Stories about holy places. Holy Land - Jerusalem. Holy land, holy places for Christians
Cover, title page and last page of the book
Rice. 1 Archbishop Nestor
DEDICATION
I reverently dedicate these small lines of my story about the days of my stay in the Holy Land to the great hierarchs whom the Lord chose from the entire Orthodox World to be prayer books in our days in His holiest and most sacred city.
The spiritual, inspired, shining with unearthly beauty face of Metropolitan Keladion, who was the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne of Jerusalem during the days of our stay in Palestine, was forever deeply etched in my heart with a stamp of reverence, a stamp of gratitude, a stamp of love ardent in Christ, as well as the image of His Eminence Metropolitan Meliton, the current The Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, with whom the Lord also brought me to perform St. Liturgy on the holy night of the Nativity of Christ. These great Archpastors of the Church of Christ in Jerusalem, by the grace of God bringing down the Heavenly Fire to the earth on the cherished pre-Easter day with their inspired prayer, now guarding the Throne of the Church of Christ in Jerusalem, showed so much love, so much attention to us, unworthy and humble strangers from a distant eastern country. My heart responded to their love with love, and the brightest memory of the sacred days of our stay in the Holy Land forever merged in my soul with the image of the spirit-bearing Apostle Metropolitan Keladion and the majestic Bishop Metropolitan Meliton. And now, already far from the Holy Land and its blessed primates, I continue to lovingly preserve the strong spiritual thread of mutual communication with the hierarchs of the Holy Land. Many times I received messages full of wisdom and inspiration from Metropolitan Meliton and Metropolitan Keladion. These precious messages again and again awakened in my soul the most sacred memories, which the Holy Land forever indelibly wrote in my memory.
The Holy Land is the native land for every Orthodox Christian. Russian people understood this long, long ago and felt it in their hearts, and from the very beginning of Christianity in Rus' there was an incessant wave of striving Russian people to the Promised Land. Even now, when our Motherland is in captivity among persecutors pursuing the faith of Christ, its spiritual connection with the Holy Land has not been broken, has not ceased. The Russian Orthodox Archpastor Archbishop Anastassy, high in spirit and mind, remains there as a tireless prayer book for his native land. Now, when the voice of the Church called him to be the closest assistant and collaborator of the Helmsman of our Foreign Church Ship, His Beatitude Metropolitan Anthony, Vladyka Anastassy continues to maintain a spiritual connection with the Holy Land, drawing from its shrines spiritual strength for his diverse works.
He surrounded us with deep love, subtle, sensitive, attentive care during the days of our stay in the holy precincts. During all these twelve days, he gave us all his precious time inseparably, guiding us on all our paths through the land of Palestine. And his beloved image, familiar to me since childhood, will always be inseparably fused in grateful prayers and in the warm memories of my heart with the sacred images of the Holy Land.
I put these three precious names at the beginning of my inept story and dedicate these small lines to them with love and gratitude.
INTRODUCTION
“Behold, we are ascending to Jerusalem”...
At the mere thought that you, unworthy and weak, are entering the Holy City of the Lord, Jerusalem, an extraordinary spiritual trembling and a feeling of high reverence take possession of you.
Everything here is holy, everything is permeated with the Divine breath, Christ’s Divine love, and therefore you feel as if you are being scorched by an invisible fire of grace. Here you even physically feel the very outline of your trembling heart, containing to the edge, to the limit, the most sacred breath of the Holy Land.
If once a voice from the Fire Bush spoke righteous prophet To Moses: “Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy.”, then how much more terrible is it for us weaklings to cross with sinful feet the most holy land of Zion, on which the Divine fiery flame constantly burns invisibly, illuminating these places where the Mystery of the earthly ministry of Christ the Savior took place.
“Glory, Lord, to Your Passion and Resurrection”- whisper the lips of a traveler entering the land of Jerusalem with the fear of God, and the thought gradually runs through page after page of the Holy Gospel, real imprints, obvious reflections of which are visible everywhere here.
Here before us is the holy and terrible Golgotha with the Life-creating Cross of Christ, under which, according to legend, in the mountain the high priest Melchizedek once buried the body of the first man, our forefather Adam. Not far away is the cave where Christ was buried and resurrected. Here the sign of victory over death is felt, here resurrection is given to every mortal person, and here every immortal soul strives through purification by repentance to regain the image of God-likeness. This is the most holy place where Christ the Savior from the Cross adopted His disciple John the Theologian to His Divine Mother and in his person all of us, all of humanity.
Gethsemane is visible, where Christ prayed before His suffering, where Judas betrayed his Teacher to death.
We enter with fear and trembling into the Upper Room of Zion, where the first Eucharist - the Last Supper - was celebrated, where Christ, in his farewell conversation, revealed to His disciples the fullness of Divine love for those who loved Him, for the whole world. Here the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles.
Everything there is Holy and Divine. And now this is my story about this holiness and divinity, about the wonderful, unforgettable twelve days of our stay in the Holy Land.
I. Holy Jerusalem.
It was a warm, almost hot day, or rather the morning of December 22, when, gliding among the mountain plains, our train was approaching the holy city, “the city of the great King.”
Only the one who, throughout his entire conscious life, will conceal in his heart, deeply, at the very depths, his cherished sacred dream and then suddenly, almost unexpectedly, will receive the opportunity to fulfill it, only such a person will understand the depth of my joy, my spiritual delight at the moment of approaching Jerusalem. To see this holy city, to worship its greatest shrines, to witness those sacred places where he was born, lived, where he taught, where our Lord suffered for us and rose again, has always been the cherished dream of the best part of my soul since my earliest childhood.
Rice. 2 Archbishop Anastasius, Archbishop Nestor and Abbot Nathanael at the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
And now the Lord was fulfilling this dream.
Gray, completely barren, as if scorched mountains were running past the windows of the carriage. Sometimes there were groves of gigantic cacti - this plant, which in recent times has become so typical of Palestine, sometimes there were small houses of local residents with flat roofs, which gave the impression of being unfinished precisely because of the flat roofs. There were caravans of important tall camels led by Arabs, and a group of donkeys loaded with goods on their backs moved slowly.
The mountains of Palestine, generally quite barren and gray, were especially barren now, for, as we were told later, for two years now there had been almost no rain in Palestine, and the soil of this Promised Land had been nothing like that since ancient times. needs exactly moisture. And therefore, rain in Palestine always evokes joy and a feeling of gratitude to God on the part of all its inhabitants.
At the beginning of ten o'clock in the morning, the outlines of the city appeared in the distance in front of us, houses of modern architecture flashed - the buildings of the new Jewish Jerusalem. The train stopped at the Jerusalem station.
The Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, headed by its leader, the great pillar of the Orthodox Russian Church Outside of Russia, Archbishop Anastassy, greeted us with love, affection, and attentive care.
An hour later, we, walking through the gray narrow streets of Jerusalem, were already at the greatest shrine that the universe has - the most sacred Holy Sepulcher.
In front of the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher there is a large gray stone platform, bordered by rows of ancient columns. Here, there once was a wall of the ancient Church of Constantine, which was much larger and many times more majestic than the current majestic Cathedral. (The destroyed parts of the ancient temple were used to build the huge Mosque of Omar, the main sanctuary of the Muslims of Palestine.)
And so, making the sign of the cross, with a prayer of thanksgiving to God, we crossed the threshold of the sacred temple. In front of us, directly opposite the entrance, was the stone of anointing, on which, after the Crucifixion, the Noble Joseph and Nicodemus laid the body of the Savior, anointed it with myrrh, wrapped it in a shroud and carried it to the tomb; to the right was Golgotha, and to the left in front was the entrance to the inner part of the church, where the Edicule is located, that is, the canopy over the Holy Sepulcher, like a separate temple inside the large Church of the Resurrection.
