New-York tribune., 1905-04-23
THE CRUCIFIXION REALISTICALLY REPRESENTED.
SEByICES HELD ON GOOD FRID4Y IN THE CHURCH
OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE IN JERLLS4LEM.

A more or less realistic presentment Of the
cruci1xion of Christ is witnessed yearly in the
Holy City of Jerusalem by thousands of pill
grims from all parts of the world. The cere-
mOny takes place Good Friday night, and the
impersonatOrs are all priests and monks. The
scene Of action is the ancient Church of the Holy
SepUlchre in Jerusalem This church. it is al
lesed, was built in 335 A. D. by Queen Helena,
upon finding the real cross of Christ under the
site of the present foundations of the church.
There is something strangely impressive about
this performance, notwithstanding the crude
way in which it is carried out. Among the au-
dience are devOUt men and women from every
cline and attired in great variety of costumes.
Men with turbaned heads and long boards. wear
ing flowing robes of silk and satin. kneeI beside
Arabs of the desert in simple cotton shirts. who
stretch out their bare, tawny limbs on the cold
marble floor Natives of Bethlehem in brilliant
gowns of red and blue jostle against dark eyed
Italians and oval faced Spaniards. The women
OF the city, draped in long. white sheets and
with closely veiled faces listen with interest to
the Arabic parts of the service, while around
them hundreds of modish Parisians repeat The
Latin responses.
The service begins at p. m. in the Chapel of
the Apparition, where Jesus appeared before
Mary. The pilgrims light their tapers short
discourse in Latin by priest at the altar opens
the service. \ strain of music from below re-
sounds through the building. 1t is sung by the
choir boys in the subterranean Chapel Of St.
Helena. where the cross found. Gradually
the voices sound louder and louder as the sing
els appear within the church As the choris-
ters enter the Chapel of the Apparition a pro-
cession is formed and marches around the
church, led by a monk bearing aloft a large
cross. The Archbishop follows, surrounded by
hISbpnS nd y,riae
broidered with gold. and wearing eiIded mttres
on their heads. Many other dignitaries OF the
church in gIitterins robes joint the procession.
accompanied by priests. monks and censer and
torch bearers. After them come the Iaynen and
the pilgrims. Every member of the procession
bears lighted taper
Suddenly all lights throughout the church are
extinguished, and in total darkness a sermon Is
delivered by priest who describes the cruel
hXion of Christ in minute detail and in such
manner as TO bring the feelings of the audience
to the proper pitch of emotion to enter fully
into the spirit of the ceremony they are about
TO witness. The address being over. the candles
are reIighted and the procession around the
church is taken up again till they come 10 the
staircase leading to Calvary. Here they re-
move their footwear. and. leaving it below
priests and pilgrims mount barefoot the stair
way leading up TO Calvary.
An altar here marks the site where the
Savior nailed to the cross. Therefore
upon this same spot they carefully deposit on
the marble floor the cross which they have
borne aloft around the church for the last two
hours. \ life sized figure representing the
Saviour is produced As the Archbishop ap-
proaches the altar the anthem chanted by the
choir swells 10 its fullest volume and the place
is filled for moments with clouds of censsg
smoke.
The monks now go through the narrowing
performance of mailing the image of Christ TO
the cross. Tho figure Is extended upon the
cross and crowned with thorns. One OF the
monks appears with hammer and nails and
crucihes the image. Each hammer stroke pen
etrates through the stiffness. and blood sRurts