The central Convent of the orthodox Greeks is that of S. Constantine, which is situated on the west of the Church of the Resurrection. Attached to it, on the north side, is the Patriarch's house, which has no architectural merit, but is well arranged and comfortable, with a good garden. The convent itself, though very large, is no better than a labyrinth of cottages of different sizes and heights, which have been bought from time to time and joined together as best they could. It is therefore full of court-yards, large and small, lanes, passages, and flights of steps; and has also a small but well-kept garden, near the sacristy. Inside is an excellent dispensary, and all the offices and workshops, which this Royal Convent requires, not only for its own purposes, but also for the use of all its dependencies, especially those in Jerusalem. The chapel is dedicated to S. Constantine; it abuts against the rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre, and is of great antiquity. It is adorned as well with pavements of valuable marbles, as with original pictures, curious specimens of Byzantine art; and possesses a great number of sacred silver vessels and magnificent vestments. There is also a very ill-arranged and dusty library, rich in Greek, Arabic, and Georgian manuscripts, and in ancient Byzantine books; but they are rarely examined, consequently the rats and worms are more attentive to them than the monks. They cannot be seen without the permission of the Patriarch or his deputy; nor can the treasury, which is full of ancient works of Byzantine art, given by Russia and every other country in which the members of the Greek church are found, and the cry of Jerusalem is heard. I have never seen it, nor am I aware of any other traveller who has. In the lower parts of the buildings, on the east, the native rock appears, which is a continuation upwards of that seen inside the Church of the Resurrection, at the tombs of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. The parts of the convent near the Holy Sepulchre, and to the east and south, enable us to understand the words of William of Tyre[528] concerning the Hospitalers, "That during the disputes between the Canons and the Knights, the latter shot arrows out of their own convent into that of their adversaries." In fact, the Canons then inhabited the south-east part of the present Greek convent, as well as the church, and the part behind to the north of it. There are fifty monks in the convent, and six Bishops, besides Archimandrites, Priests, and laics; about eighty in all. They are distinguished by the title of Monks of the Sepulchre. Besides these is a large number of boys who attend upon the Papas and the church, and wear the monastic dress; and many servants taken from the people of the city.