The sun., 1915-12-19
Most Sacred Places in Palestine Lost
to Christendom as Result of
War..-Crusade Age Recalled
q, WILLIAM T. ELLIS, ILL.,. n.

-HE Christmas thoughts Of all
Christendom turn to the land
haliowed by the earthly life Of
Jesus Christ. Tho whole
Christian world says in spirit. with the
shepherds. Come, let us go now even
unto Bethlehem" This year IT, is only
possible TO go in the spirit. The hand
Of Mars. the god of war. has reached
even to the birthplace OF the Prince Of
Peace The pious men who for years
have tended the shrine Of the Nativity
have been driven forth from the Holy
Land. "never to return" says Djemal
Pssha. the commander In chief Of the
Turkish army In Syria.
What has happened in Bethlehem
hes also bcfallen the Church Of the
Holy Sepu.chre, and the monastery
IN the Garden OF Gethsemane, and the
Church of the Annuuciation at Nax-
areth. and the monastery on Mount
Carmel. and the venerable Church Of
4. Katharine at Mount Sinai. and
other Christian shrines on spots as
sociated with the events Of the life OF
The Saviour. Everywhere the Chris
tian monks and priests and teachers
have been expelled. regardless OF
whether they belonged to the Roman
Catholic Church. the Greek Orthodox
Church. the Protestant churches or
any other branch OF Christendom.
What a tragic rending Of sacred ties
this has been for the men who have
held holy festival at these shrines
cnly great dramatist could portray.
The edict Of expulsion has wrought
radical changes In the holy places Of
Christendom. II was a similar ex.
pseience that provoked the Crusades.
Christendom was then unable to en-
dure tho thought Of its sacred sites
remaining in the possession Of the
Moslems. The recovery Of the Holy
Sepulchre was :he goal Of all the
Crusades. Now the custodians of tho
/ Holy Sepulchre have been driven out
and Christendom does not realize Il,
though 1t has been an accomplished
fact for several months
This expulsion Of the religious
bsdies upsets the practices Of cen.
turies, and violates many international
conventions and treaties. II touches
The faith Of hundreds Of millions of
Christians-Roman Catholics, MEM
bers of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Protestants. and. most Of all, the
Oriental churches. such as the Gre
scrians, or Armeniars. the Copts. the
Marontes, the Jacobites. the Chal-
ieans and the Abyssinians.
Although little known to this west
ern continent. the practice OF pill
.rimage up to the outbreak of the
var still existed in the larger part OF
he Christian world. even as in the
middle ages and the earlier centuries.
t was counted work Of piety. by
which real merit was acquired. for a
Christian ,f the Eastern churches to
make the rounds of the major shrines
Of the Christian faith. These annual
plsr!mages, which have been esti-
mated to take q million persons 10 the
Holy Land, were so important in them
selves and in their incidental effects
nat European governments have fos-
! tered them.
This has especially been so in the
case Of Russia. which at various
points has maintained huge hospices
for pilgrims. In the Russian COM
: pound In Jerusalem there are vast
structures capable of sheltering thou
sands Of pilgrims at one time. The
Pilgrims were even fed at Govern
men, expen.>.
Russia has systematically fostered
and directed her Christian pilgrimages.
The garb OF TIE Russian pilgrim has
been the best protection that could be
worn by traveller in the Holy Land.
once met a middle aged American
woman at Nazareth. who was travel
llg afoot all over tho Holy Land.
wearing the dress Of a Russian peasant
Pilgrim. This insured her safety. and
also the most inexpensive accommo-
dations.
All the pilgrims Of the Greek Ortho-
dox Church. even though they came
from Greece, or Serbia, or Bulgaria,
or European Turkey. were under the
protection OF the Russia Govern
ment: So also we're tho buildings OF the
Church, and although Greece was not
al the time OF this edict at war with
Turkey. yet the Hellsnistic monks and
priests came under the ban along with
The Russians.
France has for many years had the
Roman Catholic pilgrims and mission
aries in Turkey under her especial
care. The political advantage Of this
was such that even after the abolition
@ tho Concordat with the Vatican,
France continued in her role OF pro-
lector of Roman Catholic institutions
ND church members,
Most Of the Catholic monks in Pales-
uhe are french. All adherents o'
his Church are called Latins, while
me members Of the branches OF the
orthodox Church are called Greeks
even though they be Russians by birth
somc Of the Latins are Italians and
Austr!uns and Germans. Except the
AustriaNs and the Germans, all these
guardians II pigrimages and shrines
nave been driven from the sacred soil
Only ouc who has travelled widely IN
hlo'e lands can realize the number aff
sze and magnltcence OF the Christian
ehurrh"a and monasteries and schools
" Palestine. Theso are the pioui
rea''Q1e pf nations aud kings anf
ofders and denominations and wealthy
individuals Jerusalem is moro Chris
tln t.an Jewish or Moslem, so alst
sre BE 'nlehem and Nazareth. Th'
most modern and comfortable build
ngs w he Holy Land are the Chris
nan -rplanages, schools and monaS
t",es
IN MANY cases these properties hav'
h'en 70 Ken over by the Turks and use>
TOT NIIiiirv piIrposes. Others, 10 II