Every day of Holy Week has its ceremonies, and between times the pilgrims visit the spots made sacred by association with Christ’s life about Jerusalem. They kiss the ground on which Stephen was stoned; they visit the monastery which now stands on the floor of the house of Pontius Pilate; they pray before Christ’s prison, and they hold services all along the Via Dolorosa, kneeling and praying at the various stations. The Easter festival itself is not so wonderful in comparison with the services of the week. The day is ushered in with the ringing of bells. The Russian pilgrims rush into each other’s arms and give the “kiss of peace.” The Easter celebrations are more notable for the display of fine vestments and gorgeous plate than for the excellence of the music or unusual features in the ceremonies. The Latin churches hold their services in front of the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, the Latin Patriarch officiating. There is a solemn high mass in front of the Sepulchre, and after this the Patriarch and bishops, followed by the crowd bearing lighted candles, march around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, chanting and offering up their prayers on the spots made sacred by their association with the Saviour’s death and burial. The ceremonies of the Greek Church come later, when all over the hills about Jerusalem can be heard the voices of the people and the sound of the bells pealing forth the song of the risen Saviour. CHAPTER XIII WASHING THE FEET OF THE APOSTLES Two of the great sights of Easter in Jerusalem are the foot-washing on Holy Thursday and the “miracle” of the descent of holy fire from heaven on Easter Eve. During my visits to Jerusalem I have seen both ceremonies. The washing takes place in the open air at the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Greek Patriarch washes the feet of twelve of his bishops in commemoration of the foot-washing of the apostles by Christ after the Last Supper. By dawn of Holy Thursday, at the time I last saw this rite, the court was packed, and for hours before the ceremony began the streets were jammed with a crowd of Mohammedans and Christians, of Orientals and Occidentals, such as you will see nowhere else in the world. Many of the pilgrims slept in the court all night in order to be sure of places. In the centre of the court stood an oval rostrum about four feet above the stones. Around its floor ran an iron railing enclosing a space about eight feet wide and twelve feet long. Inside the railing and running around it were seats, and at the back a gold and white armchair cushioned with red satin. This stage was for the ceremony, and the chair the throne of the Patriarch. The other seats were for the bishops. Around this platform, to keep back the crowd, was a guard of soldiers, and back of these, in a solid mass, were the people.