Washington sentinel., 1898-04-16
w. = ..1. SENTINEL
Jerusalem and Its Churches.
PaLl MaH Magazine.

the Jaffa Gate, is Disappointing: the
new French and Russian suburb
has so extended that, before reach
ing the city walls, you drive
through rows OF new houses, much
like the outskirts OF a modern town,
which quite take away any illusion
from the entrance to the Holy City.
In such a place, where every spot
has some sacred or historical as
socIation, it would be difficult to
say which is of paramount import
an=e; perhaps it would not be TAR
wrong to consider the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre, the Church
of the Nativity at Bethlehem, the
ride round the Mount Of Olives,
and the Mosque of Omar, standing
on the site OF the Temple, as the
places Of the greatest interest.
There have been many new the
ories as to which is the true site of
the Holy Sepulchre, but learned
opinion seems now coming again
TO the belief held by all Christen-
dom since the fourth century, that
the Church Of the Holy Sepulchre,
hallowed by so many centuries Of
Christian devotion, marks the real
spot Some rather valuable con-
s~aAStsSs- aoidsras Aas been found
in recent excavations made tor
building purposes between the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre and
what was the old city. An old wall
has been discovered with another
running at right angles to it, as in
the present gateways at urusalem:
and this wall is built OF massive
stones bevelled as was the Jewish
custom. which would point to the
conclusion that it was part of the
old city walls-probablY a gate
way. Also tombs have been found
on the farther side of this wall, and
within the Church OF the Holy
SepulcSre; and as the Jews never
bury within the city walls, this
again tends to the belief that the
site Of the Church Of the Holy
Sepulchre, though now Inclosed
within, was without the city walls
in the time oi our Lord, which is
the fact that has to be proved in
order that the genuineness of the
site should be in accordance with
the Gospel narrative. Then all
round the Church is the Christian
quarter, which is again conhrma-
tory evidence that the site is the
true one, for this part of the town
would naturally have grown up
since the Christian era, and yet
may we'll have been the garden of
Joseph of Arimathea at the date Of
the CrucIixion.
On reaching the church itself
there is very picturesque crusad-
ers' door in Gothic architecture,
dating from the eleventh century.
The general plan Of the dome has
a certain grandeur about it. and
the choir, belonging to the Ortho-
dox Greek Church, is beautifully
oTnamented; but the place OF places
to every Christian heart is the Holy
Sepulchre itself, standing in the
midst of the dome, 1t has been
built over and lined with marble
and hung with lamps, &C., &c, till
it is no longer a rough hewn cave;
but on entering into it "a task Of
considerable difficulty through the
narrow low arch roughly hewn out
in the ROCKY and on seeing the
rocky slab on which lay the body
Of our Lord, you feel it is the true
site, for it conveys the impression
that il is just the sort of cave that
would be used tor Sepulchral pur-
poses and these alone, and not a
shrine built to accommodate the
thousands of pilgrims who flock
there annually. Within it the slab
of rough hewn rock lies altar wise
against the side of the cave, and is
about the width and length that
would be filled by dead body;
the top OF it is now covered with
marble slab to protect it from the
kisses ofthe pilgrims, which would
long ere this have worn away the
stone. There is just room in front
Of this slab for about four persons
to kneel; all the sides Of the caves
are hung with lights, jewelled
icons, and pictures. To attempt
to describe the feelings evoked in
the Christian soul when adoring at
such a spot would be beyond
human pen. The Russian pilgrims
have touching habit of bringing
their bundle of grave clothes and
laying them on this holy slab in
order to bless them for their future
use. Of course there is always
Greek ecclesiastic present within
the holy shrine, to watch over it.
Just outside the cave is a small
alabaster ornament marking the
traditional spot where the angles
stood as they announced, "He is
not here, but He is risen"
There is something very catIo-
lie in the fact that within the walls
OF the Church Of the Holy SeDul-
chre are altars used by the Greek,
Latin, Armenian, and Coptic
Churches; and latterly the Angli-
can Church has been permitted to
have celebrations in Abraham's
chapel within the church, There
is in the Greek Orthodox choir a
marble plaster showing the spot
which, according to medieval ira
dition, marked the centre of the
earth. Il is curious how history
repeats itself. There is a new sug-
gestion that Jerusalem should be
the place at which the time should
be registered for all the civilized
world, in order to avoid that most