With the deepest tenderness we knelt before the sacred Stone of Anointing, praying “To you who are clothed with light like a robe,” To the One who in those days rested here with his lifeless Most Pure body in order to resurrect us all with Himself.
The Stone of Anointing is overshadowed by rows of unquenchable lamps, among which several lamps were lit by Russian hands for the suffering Russian country, of course, and our weak weak prayer was precisely for it, for our long-suffering Motherland, so many thousands and millions of times through the lips of our countless pilgrims who fell to this sacred stone with a quiet, humble, righteous prayer.
Having passed a small door into the inner part of the temple, we found ourselves in front of the sacred Edicule, under the shadow of which is the Holy Sepulcher. Here silence fetters human lips, here the heart freezes in prayer, for here is the holy of holies of all humanity, the entire Christian world, here is the Divine altar - the Throne of God for the entire universe.
Since ancient times, the spiritual gaze of all Christians has been directed here; here the hearts of Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine and his pious mother Queen Helena once trembled with great reverence; here the holy King Justinian once bowed with a sinking pious heart and with the generous gifts of the Church; here with their purest prayers came the earthly inhabitants of heaven, monks, inhabitants of the Palestinian deserts; for this most holy Altar the valiant crusaders raised their swords, dying with pious joy in the sultry alien deserts; For the sake of the happiness of worshiping this holy Sepulcher, not so long ago many Russian people from distant pious Orthodox Russia went to countless sufferings.
Here the whole work of our salvation was accomplished. Here eternity touches the earth.
So, we, reverently bowing, entered the first part of the most sacred Tomb, the so-called chapel of the Angel, where once the Angel appeared to the myrrh-bearing women, announcing to them the most sacred joyful news of the Resurrection. In the middle of this chapel stands the Throne, on which the Divine Liturgy is celebrated every day, starting at 12 midnight, by clergy of the three main faiths to which the Holy Sepulcher belongs - Orthodox, Catholics and Armenians.
A low stone hole opens the entrance to the other half of the Holy Sepulcher, the same one where the Body of Jesus once lay, where the sacred Mystery of the Resurrection of Christ took place.
Having bowed low and entered there, we knelt down, not daring to say anything. Here the great Mystery of the death and Resurrection of Christ the Savior took place, and therefore here “Let all human flesh remain silent and stand with fear and trembling, thinking nothing earthly in itself”. Here, more clearly than anywhere else, the breath of Heaven, the breath of Eternity is felt, and therefore here man is so clearly aware of all his limitations, his insignificance, here that scorching soul desire for heaven, which once captured Christian souls with a hot flame, lights up most brightly , directing them to forests and deserts for unhindered contemplation of God. Here that sublime, joyfully pure holy feeling constantly reigns, which the Lord sends to us unworthy and sinful people only once a year, on sacred Easter night.
Above the stone on which the Body of the Savior once lay, the image of the Resurrection rises and forty identical valuable massive lamps descend, of which a significant number were also lit by Russian hands.
Lord, through the prayers of these countless Russian people, bowing before Your Holy Sepulcher, save the Russian land!
They leave the Holy Sepulcher without turning their backs to Him, but reverently bowing down in the low passage.
Directly opposite the Edicule is the majestic Greek Temple of the Resurrection. As you know, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher housed under its roof several churches of various Christian denominations, and each of them could have been an extensive and significant separate church.
Through the altar of this temple we approached the foot of the most holy Golgotha, which is a natural small rock, to which twenty-eight steps lead.
With tenderness and reverence we rose to where the Cross of Christ once stood, where in those holy days our Lord and Creator suffered terrible torment for our sins.
At the site of the erection of the Cross of Christ stands the Orthodox Throne, and to the right of it is the Catholic throne. With fiery prayer we fell to that place of the sacred rock, bound in silver, where the Savior of the World was once crucified on the Cross. To the right and somewhat behind this holy place, a deep crack is visible in the rock, not along the layers of the rock, but across it. This crack appeared at the terrible hour of the Sacrifice of the Cross, when, according to the word of the Gospel, the earth shook and the stones disintegrated.
Repeating the words of prayer “We worship Your Cross, Master, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection”, filled with a feeling of repentance, we descended from Holy Golgotha again to the Stone of Anointing. Not far from this stone, there is a place surrounded by a silver lattice, where the Mother of God once stood during the hours of the Crucifixion of Christ, looking at the torment of Her Divine Son. And how true and strong with your lips church prayer The grief of the Mother of God is expressed: “I see You now, My beloved Child, and beloved, hanging on the Cross, and I am wounded by the highlander in my heart... Alas for Me, Child! Having escaped illness at Your Nativity, now I am painfully tormented.”..
A bright, terrible thought that penetrated to the depths of consciousness shocked us. Lord, it all happened here, in this very place! With the greatest trepidation, with the most reverent fear, we turned to Golgotha, to where two thousand years ago the most terrible Sacrament took place. The Holy Golgotha is silent, its holy peak is shrouded in twilight, illuminated only by the light of lamps, but the Savior clearly speaks in the hearts of men with ineffable mysterious voices, the very words that once sounded from this most sacred peak.
For hours you can stand at the foot of Holy Golgotha in the very place where the Most Pure Mother of God once stood, looking at the torment of Her Son, the Savior and God, participating in His agony on the cross with the torments of Her Most Pure Mother’s heart. Here the hours will seem like minutes, the minutes will last like long hours, for in instantaneous images, in hour-long reflections here the inexpressible depth of the work of our salvation accomplished by the Lord becomes clearer, more complete and brighter, more understandable and understandable.
In the depths of Golgotha, in the dark cave where the discovery of the Cross once took place, there is an entrance from the opposite side. In this dark rocky cave there is always a solemn service on the day of the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross of the Lord. Once there, in that cave, the pious Queen Helen found the Cross of Christ, and the holy Patriarch Macarius erected It before the people for glorification and worship. At the site of its discovery stands the Orthodox throne.
From the cave of the discovery of the Holy Cross we went to the Catholic church, where part of the stone pillar to which Christ was tied in prison during his torment is kept. This pillar is bound with a silver shield, which is opened only on Great Wednesday.
Next to the Catholic church there is an Armenian church, on the site where the vestments of Christ were divided. The throne of the Copts and Abyssinians nestled near the Edicule. All tribes, all peoples, all languages glorify the Lord with different rituals, different dialects under one common dome in this place of the salvation of the World, where the work of our redemption was accomplished, and often at the same time all prayer manifestations are heard: singing, reading, the ringing of bells, musical sounds, cries of spiritual delight of believers - all this powerfully merges into a common prayer, enhances religious uplift and touches the sight of such a strong, fiery faith of the people.
Again we walked through the narrow streets of Jerusalem to our place of refuge in the Russian Orthodox Mission. Her situation at present is very difficult, although not as desperate as it was in the first years after the war, when she was in immediate danger of losing everything completely.
