Gilpin observer., 1916-04-20

does not coincide with that of the western
Churches holy week in Jerusalem is celebrated
predominantly according to the Greek calendar
the services Of the other churches being repeated
on their own dates.
In all the Greek orthodox countries-Russia
Roumania. Greece. Bulgaria. servia. Montenegro
and large part of Austria-H ngary-Easter 10
celebrated with great fervor and devotion. The
celebrations.
Jerusalem is naturally full Of churches. monas-
teries. hospices and hospitals Of the various
creeds. and every one Of them at Easter brings
out its own peculiar religious individuality. The
Latin church, for instance. whose establishment
in Jerusalem harks back to Godfrey do Bouillon
and his crusaders. has . number Of oriental
churches united to the Roman Catholic church.
Thus there are the United Greeks. the United
Syrians, the United HISTORIANS, the United Ar.
menians. the Maronites. all of whom celebrate
mass. in their own tongue and 80 add in their
ceremonies and Earb q picturesque distinctive
ness to the whole.
Then there are the Copts. the Armenians, the
Syrian Jacobites the HISTORIANS. the Abyssnians
besides Greeks and Protestants. The relative
standing Of the various churches is in a measure
expressed in the way they share the 15 lamps
that burn in the Holy Sepulcher chapel which
is In the center Of the stone that rolled away
from Jesus grave by the angels. Five of these
lamps belong to the Latins FIVE to the Greeks
four to the Armenians and one to the Copts.
Away from the ecclesiastical ceremonial the
pilgrim in Easter time seeks the traditional
places where our Lord spent his last days and
nights. OF these Gethsemane II the principal
goal. and hero the difference in creed among the
many visitors IL obliterated by an earnest and
quiet devotion which is Unexpectedly free from
the emotional.
Another figure has q prominent place in Easter
celebrations in Jerusalem: that OF Moses. whose
liberation of the Jewish people from the yoke Of
Egypt 10 commemorated in the ancient Hebrew
paschal feast
There is . very little known Mohammsdan
celebration which. though NO longer 20 general a.
formerly. IL still . most interesting one. TO
the Mohammedan. II must be remembered. Jeru.
salem is holy city. like Mecca and Medina. and
there 10 . saying among Arabs, Syria 10 the
blessed county. Palestine the holy land. and Js-
rusalem. the holy city. 10 the holy Of holies."
Native Mohammedans and pilgrims make up
Q procession and issue from the Sitti Myriam
gate They are Joined by throngs Of their breth.
rem from tho neighboring villages. and, amid the
widest enthusiasm. with standards being borne
aloft and to the typical Arab music Of drum and
hfe. the pilgrimage proceeds in the direction Of
the Dead sea.
As the Arabs claim common descent with the
Jews from Abraham. the Holy Land holds ira
ditons equally sacred to them Jerusalem 10
second only to Mecca in sanctity because It con-
tains. according to tradition. the rock Of Abra-
hams sacrifice. over which the famed mosque Of
Omar is built The Arab pilgrimage to the burial
place Of Moses recalls the similar one to the tomb
of Noah, near the ruins Of Baalbek short dis
tance from Damascus.
In cosmopolitan charm Easter in Constantipope
almost equals that found In Jerusalem The capital
of the Turkish empire s OF course in itself highly
cosmopolitan: and there s no other city In the
world where SO many Languages are heard In the
streets, not by foreigners. but by the varegated
native population. The background here IL not
Jewish and Mohammedan. as in Jerusalem but
Mohammedan and Christian. with a strong tinge
Of Spanish Jewry.