Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-23
Some Things You Want to Know
The Holy Land-The Church of the Holy s~epulohre.

In. the center Of the marble pavement of
thef Greek portion OF the Church Of the
Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem Is a short
marble column which is declared to be, by
the Orthodox, the exact center Of the
world. The Jews and the Mohammedans
assert that the exact center of the earth
is the tin OF rock at the ton of Mount
Moriah. where Abraham offered up Isaac,
where Solomon's Temple stood. from which
Mohammed ascended into heaven, and
which is now sheltered by the magnificent
Dome Of the Rock. usually known as the
Mosque of Omar. None OF these theories
takes into account the belief OF the scien-
lists that the world is a spheroid. The
really important thing is belief that the
center of the world is in Jerusalem and
the duly authenticated center Of the Chris
tian world is the marble column in the
Church Of the Holy Sepulcher.
A visit to the Church of the Holy sepul-
cher, that edlfice which shelters the tomb
Of the Lord and which has been for cen
turtles the most venerated spot in Chris
tendon, is IN experience productive Of
curiously conflicting emotions. In the first
Instance, there is no good reason to be-
lieve that the sepulcher is really that In
'AiNA hho bOuy VI lie SdNlOI WAS ldlu. IN
fact, every logical and reasonable argu-
ment goes to prove that the holy spot is
somewhere else. But even If one accepts
the site as authentic, 1t is impossible for
any reasonable creature who has grown to
under modern influences to be-
lieve one-tenth Of the legends and the sa-
cred nonsense with which he is deluged
upon entering this great church. He re-
frYao1 - haTN,.rz 49, 49, 49, -
with modern stone saws is the very block
upon which the body Of the crucified Lord
laid. Even the Armenian priests will
admit that the true stone Of JUNCTION lies
underneath, and tina the block which
thousands of Christian pilgrims kiss every
day has been in place only for a few
years. One is given a stick which he
shoves through a brass bound hole in the
wall to touch, in the darkness, the socket
In the rock in which the Cross was set.
He is expected to kiss the end Of the stick
and thereby acquire holy merit. No one
is apparently concerned with the fact that
the socket In the solid rock wherein the
cross is set is at least 100 yards away
from the place which one is gravely as
sured is the exact spot where Jesus was
crucifled. In fact, the church makes no
appeal whatever to ones intellect or rea-
son. 1t is a great house shelterlng an en-
ormous collection of absurdities which in
themselves are so contradictory as to
make faith In their authenticity impossible.
But II one can forget the hordes of beg
gars; II one can forget the Mohammedan
soldiers stationed there to prevent the vari-
Gus sects Of Christians from numbering
each other; II one can forget the foul air,
the filthy floors, the noisome odors and
the all but visible presence of countless
millions Of germs, then he will find the
Church Of the Holy Sepulchre an appeal to
his higher emotional faculties which will
compel his reverence.
How long ago men came to believe that
this spot marked the place Of sepulure of
Jesus Christ is not known. In the third
century it is recorded that a Temple of
Venus stood at this spot and the Christians
then complained or the dissertation. When
the great Constantine, emperor of Rome,
the Christian religion he built a
group of edifices at this place and sur
rounded the tom6 with a row of columns.
This was the beginning of the church, A.
d. 1886. These buildings were destroyed by
the Persians in the seventh century, but
were Immediately rebuilt. In the tenth
century the church was burned and in rhe
eleventh century It was ruined by the Mos
lens. The present church was built by the
early in the twelfth century, al
though, Of course, many additions and le-
pairs have been made from time to time.
church is the Joint property of the
Greek orthodox church, which has the
largest share; the Roman Catholic church,
the Armenian church, the Syrian church,
the Abysslnia church and the Coptic or
church. The Church of England
is the only Protestant church having any
privileges, it being permitted
twice a month to celebrate the holy COM
munion in one Of the chapels of the church.