Judgement and Condemnation - Redux

One of the Gospel readings for the beginning of Holy Week concentrates on the "Cleansing of the Temple," episode.  In harmony with that, we began day four at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount with a revisualizaiton of the Temple and its environs during Jesus' time.  Since it was the second day of Passover, we were sharing the space with many Jewish pilgrims and locals who were marking their own observances.

We moved forward in space and time to the site of Jesus imprisionment beneath what is now the splendid church, St. Peter in Gallicantu, built on or near the House of Caiaphas, the High Priest, villain of the Passion stories.

As the name suggests, the commoration here is of Peter's denial of his relationship with Jesus, hence St. Peter at Cockcrow.  The rather substantial Byzantine ruins, the relationship to Ciaiphas and the alledged prison cell are just sidebars to the dedicatorial intention. 

Current thinking replaces time-honored tradition by placing the trial of Jesus before Pilate, not at the Antonio Fortress, but at the Herodian palace now incorporated into the Jaffa Gate.  This is erroneously named The Tower of David, even though it was constructed at least 800 years after David's death, an ancient attestation to the "Washington slept here" phenomenon, no doubt.

By far the most interesting archeological explorations of the day were in the basement of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and the Church/convent of Alexander Nevsky, both of which contain remnants of the wall that surrounded the city in Jesus time.  The Nevsky church has the threshold and part of the sides of the Judgement Gate, through which Jesus was lead to Calvary, outside the city walls.  The pavement on which the good sister is standing represents the cardio, or main street of Jesus time, and the steps represent the location of the entrance to The Anastasia, the great 4th century church that Helena built.  The present Church of the Holy Sepulchur is approximately the back half of what was the original.  Time and multiple conquests take their toll!

The next stop was the Church of the Holy Sepulchur which was packed, beyond belief.  This structure incorporates the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, or the last five Stations of the Cross.  I'm pretty sure that past blogs have pictures of scenes from the Holy Sepulchur, but I know that there are no pictures of the recently restored Edicule which houses the tomb.  The millions of dollars spent on this restoration are obvious when one notices the fresh colors, and more importantly the absence of the ugly steel supports that have been holding it up for the 200 years.  Thanks to the Greeks, the Latins, and the Armenians, and numerous individual donors for resorting this holy place to a site inspiring veneration.  The lighting is terrible in the HS, but perhaps this picture will do for now.