Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-08
LIFE IN MODERN PALESTINE.
Ruins of the Synagogue at Capernsum
Where Chrlst Taught and Wrought

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| Ruins of the Synagogue at CapernauIa
where Chrlst Taught and Wrought
Miracles.
! Perhaps the most interesting spot in
the world to those deeply rDder the in
! tluence of that charm which association
/ lends to places hallowed by the ministra-
| tions of the Founder Of Christianity, says
| Haifa letter TO the New York Sun, Is to
! be found ia a desert roek-strewu pro.
/ montory on the northwest shore OF the
| Lake Of Liberals; for among these piles
| Of hewn blocks of black basalt still re-
main the ruins OF great synagogue,
within whose wallis, the foundations OF
which may still be distinctly traced, were
! collected the multltudes who
| flocked to hear the teaching
OF christ. Wnlle modern tour
ists resort in crowds 10 Jerusalem to
visit the mythical sites which are sup
! posed, upon the vague basis Of ecclesi-
! astical tradition, TO De identified with
I episodes ia the life OF the great Teacher,
| scarcely enc ever nads hIs way TO this
/ remote locality lying just out OF the
beaten track along when Cook leads his
! nerds Of sightseeTs; anu yet it is probable
! that the greater part of that period in the
! lie of Christ, the record OF which IS con-
/ tained in the four Gospels, was spent ut
| Caperuaum, which the most careful
! investigation, by the highest authorities
/ in such matters. has identified with those
| ruins OF Fell Hum, amid which l was
! just now standing. He re it was that
! Christ cured Peters mother-jn-law, re-
! stored the paralytlc, called Matthew,
! cured the centuriOn's servant, raised
! JaITus' daughter from the dead, and
| obtained the tribute OF money from the
mouth of a fish. 1t was here that be
/ spoke the para oles of the soWeT, the
/ tares, the treasure hid IN the field, the
| merchant seeking goudly pearls, and the
/ net cast into the sea. Sir Charles Wilson,
| whose IT seaTche6 on this spot leo him TO
/ identity it as being the site of the city of
| Capernaum, believes this synagogue was,
"Without doubt, the one built by the RO-
! man centurion Luke viii, 5), and, there
! fOle, one of the most sacred spots on
/ EARTH" 1t was in this building, il that
| be the case, that the well-knoWn dis
! course contained in the sixth chapter of
! John was delivered; aud IL was not with
! out a strange feeling, says the same
| explorer, THAT on turning over large
/ block we found the pot Of mama en-
| graved on it's face, ami remembered the
words: i am that bread of life. Your
! fathers did eat mamma III the wilderness
! aud are dead"
! This very synagogue was probably the
| scene Oftne healing OF the demOniac aud
| of the delivery OF many of those divine
! lectures on faith, humility, bTOtherly love
and Formally in worship, as We read at
tue end of one of them: These things
said ne in the synagogue as be taught in
| Capernaum." Perhaps 1t was in the
little creek where a boat was now riding
| at anchor only a teW feet from the shore,
that Christ taught the people from the
boat 80 as TO avoid the crush Of the
| multitude. 1t was doubtless in one of
these lnlets that James, the son of
ZeOedee, and John, his brother, were
mending their nets when, being called,
they left their snip and followed HIM ;
ana it was on tins coast that Andrew
and Peter were casting their nets when
they we're summOned 10 become h5herS OF
men. 1t has higher claim to be called
the birthplace Ofthe religion which has
since reVolutiOnlzed the world tnan any
other spot upon it; and it is matter OF
some surprise to me that neither the
Greek nor the Roman Catholic churches,
| in their zeal TO discover holy places,
which may serve as levers for political
intrigue, have yet thought of occupying
this one, which would seem the hottest
OF all. Perhaps IL would lead to com,
parisOu between their prac ice, and the
teaching of which it was the scene, which
might give Else TO S me announcement
! reflections.
Apart from their associations the ruins
themselves are not particularly striking
| They cover an area Of about half mile
in length by quarter IN breadth, and
consist chiefly of the black blocks OF
basaltic stone which formed the walls oil
the houses. The traces of the synagogue
however, remain sufficiently for the
building to be planned. Built Of white
limestone blocks, it must have formed 8
cOnsp cuOus object amid the black Oasalt
| by which it was surrounded, 1t was :,
feet by 81, built north and south, and al
the southern end had three entrances
Many OF the coumns and capitals have
been carried away, but enough strl, re
main t. convey some idea OF the genera
plan and aspect Of the building. To,
capitals are OF the COrinthian order. anC
INT re were episty liza that rested upon th,
columns anu probably supported Woodel
rafLers. There are also remains of ;
heavy cOrnice and frieZe. The eXterio
was probably decorated with ATTACHED
pilasters.
Two miles north Of Capernaum are tht
ruins OF Ch0razin. There is no difficulty
ia identifying the site, which may b,
determined partly by the itineraries o
early travellers, and partly blythe SINH
| larity OF the modern hume, hiraZeh, Tn,
path to them leads Up the si0ping rock
| hillside, but owing To the peculiar char
! acter of the masonry, winch is barely L
be distin Lulished at 100 yards is from tnC
rocks which surround It, the extent aG(
Importance Of these ruins have been over
looked until quite recently. They cOvel
an area as large as, II not larger tnaD
those of Captrnaum, and are situated
partly III shallow valley, partly on {
| rocky spur formed by q sharp bend in The
! X - bprn nj. -
feet deep. From this spot there IS .
beautiful view OF the Lake Of liberals tC
its southern end; and here, too. are
gathered the most interesting ruins-a
synagogue with COrinthian capitals and
niGheheads cut, not as at Capernaum in
limestone, but III hard black hasaIt. The
dimensions of this building are about the
same as those OF the one at Capernaum,
but the interior is q mass of ruins. Two
pedestals still remain IN sta, and pOr.
| tiOn of the wall. The characteristic of
/ this synagogue is an excess of Ornamen-
JatiOn of rather q DECEASED kind. The
! inches are most elaborate, and remain as
| sharp as when they were cut in the hard
| material used. The mOuldings of the
| door posts are similar TO those used in
other synagogues, and there are many
stones cut with deep mOuldings and
! pieces of classical COrnices streWn among
the ruins.
Many of the dwelling houses are in a
! t0lerably perfect state, the walls Being
in some cases feet high; and as they
| are probably of the same class of houses
as that in which Christ dwelt, descrip-
ton of them may be interesting. They
! are generally square, of different sizes,
! the largest, however, not over 80 feet
! square, and have one or two columns down
the centre to support the roof, which
appears to have been fiat, as in the mod
! ern Arab houses. The walls are about
feet thick, built of masonry or of loose
| blocks of basalt. There is a low doorway
in the centre Of one OF the walls, and
each house has windows u inches high