The Russian Orthodox Mission in Palestine was founded, as is known, in the 40s of the last century at the insistence of Archimandrite, later bishop, famous traveler to the eastern countries Porfiry Uspensky. The first rector of the Mission was Father Archimandrite Antonin, who left an indelible memory of himself throughout Palestine. He was the first to acquire certain places in Palestine for Russian ownership, making these purchases with great foresight, deep knowledge of the matter and prudence. The acquisitions he made still amaze every person who understands this matter with their great thoughtfulness and forethought. Hard to choose best places- the most important, the most necessary. This is especially true in Palestine now, when it is absolutely impossible to make new purchases of land. The Russian heart rejoices, seeing in every corner of Palestine, in every place consecrated by one or another holy memory, the possessions of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The successor of Archimandrite Antonin, Father Archimandrite Leonid always followed the example of his predecessor in everything and also made various acquisitions of land. But since during his management of the Mission the price of land in Palestine increased many times, and the need for the speedy purchase of plots began to be felt even more strongly, Fr. Leonid often bought on credit and hastily, which is why after the war the Mission found itself in dire danger of selling all its property for debts.
At this terrible time, the British government came to the aid of the destitute Russians, releasing a large sum to pay off the debts of the Russian Mission and thereby saving its position. True, the Russian Mission now owes a significant amount to the English government administration, but thanks to the prudent management of affairs, the Mission is slowly gradually paying off this debt, especially since the plots rise in price every day and bring more and more income to the Mission.
In Jerusalem, within the city limits, the Mission owns a very large plot of land with huge buildings, which were once filled with pious pilgrims from Russia. Nowadays, most of these buildings are rented to various government agencies, they house the state court, the city hospital and other institutions, which is why the Mission yard is always crowded with representatives of all the nationalities inhabiting Palestine, and presents a motley picture. There are Arabs, and Jews, and Druze, and Christian women from Bethlehem with the most picturesque headdresses, and Europeans, and Greeks, and Levantines, and Armenians - many many different tribes.
In the middle of the Mission courtyard stands the huge, beautiful Cathedral building, beautiful not only on the outside, but even more beautiful on the inside. Archbishop Anastasius and I served there on the second day of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, and I was amazed by the splendor of the temple, by the artistic splendor that pious old Russia - Holy Rus' - knew how to create in its churches. The walls of this temple are deeply sacred for us Russians, for here for almost a century countless numbers of Russian pilgrims, driven by their great faith, who came here from all corners of our vast Motherland, across foreign countries and seas, offered their fiery prayers.
The official head of the Mission is currently Father Archimandrite Anthony, a young talented monk, a graduate of the Russian monastery in Serbia, Milkova, imbued to the depths of his soul with the precepts of his monastery, which has embraced the spirit of the great Optina Monastery. Father Anthony is in all respects a constant novice of the main leader of the Mission - Archbishop Anastasius.
Rice. 3 Archbishop Anastasius, Archbishop Nestor and Head of the Russian Orthodox Mission in Palestine Hegumen Anthony
In this most important center of the Mission, up to thirty brethren live - archimandrites, hieromonks, monks and novices. In addition, many monks live in various possessions of the Mission in Galilee, at the Oak of Mamre, in Jaffa and other places. And on the Mount of Olives and in the city of Gorny there are two numerous women’s monasteries of the Mission: in the first monastery there are one hundred and sixty nuns, in the second there are one hundred and thirty.
The main source of maintenance for the Mission is the beautiful orchard in the city of Jaffa and the rental of individual plots and houses belonging to the Mission.
Every Russian person staying in the Mission receives the warmest, most hospitable and cordial welcome, and in Jerusalem a Russian person feels not like a stranger, not an exile, but like close family. And not only the Mission cares about the Russian people in Jerusalem. Many Arabs in the Holy Land speak Russian perfectly. They are filled with ardent love and respect for our great Motherland, for they were brought up in numerous Russian schools, which once covered the face of the Holy Land; in these schools, local residents could receive an excellent education in the spirit of pure Orthodoxy. (In the past, the Russian Palestine Society maintained 87 Russian schools, gymnasiums and seminaries in Palestine. Of these, 70 educated more than 10,000 people). Their disappearance is deeply mourned by Orthodox Arabs, who are now forced to send their children to Catholic or Protestant schools, where children's souls are in danger of betraying their native faith or, at least, being raised in an alien, heterodox spirit.
Rice. 4 Archbishop Anastasius and Archbishop Nestor in Old Jerusalem
For several days we explored Jerusalem.
From the Holy Sepulcher of the Lord we directed our steps to the Holy Mount Zion, which the divinely inspired king, the prophet David, loved and blessed with many praises in the Holy Psalms. He called it the Mountain of God, the House of God, the Dwelling Place of God, and the Holy Church depicts the glory and great significance of Zion in God’s economy for the salvation of people in solemn chants: “Rejoice, Holy Zion, Mother of the Churches, God’s Dwelling Place,” “Own the people of Zion and embrace it, and give glory in Him to Him who rose from the dead. From Zion went forth the law: tongue-like and fiery grace of the Spirit.”
The Holy Prophet David himself, this sublimely spiritual poet and psalmist, chose Mount Zion as his home, where his tomb is still visible.
Under the same roof as the tomb of King David is the most sacred place for the Christian heart - the Zion Upper Room, the upper room where Christ first instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist and where the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles, where later, after the Resurrection, the Savior twice appeared to his disciples. This upper room is in the hands of Muslims, who established a mosque in it. Until recently, Christians were not allowed access there. Now they are allowed there, albeit with great caution.
Taking off our shoes according to the ancient Eastern custom, we entered the holy room with awe and reverence. The spiritual gaze was transported to those sacred hours when for the first time for eternal times the Divine words were heard here: “Take, eat, this is My Body” and “Drink of it, all of you, this is My Blood.” And « CAndecreate in remembrance of Me", when, showing Divine humility, Christ washed the feet of the disciples, when with indescribable sorrow He told the apostles that “Only one of you will betray Me.”
Since ancient times, Christians have had free access to this holy upper room once a year, on the second day of the Feast of the Trinity, when the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles is commemorated, which took place in this very Upper Room. From here, from this modest cell, the entire history of the Church of Christ began, and all the countless brilliant majestic cathedrals and temples that Christians erected in all corners of the earth are the spiritual descendants of this very wretched Upper Room. Thus, a person standing at the source of a mighty great river, which has the power to water many peoples with its streams, to connect many cities and countries with close ties of mutual communication, is surprised to see how humble and modest the beginning of the great rivers is. In the Holy Upper Room of Zion we stood at the very source of the life-giving sacred river - the Church of Christ, the life-giving streams of which have nourished or thirsted humanity and have been feeding the living water of God’s grace for two millennia. Here, for the first time, Divine grace descended on the apostles, weak healing, the same grace that is taught to bishops and priests by apostolic succession.
This is why the Orthodox Church sings: "RejoiceCHoly Jonah, Mother of Churches, God’s Dwelling Place.”
Rice. 5 Archbishop Anastasius and Archbishop Nestor
Not far from the Zion Upper Room there is a Benedictine monastery in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Here, according to legend, stood the house of St. Apostle John the Theologian and here the Mother of God ended the days of Her earthly life.
At the entrance to Zion, there were the houses of the High Priest Caiaphas and Anna, where on the terrible night of the betrayal of Christ, earthly unrighteous judges judged the Judge of the Righteous - the Judge of the Universe. This place is in the possession of an Armenian monastery.
In Zion there is also the prison of the Apostle Peter, over which a beautiful Catholic church is now built. A steep staircase leads to the dungeon. We have already seen the prison of the apostles in Rome, but here too the gloomy dungeon in which the holy apostle was imprisoned makes a deep impression and awakens best strings souls.
