Palestine, or, the Holy Land: From the Earliest Period to the Present TimeRussell, Michael
History
Palestine, or, the Holy Land: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time
Russell, Michael
Palestine -- Description and travel; Palestine -- History
But the Christian pilgrim, who walks about the holy city "to tell her
towers and mark her bulwarks," is more readily attracted by less splendid
objects, the memorials of his own more humble faith. Among these the most
remarkable is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is built on the
lower part of the sloping hill distinguished by the name of Acre, near the
place where it is joined to Mount Moriah. The Turkish government, aware of
the veneration which all Christians entertain for relics in any way
connected with the sufferings of the great Author of their religion, have
converted this feeling into a source of revenue; every person not subject
to the Sublime Porte, who visits the shrine of Jesus Christ, being
compelled to pay a certain sum of money for admittance. But the church,
nevertheless, is opened only on particular days of the week, and cannot be
seen at any other time without an order from the two convents, the Latin
and the Greek, with the sanction of the governor of the city. On such
occasions the pressure at the doors is very great; the zeal of the
pilgrims checked by the insolence of the Turks, who delight to insult and
disappoint their anxiety, leading sometimes to scenes of tumult not quite
in harmony with their pious motives. We shall give an account of the
effect produced by the local and historical associations of the place on a
sober spirit, in the words of a traveller to whom we have been already
indebted:--
"The mind is not withdrawn from the important concerns of this hallowed
spot by any tasteful decorations or dignified display of architecture in
its plan or in its walls; but having cleared the throng, the religion of
the place is allowed to take full possession of the soul, and the visiter
feels as if he were passing into the presence of the great and immaculate
Jehovah, and summoned to give an account of the most silent and secret
thoughts of his heart. Having passed within these sacred walls, the
attention is first directed to a large flat stone in the floor, a little
within the door; it is surrounded by a rail, and several lamps hang
suspended over it. The pilgrims approach it on their knees; touch and kiss
it, and prostrating themselves before it, offer up their prayers in holy
adoration. This is the stone on which the body of our Lord was washed and
anointed and prepared for the tomb. Turning to the left and proceeding a
little forward, we came into a round space immediately under the dome,
surrounded with sixteen large columns which support the gallery above. In
the centre of this space stands the Holy Sepulchre; it is enclosed in an
oblong house, rounded at one end with small arcades or chapels for prayer,
on the outside of it. These are for the Copts, the Abyssinians, the Syrian
Mareonites, and other Christians, who are not, like the Roman Catholics,
the Greeks, and Armenians, provided with large chapels in the body of the
church. At the other end it is squared off and furnished with a platform
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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