given a distinct location on the menora.

• The Khanuka lights aren’t designed to ‘light the house within’, but to ‘illuminate the house without’, so that passers-by are reminded of the holiday’s miracle. That’s why Khanuka lamps are usually set up at prominent windows.

• In remembrance of the miracle of the oil, Jews eat foods that have been fried or baked in oil. Traditional foods are potato pancakes (latkes) and doughnuts.

• Children play games with a dreidel, a four-sided spinning top, each side of which is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words ‘Nes Gadol Haya Po’ (’A great miracle happened here’), referring to the miracle of the oil.

• Families also traditionally exchange gifts and chocolate (or real) money in celebration of the holiday

KARYN MARKWELL

Most travellers will agree that the best place to buy the local produce and crafts of a particular city is in its markets - this is definitely true for Jerusalem.

Mehane Yehuda Market - known as the ’shuk’ (market) to locals - is the best place to buy food and souvenirs in Israel. Located in the heart of the New City, it’s a chaotic jumble of colour and confusion, and a must-see for all visitors to Israel!

Even if you think you’re getting a good deal, tell the stallkeeper that his prices are too expensive, and then barter like crazy!

One advantage of not having a fridge in my hotel room in 2008, was that I had to buy my food fresh each day. The shuk was only a couple of blocks from my hotel, and there I bought the most delicious stone fruit and grapes that I’ve ever tasted - plump and juicy. Next to the shuk is an incredible Jewish bakery where I bought fresh khala (the traditional braided Jewish loaves) every week. I bought some pastries sometimes, but they were never labelled, so the fillings were a lucky draw. They were all delicious: mushroom, cheese, spinach, plus sweet ones stuffed with fruit and chocolate. Fantastic!

My husband and I will be returning to Jerusalem in May 2011, leading a tour group of Aussies. You can follow our adventures on our Facebook site: www.facebook.com/lionofisraeltour

KARYN MARKWELL

On the holiday of Simkhat Tora (’Rejoicing with the Tora’) Jews around the world celebrate the annual cycle of reading the Tora (the first five books of the Bible). This year, Simkhat Tora falls on 1st October.

Deuteronomy 34: 12 (the last verse of the Tora) and Genesis 1: 1 (the first verse of the Tora) are read aloud in synagoguges, completing one annual cycle and beginning a new one. Worshippers then leave their seats to dance and sing with the Tora scrolls, and children are often given Israeli flags and treats. In some congregations - especially in Israel, Russia, and New York - the congregation carries the Tora scrolls into neighbouring streets and continue to dance long into the evening.

Simkhat Tora is a lovely traditional holiday that reinforces the reliance of the Jewish people on God’s Word.

KARYN MARKWELL

Jews around the world celebrate Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. Sukkot is one of the three Biblically-mandated holidays for which Jews used to make pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. According to Zechariah, after Messiah comes, Sukkot will be a universal festival and all nations will make pilgrimage each year to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast.

The Hebrew word ’sukkot’ is the plural of ’sukka’ (’tabernacle’) which reminds Jews of the fragile dwellings in which their ancient ancestors lived during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. During Sukkot, the sukka is the living area of the house, and families eat all of their meals inside it.

Sukkot is an agricultural holiday of thanksgiving for the fruit harvest. In Leviticus, God told Moses: “On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook” (Leviticus 23: 40), and “You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 23: 42-43).

Sukkot is a week-long holiday, with the first day celebrated with special synagogue services and a feast with dishes that represent a bountiful harvest, including stuffed meat and vegetables.

KARYN MARKWELL

On 18th September, Jews will celebrate Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Jews traditionally observe this holy day by fasting for 25 hours (Leviticus 23: 27), and focusing on repentance, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.

Yom Kippur is a public holiday in Israel. There are no radio or television broadcasts, airports and public transportation are shut down, and all shops and businesses are closed. On Yom Kippur in 1973, an air raid siren sounded and radio broadcasts were resumed, to alert the public to the surprise attack on Israel by Egypt and Syria that launched the Yom Kippur War.

The holiday of Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days. According to Jewish tradition, on Rosh Hashana, God inscribes each person’s fate for the coming year into the Book of Life, and waits until Yom Kippur to seal His verdict. During the Days of Awe, Jews try to amend their behaviour and seek forgiveness for wrongs they’ve committed against God and other people. On the day before Yom Kippur, Jews eat two festive meals, give charity, and ask others for forgiveness.