Next to Zion rises another, no less glorious peak of Jerusalem - Mount Moriah, the place where the most beautiful Temple of Solomon once stood. (Solomon’s Temple took seven years to build. More than one hundred and sixty thousand people took part in the construction. 10,000 people cut down cedars on the Lebanese Mountains. 70,000 people carried materials for construction, 80,000 people built the temple and 3,600 people were leaders, architects and overseers.)
At the top of Moriah, Abraham sacrificed Isaac. This place is now located in the middle of the famous Omarova mosque.
We examined the Omar Mosque with special permission from the chief Muslim priest. Muslims take all possible protective measures in order to prevent Jews from entering the mosque, in view of the claims that Jews have long made against this sacred place due to the ancient glory of their kingdom. In order for Christians to obtain permission to visit this mosque, they must have guarantors among the native residents of Jerusalem, and many Europeans were not allowed into the courtyard of the mosque on the mere suspicion that they were Jews. Therefore, Muslims much more easily give permission to clergy of Christian denominations, seeing this as a guarantee of their non-Jewishness.
However, they charge all visitors a rather expensive fee for the right to visit the mosque - 25 piastres, that is, about five yen. They did not take anything from us, seeing in us “Moskovs,” that is, Russian representatives of that former great and glorious Russia, which once so generously enriched the holy city, and also, seeing in us guests of Archbishop Anastasius, who enjoys great respected by all segments of the Jerusalem population.
One of the Muslim priests showed us the sacred mosque. We stepped under its arches with a feeling of reverence, because for us it is connected with the sacred memories of Abraham’s sacrifice and the sanctuary of that temple, where Christ the Savior once visited so often. (The middle part of the temple, the so-called sanctuary, was located exactly on the spot where the majestic mosque now stands.)
The mosque is covered with exquisite artistic arabesques and, according to many travelers, is currently one of the most beautiful buildings in the whole world. Both outside and inside its walls are lined with tiles and mosaics depicting verses of the Koran. Many of the columns and gold decorations of the mosque were transferred to it by Omar from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. All the windows in the mosque, like woven lace, are decorated with various small glasses that sparkle like precious stones.
The mosque contains the sacred relics of Mohammed for Muslims: his saddle, banner, spear and the most ancient copy of the Koran. In the middle of the mosque, fenced off by a lattice, rises a large, majestic natural rock, according to legend - the same one on which Abraham sacrificed Isaac. In the dungeon, under the mosque, there are vast premises: the famous stables of King Solomon, in which thousands of the great king’s horses were kept.
Not far from the Omar Mosque, at the end of the huge square surrounding it, stands another Al-Aqsa Mosque. This ancient, one of the oldest Palestinian temples, was erected by Saint Queen Helena in honor of the Entry of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the temple on the site of the ancient Holy of Holies from the material remaining from the ancient destroyed Sanctuary. Saints King Constantine and Queen Helena built many of the most beautiful and magnificent churches throughout Palestine and thereby preserved the memory of the holy places for all subsequent generations.
During the dark period of paganism, for more than two hundred years, the memory of these holy places was initially preserved thanks to oral tradition. Then Emperor Hadrian, wanting to prevent Christians from worshiping the most sacred places, ordered an idol of Jupiter to be placed on the site of the Holy Sepulcher, an idol of Venus on Calvary, and an idol of Adonis in Bethlehem. But this evil and insidious measure of the pagan emperor, by God’s will, brought good results, for thanks to this the most sacred places of our faith were marked in the memory of people.
When the Holy Queen Helena arrived in Palestine, by her order, the idols were crushed and magnificent temples were erected at all the sacred places of the Gospel. Some of these temples have survived unchanged to this day, while others have undergone one or another alteration or reconstruction over the centuries.
In the Al-Aqsa Temple, there are Jewish-style columns that Queen Helena once dug out of the ground and placed in her church. Next to the Holy of Holies was the porch of Solomon, where the righteous Simeon the God-Receiver accepted Christ the Infant God into his arms and uttered the eternally immortal words of inspired prayer: “ Now do You let Your servant go, O Master, according to Your word, in peace.” Here the High Priest 3axapia met the three-year-old virgin Mary, here the Old Testament sacrifices were made to the Most High God for the sins of the people.
The gate to the square to the Omar Mosque from the north is tightly closed. These gates are called the Golden Gate, through which Christ the Savior entered Jerusalem on the glorious day when the voices of people and children were heard “Hosan on the highest, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”. Here the children of Jerusalem met Him, spreading their clothes and palm leaves under His feet, fulfilling the ancient prophecy “Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King comes to you, meek, sitting on a donkey and the colt of a donkey who is under the yoke.”
Not far from the Golden Gate are the ancient steps of the staircase that led across the Kidron Stream to the Mount of Olives; another remnant of this staircase is located within the Russian possessions in Gethsemane. The Golden Gates were walled up and closed in the very first days of Muslim rule, because it was predicted that the liberator of the Holy Land would come through them.
On the opposite side of the mosque there are the remains of the wall of Solomon's Temple, the so-called Wailing Wall of the Jews, at which Jews cry, scream, sob and beat their chests every day and incessantly.
We were in the mosque and its surrounding areas on the eve of the Sabbath, and therefore especially many Jews were crowded around the wall. Raising their hands to the sky, shaking the air with sobs and cries, they moaned, piteously prayed at these remains of their ancient glory, beat against the sacred wall. It’s terrible, it’s hard at this crying wall. Now we ourselves are in a state similar to the state of the Jewish people. If we were allowed to the edge of the Kremlin wall, we would also water it with tears of sorrow and sweet memories of past glory. But God, how can we have such hopeless, grievous despair as among these sons of the once chosen people! Some young Jew, in ritual clothing, rocking back and forth with frantic despair, clutched his head, shouting the words of psalms and hugging the sacred wall, banging his head against it. There were hundreds of crying Jews there. Oh, how I wanted the light of Christ, the peace and silence of our faith to illuminate the tormented soul of these people who did not understand in those days, What serves their peace!
To the west of Mount Moriah there is a sheep gate; at this gate, to this day, Arabs sell sheep in large flocks. Here we visited the ancient font of Bethesda, the House of Mercy, where Christ once healed a paralytic who had suffered for 38 years. With especially deep feeling I approached this holy place, offering prayers for my beloved brainchild - the Harbin House of Mercy, for which my soul ached all the time, because it is filled with weak and weakened people. Bethesda is now in the hands of Catholics and is maintained by them in great order. There is a monastery of the Order of the White Brothers, most of whom have a special archaeological education. They are carrying out great and extremely important work in researching biblical antiquities, and this work is bearing significant fruit. Most of ancient Bethesda was excavated by the hands of monks and brought back to the form it had in those ancient days of Christ’s earthly life. A significant part of Bethesda cannot be excavated, since it is located under residential buildings and, moreover, on plots owned by private individuals.
At the monastery of the White Brothers there is a museum that houses various antiquities of the Holy Land and ancient coins, found in abundance in Palestine. With love, I also purchased icons depicting the Savior’s healing of the paralytic there, in the Jerusalem Evangelical House of Mercy, as souvenirs.
Not far from Bethesda there was in ancient times the house of Saints Joachim and Anna. Part of this house is located on the site of the Catholic monastery, while part belongs to the Mohammedans, who set up a bathhouse there dedicated to the memory of the saints.
Russian pilgrims usually washed in this bathhouse before setting off to the Jordan. Near this house there was once the Praetorium of Pilate, which was recently completely excavated by archaeologists, so that now the Praetorium is one of the best established places in ancient Jerusalem. In the praetorium, or rather above it, there is a Greek church. The staircase from the Praetorium was taken to Rome in the days of the Crusaders.
