Arizona republican., 1909-11-07

Christians from flying at each other
threats on the very soil where Jesus
gave up his life for peace and good
will on earth. islam looks on and
laughs at the confusion of Christen-
dom among its supremely sacred
shrines; and even the Jews, returned
from all lands to wall and weep
against the foundation stones of Solo
mons temple-and will not venture
on the ground above lest they step
unawares or. the lost Holy of HOLES
are puzzled to know why the Chris
tians continue to send missionaries to
Palestine to convert Israel"
Mr. Creelman tells an interesting
story of his visit to the church of
the Holy Sepulchre.
~ stopped low through the worn
Sepulchre This sacred place. where
for more than sixteen centuries Chris
has Ntpl anu Ob I'VE NAAS
small. rock-hewn chamber in which
it is said Joseph of Arimathea laid
the dead body of Christ; where en-
perors and expresses, kings and
queens, popes. cardinals, steel-clad
crusaders. millions of travel-weary
pilgrims. the greatest and the mean
est Of earth, have knelt in awed ST.
lence, is a white marble chapel, six
and half feet long by six feet wide,
with a tomb of once white marble
slabs at the side-the top slab being
cracked in the middle-and forty
three precious little silver lamps twin
king family at the ends of chains
overhead"
Here Mr.. Creelman met various
monks and priests on guard, each
despising and deriding the other. and
all boasting TO him of the wealth Of
gold and precious stones in their
treasures near by. The forty three
lamps are variously owned by Chris
tan sects
so jealous are these churches of
their rights and so ready TO resist the
slightest encroachment of others upon
their privileges, that il would require
a special firman of the sultan him
self to permit one church to even
dust a lamp belonging to another
church The right of each denomina-
ton to sweep or dust any part of
the sacred building is set forth in
imperial firmans. each spot of the
floor or wall being measured to an
inch-and this minute and almost in
credibly strict system of regulation
extends even to the stones OF the
outer courtyard. To keep Christian
monks and priests from assaulting
each other in the church of the Holy
Sepulchre. the sultan and his minis
tiers prescribe the time at which the
doors shall open and close. the order
in which each church shall celebrate
mass or have other religious exer-
cises, naming the day. the hour and
the minute of each event that takes
place. enumerating the exact number
of candles and lamps to which each
is entitled in each par
place, and just where they
may be trimmed; and not a picture
may be moved or cleaned, not a tack
or nail disturbed, without an impe-
rial document from Constantinople."
Illuminating were the comments of
a Turkish soldier. one of the guards
at the church:
IF We were not here the Christians
would kill each other. There are
times when it necessary to have a
thousand of our soldiers inside OF the
building TO keep the peace. Think OF
a whole Moslem regiment with rifles
and bayonets on duty in a Christian
church on Easter Sunday, These
monks and priests have no more rev.
erence for this place than so many
merchants for their shops. They
quarrel and abuse each other from
one years end to the other, and we
are constantly called on to interfere
when they beat each other with
brooms and fists. yes. sometimes with
knives and hatchets. But there is
never a Moslem who enters the
church without removing his shoes.
In all the years | have sat here |
have never seen a Christian monk.
Greek. Latin, Armenian, Copt or Syr-
ian, give aims to the miserable men,
women and children who come here
for help; yet it is a common thing to
see the Moslems bestow money on
the beggars in and out of the church.
And no king has such rich treasures
as these monks can show, while the
pilgrims pour new fortunes into their
hands every year. oh, it is terrible
here. There is so much fraud, so
much hatred, so much jealousy.
have even seen Christians shouting
and swearing and fighting like COM
non street ruffians around the tomb
Of Christ itself We Moslems, of
course. guard this church. because it
IS the shrine Of one of our greatest
prophets, Jesus. but also to keep the
public peace"
Within the Church of the Nativity,
which is supposed to cover the ROCK
yrotto in which Christ was born. is
4 dark room, always filled with Turk
ssh soldiers, stationed there to keep
Christians from fighting.
Mr.. Creelman encountered one
pleasant feature of religious life in