Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1898-12-10


A correspondent of the London
Telegraph who was with the emperor
of Germany at the dedication of the
new Lutheran church in Jerusalem
lately gives the following picture of
the condition there at present:
After the ceremony at the Evangeh-
cal Church of the Redeemer Ito give
the new German church its full titlel |
wandered away into the Church OF
Christ's Sepulchre. The supposed
tomb of Christ is recess IN the rock
some little way bslow the level of the
church floor, and is reached by Q flight
of steps. A marrow door, about four
feet in height, leads into the recess or
grotto. IN which 3 Fran ciscan monk is
constantly on duty. The grotto reeked
with the smell of the gaudy lamps
which Lighted the place. Three women
were kneeling by the tomb, one of
them passionately kissing the spot
where she believed the feet of the dead
christ TO have rested.
OF all the monkish faces | sew in
the Church of the Sepulchre, | OBJ
served only one that | could call in
any degree Intelligent. Tue monks
were engaged il nothing but formal
ism-arranging lamps and candles,
putting up or taking down flowers, re
eelving baekeheesh, mechanically sing
ing hymns, and so on. Walls. shrines,
screens, etc, were SO overcrOTded
with lamps aud chandeliers that the
church presented the appearance of u
vast warehouse. The church seemed
10 be sacred to mechanical ritual, and
TO that only. OF any real religious
feeling | failed to discover a trace
The feeling such scenes produced In
myself WAS one of melancholy and of
utter aversion.
AT Bethlehem whittier followed the
Kaiser PROCESSION. one might have
expected symptoms of different spirit
among the eusto1ians OF the scene of
the Nativity. But the spectacle of
monastic life there is just as depress
ing as at the church of the Sepulchre
in Jerusalem. A slipshod, unwashed
bl aar ely ed monk, who begged me to
give him some tobacco, joeo sely
searched the pockets Of the Syrian youth
who guided me over the buildings. to
see if he lad any. My youthful Syr
ian guide, who spoke English fairly
well, had once played his part in Bar
num's-or was it Mr.. kiralfy's paste
board cast at Earl's court. Said he,
pointing to the three Turkish solder
who were lounging about the church :.
they are sentrIes to prevent the
monks from fighting each other"
The church of the Nativity is in the
joint cccups ton of Greek, Latin apd
monks. Easter is the time
for fisticuffs; but the Turkish sentries
keep watch all the year round. 1t is
perhaps the only duty in the perform
anoe of which the Turk deserves the
sympathy and respect
of every Christian, or nom Christian,
with a glimmer of genuine religious
feeling. As for the Garden of Gsth-
with it's pathetic memories
well, there are two rival G ardens. The
garden generally accepted as such is
surrounded with wire netting, and sug
ge.ts the dreary responsibility of
cheap villa" in suburban London.
do not envy the man who can gaze
upon the Mount or Olives.
But the more one feels the spell of the
place, the more one is repealed by
Of the kind that accom-
panied the open-air service held on the
.op of the Mount and attended by the
Emperor and Empress and their suite.
An artist correspondent who was pres
ent with me compared the return of
he crowds from Olivet to that OF Lon
Ions multitudes from EPSON races.
n everything except mechanical ritual
repetition of formularies
Jerusalem strikes me as the most
or nonreligious, city in the
world. 1t is, without doubt, the head
quarters of lies, shams. impostures of
he ecclesiastical order. That the
lame of true piety burns in it, here
md there, am well aware. | speak
'nly of general results.