Here the soul of a Christian believer again shudders with awe. Here again are the most sacred places, sanctified by the suffering of the Son of God.
The “Behold the Man” arch rises high into the sky. The once cowardly Pilate brought the Savior Christ here, thinking of arousing compassion among the merciless people. Here begins the way of the cross of Christ, marked by fourteen stops, when Christ, tormented physically by terrible torments, walking in a thorny crown of thorns, carried His Cross for the sake of our salvation. This passionate path is walked with reverence by pilgrims, turning their spiritual gaze to those blessed and terrible times.
This path ends at the Holy Sepulcher, at Saint Golgotha.
At the end of the path, near the Church of the Resurrection, one might say, at the foot of Holy Golgotha, there is a Russian site, the so-called excavations. Here, in the last century, the remains of an ancient city gate were discovered. Since these gates are the closest to Golgotha, it follows that it was through them that Christ passed to the Crucifixion. A Russian temple was erected above these gates and this place is guarded with reverence and careful attention by the Russian Spiritual Mission, being its greatest shrine.
Before leaving the holy city, I had the great happiness of celebrating the Divine Liturgy there, at the Holy Sepulcher.
The right to serve at the Holy Sepulcher is granted to all Orthodox bishops and priests, but for episcopal service one must agree in advance with the highest Greek hierarchs and with the family of the so-called guardians of the Holy Sepulcher.
Let me dwell for a moment on the family of these guards.
In ancient times, when the Arabs still owned the Holy Land, the right to open and close the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was granted by the caliph to one of his relatives. After his death, this right began to pass to the eldest in his family, as a hereditary privilege. The Turks established this order, and this continued until the conquest of Palestine by the British. Every day the guards open the holy temple from 9 am to one and from 4 to seven. At seven o'clock in the evening, unless there is a special order, the temple closes, no matter how many pilgrims remain in it, and in order to leave the temple, an accidentally locked pilgrim must crawl through a small window quite high from the ground. Divine services at the Holy Sepulcher are performed every day, by the Orthodox at twelve o'clock at night, by the Armenians at four o'clock and by the Catholics at eight o'clock in the morning. Worshipers of all these confessions who wish to attend the service must come in the evening from seven o’clock and remain in the church until the morning. For Episcopal services, the temple is also opened at night, but for this, in former times it was necessary to pay a significant baksheesh to the Muslim family of the keepers of the keys of the Holy Sepulcher.
This order was understandable under Turkish rule in the Holy Land. But with the arrival of the British, it seemed that it would have to be abolished. Indeed, it was canceled in the very first days after the expulsion of the Turks from Palestine. But then such unrest began, such discord between representatives of all faiths participating in the possession of the Holy Sepulcher, that the highest representatives of these faiths themselves turned to the High Commissioner of Palestine with a request to restore the previous order, and the good Muslim Old Testament family of the keepers of the keys of the Tomb The Lord's Church again received its historical privilege. Of course, now this is only an honorary title and there are no obstacles from the guards to the worshippers.
On the very first day of our arrival in Holy Jerusalem, we went on a respectful visit to the Locust of the Patriarchal Throne of Jerusalem, Metropolitan Keladion of Ptolemais. The face of this Metropolitan is amazing: it breathes great spirituality and moral height. The Metropolitan enjoys the deep, exclusive love of all segments of the Orthodox population of Palestine, who are sometimes at odds with each other. He is loved by the Greeks, Orthodox Arabs and Russians, he is respected and veneration from non-Orthodox people, especially Eastern confessions, being in close friendship with representatives of the Armenian and Syrian churches. I looked with deep respect and reverence at the inspired face of Saint Keladion, at this elder, the chosen one of God, who annually performs the great miracle of God’s mercy, the bringing down of Heavenly Fire on Holy Saturday.
As you know, this great miracle is performed to this day every year on the morning of Holy Saturday. On this day, the Patriarch or his locum tenens enters the Holy Edicule over the Holy Sepulcher, dressed only in one long shirt, white to the toes. First, representatives of the Turkish authorities, and now representatives of the local population, inspect his clothes and tie his sleeves, and then witness the cave. At this time, the people filling the temple and the square in front of the temple pray intensely, frantically, with all the ardor of southern nature, deeply excited by the miracle taking place before their eyes. Once upon a time, tens of thousands of Russian pilgrims filled the courtyard of the temple, tens of thousands of Orthodox Arabs then and now pray, crying out to Heaven for a miracle. Not only Orthodox Christians pray, Armenians, Copts, Syrians and representatives of other eastern peoples also pray. And so, at one moment or another, after such universal intense prayer, a miracle occurs. Heavenly fire descends on the candles of the Patriarch or his locum tenens, praying in the Cave of the Holy Sepulcher with raised hands. At this time, neither at the Holy Sepulcher, nor in the entire temple, not a single candle or lamp is lit. But then a miracle happens. Through the holes made in the Edicule, the Patriarch extends fire to the Armenians and Copts; Kavass - ministers, dressed in the most luxurious clothes, with bunches of burning candles run through the temple, lighting the lamps of the pilgrims standing with bunches of thirty-three candles as they run. Indescribable delight takes over the crowd of pilgrims who see with their own eyes the greatest miracle of God’s mercy. In the first moments after its appearance, believers wash their faces and hands with miraculous fire: the first moments after its miraculous appearance, the holy fire does not burn.
So, I saw the very man through whom the Lord is performing this great miracle in our days before me, I was his guest.
Lord Keladion treated me with amazing warmth and love. He invited me to perform a divine service with him on the day of the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem, over the holy Nativity scene, and during our further meetings with him, he presented me with the greatest award on earth: the Holy Sepulcher Cross with a particle of the Life-Giving Tree. This holy order is bestowed by the Patriarch himself. Together with all the shrines, the signs of the Holy Sepulcher Cross are sealed in a repository, which no one has the right to touch until the election of the Patriarch. And therefore, wanting, nevertheless, to give me this greatest joy, the gracious Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne gave me his own Holy Sepulcher Cross, filling my heart with deep gratitude and joy.
To all Orthodox residents of the Far East, the High Hierarch of the Church of Jerusalem wrote a wonderful message, breathing with the grace of church antiquity and the patristic spirit:
“To all blessed Orthodox Christians living in China, Manchuria, Japan, Kamchatka and Korea, grace and mercy from God our Savior Jesus Christ.
Blessed and glorified be the name of the Lord, whose Divine grace has honored His Eminence, your Archbishop and Archpastor - Nestor, so that he arrives before the world-saving feast of the Nativity of Christ in the holy city of Jerusalem and venerates the holy places in this holy land and strengthens his hopes and desires, and good deeds in the work of the Gospel.
The Most Holy Mother of the Churches, who bears the wounds of the Lord on her body, received His Eminence with love and honor. He served with us on the night of the Nativity of Christ over the Divine Nativity Scene, over which the star walking before the Magi stood to show them the born new Child - the Eternal God.
Then His Eminence performed the Divine Liturgy and at the Life-Giving Sepulcher of the Lord, he offered prayers and supplications to the All-Merciful God for the peace, prosperity and prosperity of his God-saved flock. Having performed sacred worship, His Eminence, preparing to go home, gives us the opportunity to repeat for you the prayers that the holy Church of Zion constantly offers from all shrines day and night for all Orthodox and prays to the All-Good God that He gave you the blessings of Jerusalem and the blessings of Zion, strengthened you in faith and good deeds among the nations living in darkness, advancing you in piety, correcting your hearts in the love of God and the patience of Christ.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ multiply on you and on your homes. Amen.
Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne of Jerusalem Keladion Metropolitan of Ptolemais, in the holy city of Jerusalem, December 29, 1933.”
Last year, due to illness, Metropolitan Keladion left the post of Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne and in his place the church voice elected His Eminence Metropolitan Meliton, also an Archpastor of high spiritual qualities. With Metropolitan Meliton, the Lord led me to perform the Christmas service at the Manger of the Lord in Bethlehem. May the Lord give him grace to accomplish like all his predecessors holy miracle Holy Fire on the coming great pre-Easter day.
On Saturday, December 31st, old style, with the blessing of Metropolitan Keladion, I performed the Divine Service over the Holy Sepulcher. On Friday evening, accompanied by Russian clergy, we headed to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
It was a black night, the rain poured continuously, causing deep joy to all the inhabitants of Palestine, who had previously endured lack of rain and drought for several years. The bells of the Holy Sepulchre, donated by the once pious inhabitants of Moscow, resounded solemnly and viscously.
Sacred awe controlled the soul. Here is the black thunder of the temple, here is the small narrow door to the temple. Bells can also be heard inside the church. Both Russian and Arab Orthodox pilgrims have already gathered for the service.
We enter the temple: in front of us is the sacred Stone of Anointing, where Christ once reclined with His Most Pure Body, Golgotha rises to the right, and the entrance to the Tomb to the left. Oh, the most sacred and blessed image, forever etched into my soul and sanctified it until the end of my days!
It was half past twelve at night, and the midnight office was going on in the Greek temple. It was performed by a Greek hieromonk, one of the hieromonks who always serve at the Holy Sepulcher. Three or four hundred Russian pilgrims, mainly pilgrims, and two hundred Orthodox Greeks and Arabs were in the church. These people were completely lost in the huge temple, accustomed to tens of thousands of pilgrims.
We again bowed to the great shrines. Matins began. It was started by the same Greek hieromonk who also served the Midnight Office. Then, having taken my blessing, he left to perform proskomedia at the Holy Sepulcher. Father Nathanael remained to continue and finish Matins. The vaults of the sacred temple resounded with the sounds of prayers, sometimes in Greek, sometimes in Slavic, sometimes in Arabic.
And in the distance the prayers of Armenians, Copts, Syrians, and Catholics were heard in a wide variety of human languages and dialects. And the Most High Lord, the good Father of all the peoples of the earth, listened to these multilingual prayers at this most sacred place, where the greatest Mystery of making Sacrifice was accomplished not by man for God, but by God for man.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is walked around by archdeacons: Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic, censing the entire temple every night at 12 o'clock at night.
Now Matins has ended, the priests, having read the prayers, entered the sacred canopy of the Holy Sepulcher, bending their knees there before the Chalice standing on the Sepulcher.
Then the archdeacon and I read the entrance prayers according to the complex custom of the Greek Church, bowing before the many greatest shrines that surrounded us in these blessed moments. Initially, we bowed to the Holy Sepulcher of the Lord, then they dressed me in the ancient solemn vestments of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, forged in silver and gold, and the Divine Liturgy began at the Most Divine Place.
During the liturgy, a Russian choir of nuns sang touchingly. Along with singing "Come, let's worship" After entering with the Gospel, I entered under the holy canopy of the Edicule. It is impossible to describe the feeling that dominated my soul then.
Those bright exceptional feelings that the soul of a Christian feels on the unforgettable Easter night, feelings that, like a reflection of heavenly joy, the Lord sends to us on our sinful earth to show what we should strive for in the future, these feelings constantly dominate pilgrim to the Holy Land. In moments of worship of the Holy Sepulcher, in moments of service under His sacred canopy, this feeling doubles, increases tenfold, and the soul sings hymns, and the heart praises the Creator, and bright joy along with tears of repentance, with the deepest sorrow for one’s sinfulness and a prayer for purification to the brim fill the soul. It is as if every day there, at the sacred Tomb, the Christian soul experiences Holy Pascha.
I performed the ritual during the Liturgy according to Greek custom with a rod in my hand, and I also listened to the reading of the Gospel with a rod in my hand outside the Holy Edicule. These are the characteristics of Greek worship.
During the Liturgy at the Holy Sepulcher, Easter hymns are always sung: “Rise Up God”, “Angel Crying” etc. This marks and clearly expresses the constant mood of the soul that a Christian always experiences in this most sacred place.
At the Holy Sepulchre, I prayed, first of all, of course, for our great suffering Motherland, praying to Christ, who rose from this very Tomb, to resurrect Her, exhausted and suffering. I prayed for all my friends, for all loved ones, for all the employees and helpers of the House of Mercy, for all its friends and benefactors, for all the inhabitants of our Far East, for all Russian people scattered throughout the vast world, for all humanity , praying to the Lord to touch with His Love all our hearts, hardened among lies and deception.
And when the Liturgy ended, the choirs of angels sang in the soul for a long time, and the heart clearly realized that here is a force that no other forces can defeat, here is a light that all the efforts of evil cannot extinguish.
Blessed night at blessed places!
I will never forget this joy, I will never stop talking about it. “I will not be silent for Zion’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest.”.
(To be continued)
ANASTASY (in the world Alexander Alekseevich Gribanovsky) (1873-1965), metropolitan, outstanding Russian teacher, spiritual writer and church leader. He graduated from the Tambov Theological School, the Tambov Theological Seminary, the Moscow Theological Academy with a candidate of theology degree. (1897). Accepted monasticism and priesthood (1898). Archimandrite (1900). Rector of the Moscow Theological Seminary (1901-1914). Bishop of Serpukhov, vicar of the Moscow diocese (1906-1914). Bishop of Kholm and Lublin (1914-1915). Bishop of Chisinau and Khotyn (since 1915). Archbishop (1916). Participant of the All-Russian Local Council 1917 - 1918. At the Council he was elected a Member of the Holy Synod and the Supreme Church Council of the Orthodox Russian Church. In exile (since 1919). Manager of the Russian parishes of the Constantinople district as a diocesan bishop (1920-1924). Supervising the affairs of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem (1921-1935). Metropolitan (1935). 2nd First Hierarch of the ROCOR (1936-1964). Retired since 1964.
ANTONY (in the world Alexey Pavlovich Khrapovitsky) (1863-1936), metropolitan, outstanding Russian theologian, philosopher, teacher, spiritual writer and church leader. Graduated from St. Petersburg. Theological Academy (SPbDA) (1885), Master of Theology (1888), Doctor of Theology (1911).. Accepted monasticism and priesthood (1885). Professorial fellow, assistant inspector of St. Petersburg Academy of Civil Aviation (1886-1988). Teacher at Kholm Theological Seminary. (1886-1887). And about. Associate Professor of SPbDA (1887-1890). Archimandrite (1890). Rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary (1890-1891). Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy (1891-1894). Rector of the Kazan Theological Academy (1894-1900). Bishop of Cheboksary, vicar of the Kazan diocese (1897-1899). Bishop of Chistopol, vicar of the Kazan diocese (1899-1900). Bishop of Ufa and Menzelinsky (1900-1902). Bishop of Volyn and Zhitomir (1902-1914). Archbishop (1906). Archbishop of Kharkov (1914-1918). Metropolitan (1917). Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia (since 1918). In December 1918, by order of the government of S. Petlyura, he was arrested together with Archbishop Evlogii (Georgievsky) and was kept in custody in the Greek Catholic monastery in Buchach and in the Catholic monastery near Krakow. After his release in the summer of 1919, he was elected chairman of the Provisional Higher Church Administration of South-East Russia. In November 1920 he left Russia. First Hierarch of the ROCOR (1920-1936).
All dates in the book are given according to the Julian calendar.
PORFIRY (in the world Konstantin Aleksandrovich Uspensky ) (1804-1885), bishop, outstanding Russian teacher, orientalist, Byzantine scholar, archaeologist and church leader. Honorary member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society. He graduated from the Kostroma Theological Seminary and the St. Petersburg Theological Academy (1829). He was tonsured a monk (1829). Hieromonk (1829). Master of Divinity (1831). Law teacher at the Richelieu Lyceum in Odessa. (1831). Archimandrite (1834). Abbot of the Assumption Monastery in Odessa (1834-1838). Rector of the Kherson Theological Seminary (1838-1840). Rector of the Embassy Church in Vienna (.1840-1842). Sent to Jerusalem to familiarize himself with the life of Orthodox Christians in Palestine and Syria (1842). Initiator of the creation and first head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem (1847-1854). Bishop Chigirinsky, vicar of the Kyiv diocese (1865-1878). Member of the Synodal Office in Moscow with a stay in the Novospassky Monastery (1878). Retired (1878-1885).
ANTONIN (in the world Andrei Ivanovich Kapustin) (1817-1894), archimandrite, outstanding Russian theologian, Byzantinist, teacher, spiritual writer and church leader, honorary member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, Imperial Archaeological Society, Odessa Society of History and Antiquities, Athens Archaeological Society , German Eastern Archaeological Society, etc. Graduated from the Dalmatovo Theological School (1831), studied at the Perm (1831-1836) and Yekaterinoslav (1836-1839) theological seminaries, graduated from the Kiev Theological Academy (KDA) (1843) with a master's degree in theology (1845 ). He took monastic vows (1845). Hierodeacon, hieromonk. (1845). KDA teacher (1845-1850). Rector of the church at the Russian embassy in Athens (1850-1959). Archimandrite (1853). Rector of the church in Constantinople (1859-1865). Head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem (1865-1894). Buried in the northern part of the Ascension Cathedral on the top of the Mount of Olives (Olive)
LEONID (in the world Lev Aleksandrovich Kavelin ), archimandrite ( 1822,1891), Russian theologian, historian, archaeographer, bibliographer, translator, Honorary Member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, Corresponding Member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Graduated from the 1st Moscow cadet corps(1840). Officer of the Life Guards Volyn Regiment (1840-1852). He retired with the rank of captain (1852). Novice of Optina Pustyn. (1852-1857). He took monastic vows (1857). Hierodeacon, hieromonk. (1857). Member of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem (1857-1859). He labored in the Optina monastery (1859-1863). Archimandrite (1863). Head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem (1863-1865). Rector of the church at the Russian embassy in Constantinople (1865-1869) Rector of the Resurrection Stavropegic Monastery, otherwise called New Jerusalem (1869-1877). Governor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (1877-1891).
ANTONY (in the world Alexander Fedorovich Sinkevich) (1903 - 1996), archbishop. The son of the famous monarchist Archpriest Fyodor Nikolaevich Sinkevich. He graduated from the Kyiv Theological Seminary, the Russian cadet school in Belgrade, studied at the medical and then theological (1926-1930) faculties of the University of Belgrade.. Novice of the monastery in Milkovo (1929-1930). He was tonsured a monk (1930). Hierodeacon (1930). Hieromonk (1931). Teacher of the law at the religious school in Yagodina (1931-1933). Abbot (1933). Head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem (1933-1951). Archimandrite (1934). Bishop of Los Angeles, Vicar of the Diocese of San Francisco (1951-1962). Archbishop (1961). Archbishop of Los Angeles and Texas (1962-1971). Archbishop of Los Angeles and Southern California (1971-1996).
The White Fathers are a French Catholic missionary society.
Today we begin a series of stories about pilgrimage. And I will tell you about where you can go with our pilgrimage center, what extraordinary places to visit, what shrines to touch. Our journey today to the Holy Land.
When we hear the phrase “Holy Land”, first of all Orthodox person places are presented that are associated with the earthly life of our Savior and our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother, the Most Pure Theotokos. The pilgrimage to the Holy Land is one of the most ancient and ongoing, despite any difficulties. Since the first centuries, people have been flocking here to see with their own eyes the places described in the GOSPEL, to walk with their own feet on the Earth on which the SAVIOR HIMSELF walked.
Until the mid-19th century, pilgrims reached the Holy Land alone or in small groups at their own risk, making their way mainly through Constantinople. Such a journey usually lasted about two years. It was associated with many hardships and dangers, insults and violence. Many of the pilgrims were unable to return to their homeland.
However, in the 19th century, the convenience and safety of communications led to a strong increase in pilgrimage to the Holy Land. An important role in this was played by the establishment in 1847 of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem and the creation in 1882 of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.
In our time, interest in pilgrimage has increased again, especially since moving around the world has become much easier. Nowadays, pilgrims are transported to their destination by a comfortable air Transport for a 4 hour flight.
And we are pleased to offer you a pilgrimage program to the Holy Land lasting 4, 8, or 11 days to choose from. The trip program is designed so that you can visit the most especially significant places for an Orthodox Christian, pray at the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and partake of the HOLY MYSTERIES OF CHRIST.
The route includes the cities: Jerusalem - Bethlehem - Nazareth - Cana - Tabor - Jordan River.
The Holy Land today is the State of Israel. It was proclaimed on May 14, 1948. The political system is a parliamentary republic headed by a president who is elected by the Knesset (parliament). The capital of the State of Israel is the city of Jerusalem. Israel is a geographically compact country. On a geographical map it looks like a narrow strip on the shore Mediterranean Sea length 450 km, width – 135 km. It borders on Lebanon and Syria in the north, Jordan in the east, and Egypt in the south and southwest. The country's area is 21,596 sq. km. - slightly larger than the area of our republic (for comparison, the area of Chuv.Resp = 18343 sq. km.).
The population is about 7 million people. The official languages are Hebrew and Arabic. But English is spoken almost everywhere, and you can also hear Russian everywhere - more than 1 million emigrants from the CIS countries at one time moved to Israel. Our country has a visa-free regime with Israel.
The pilgrimage begins from Jerusalem. You will visit a huge number of holy places associated with events from the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, His Most Pure Mother, and the acts of the apostles.
Beginning of the pilgrimage - Olivet(Mount of Olives), it offers a magnificent panorama of the Old City. Why “Olive” - because the slopes of this mountain in the time of Jesus Christ were covered entirely with olive orchards. There on the Mount of Olives is located place Ascension Gentlemen, where the imprint of the Lord’s foot at the moment of His Ascension was preserved on the stone. And at the very top of the mountain is Spaso—Voznesensky Orthodox female a monastery that belongs to the Russian Spiritual Mission. The head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin), is buried there, through the works and aspirations of whom the Russian Spiritual Mission in the Holy Land was created in the 19th century. The Chapel of the First and Second Finding of the Venerable Head of John the Baptist is also located here.
There is a place on the mountainside called “Dominus Flevit” - this is the place from which Jesus mourned Jerusalem, foreseeing the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the coming disasters.
Another site of the Russian Spiritual Mission on the Mount of Olives - monastery St.. Maria Magdalene V Gethsemane. A beautiful place, a very beautiful temple. St. is buried there. relics of the Venerable Martyrs Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna and her cell attendant In. Barbarians. On its territory there are the Steps along which Jesus Christ walked during his entry into Jerusalem in Palm Sunday. The stone on which the Mother of God dropped her belt to assure the Apostle Thomas.
Not far away, here on the slope of the Mount of Olives there is an Orthodox Church - the Tomb of the Mother of God. Nearby is the Garden of Gethsemane, in which Olives, the same age as Jesus Christ, grow and bear fruit. Temple of All Nations, the altar of which is the Stone of Prayer for the Chalice (here Christ prayed to God the Father for deliverance from suffering; at this place the betrayal of Judas took place).
Having descended from the mountain, we find ourselves at the gate Old town
The walking pilgrimage through the old city starts from Lion Gate. Located nearby Bethesda- “The Sheep Pool”, in one of the porches of which the Savior healed the paralytic. Church Christmas Holy Mother of God(at this place, according to legend, stood the dwelling of the holy righteous Joachim and Anna - the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos).
Godfather path- the path along which the Savior walked to the place of His death on the Cross. It starts from Praetoria - there, at the time of Jesus Christ, there was a dungeon in which prisoners were kept before the trial of the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate. Pilgrims will walk this way, see and touch the stones that were touched by the hand of the Savior Himself. They will fall to the Threshold of the Gate of Judgment, through which He left the city on the way to Golgotha.
The main shrine for an Orthodox pilgrim in Jerusalem is the Temple Resurrection or Temple Coffin God's. It contains all the most sorrowful places of the last hours of the Savior’s earthly life. Holy Golgotha, where Christ was nailed to the Cross. Stone of Confirmation - where the body of the Lord, taken from the Cross, was anointed with oil and myrrh. Holy Edicule is the place of the Holy Sepulcher. The Angel's Chapel, where on the stone the Angel of the Lord met the Myrrh-Bearing Women after the Resurrection of the Lord. Rotunda of the Holy Sepulcher. Katholikon - Greek Cathedral Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Chapel of the Head of Adam. Chapel of St. John the Baptist. Chapel of St. Equal to the Apostles Queen Helena. Chapel of the Finding of the Lord's Cross. Cave of Finding. Chapel of St. Longinus Sotnik. Chapel of the Laying of the Crown of Thorns. Chapel of the Prison of the Lord's Bonds. Chapel of the Weeping Mother of God. They are witnesses of truly historical gospel events, and you can touch them with your own hands and approach them with prayer. “At the Holy Sepulcher, God hears you as if you were speaking into His ear...” is a favorite saying of Jerusalem guides.
In this place, the soul is filled with extraordinary trepidation, the feeling cannot be expressed in words. After a person has visited this temple, changes in everyone’s soul occur. Some people feel it immediately and clearly, others later, after comprehension, but grace visits everyone.
You will also visit Mount Zion, where you will see what the Zion Upper Room of the Last Supper was like; Tomb of King David. Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, erected on the site of the house in which the Mother of God lived with the Apostle John last years of your earthly life. From the mountain there is a beautiful panorama of the Orthodox monastery of St. Onuphrius, which belongs to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, located in the valley of the sons of Hinnom (Gai ben Hinnom or Gehenom). Panorama of the Pool of Siloam - the place of anointing for the kingdom of the kings of Judah, the place of healing by Jesus Christ of a man born blind.
Isn’t it true – these are all familiar Gospel places and events!
The next most significant place in the Holy Land is Bethlehem, the city of the Birth of Jesus Christ. The altar of the Church of the Nativity of Christ is located above the cave in which our Savior was born, in this temple there is miraculous icon Our Lady of Jerusalem. The only one in which the Mother of God smiles at us. Here is the Cave of the Bethlehem Infants with parts of their relics. You will also visit Greek cave temple « Field shepherdesses", built on the spot where, on the night of the Nativity of Christ, Angels appeared to three shepherds, announcing the birth of the Savior to the world. Tomb of St. Shepherds - witnesses of the Nativity of Christ. They will also show you the Field of Bethlehem, where the biblical meeting of Ruth and Boaz took place. Here King David the Psalmist spent his childhood and youth, and he was anointed as king by the prophet Samuel.
An unforgettable trip to Lavra prp. Savva Sanctified- the founder of Palestinian monasticism - this is the only monastery in the Hermitage of the Holy City, which preserves the ancient monastic charter bequeathed by the founder.
More you will visit Monastery prp. Feodosia Great, built on the site of a cave in which the Magi stayed after worshiping the Infant Christ.
The next city on the pilgrimage route is Hebron- the oldest city of the forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the capital of the kingdom of David. It's still growing there Oak Mamvrian, under the shadow of which Abraham received the Holy Trinity. This place is now located Monastery Holy Trinity— Section of the Russian Spiritual Mission.
In the city Bethany there is a Greek Orthodox church on the site of the house of Martha and Mary. On the territory of the church there is a stone on which the Savior sat. There, in this town is located tomb St.. rights. Lazarus Four-day.
Jericho- the most ancient city in the world. There, in the Greek monastery of the Prophet Elisha, there is the Tree of Zacchaeus, on which the tax collector sat in the hope of seeing the Savior. Quarantal - Mountain Forty days Temptations and the Forty Days Monastery - here the Lord fasted for forty days and was tempted. To get to the monastery, you have to walk up the mountain. Quite steep and high. And the monastery itself from below looks as if glued to the rock.
Then on the pilgrims' path lies Monastery prp. Gerasima Jordanian in the Jordan Valley. It's on the way to Place Baptism on the river Jordan(Vifavar). The biblical name of the place is Beit Ma'avar. Every year on the day of the Epiphany of the Lord, the water in the Jordan begins to boil and the river turns back its flow to the jubilant exclamations of those gathered.
And it was here that three and a half thousand years ago the people of Israel, led by Joshua, forded the Jordan River when they finally entered the Promised Land after Forty Years of wandering in the desert.
Then there will be trips to other cities connected with the life of our Savior, the Mother of God, the Apostles and other holy ascetics: Lydda - the temple and tomb of St. Vmch. St. George the Victorious Orthodox Christians all over the world love to get married in the Church of St. George the Victorious and believe that a marriage concluded here will be happy; Jaffa - RDM courtyard, tomb of St. right Tabitha; Holy Mount Tabor - Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Every year on the Feast of the Transfiguration, at dawn, Mount Tabor is overshadowed by a wonderful cloud of light as a sign of God’s special mercy.; Nazareth - Church of St. Archangel Gabriel over the source of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Capernaum you will be treated to Peter's fish; Cannae is the city of the Savior’s first miracle at the wedding feast; Tiberias; Magdala - the metochion of the RDM - the place of the healing of Mary Magdalene by the Lord, the Holy Spring, where the Lord cast out seven demons from Mary Magdalene and many, many other holy places. Unfortunately, the time allotted for our program cannot accommodate a story about all the wonderful places on the route, but believe me, everywhere you feel an extraordinary delight of the soul and a feeling of immersing yourself in that era. You begin to understand the Truth of the Gospel.
During the trip, pilgrims will fully enjoy the nature of these wonderful places. You will feel a “different flow of time” and see a “different” sky above your head. I am now telling you about the Holy Land and reliving the delight that I experienced there.
It is difficult to describe the feelings that accompany a pilgrim on a trip - you just have to experience and see it. Diversity of nature, mountains, the Sea of Galilee, olive trees, palm trees, stone desert... You can’t leave the feeling that you are Where You Should Be, in the middle of Real History.
If you have the opportunity, do not put off this trip, because the grace that you will feel inside and preserve is incomparably greater than the “joy” of being in a hotel in Turkey or Egypt and lazy swimming in the pool! The feeling of the presence of Real Miracle and Fullness will accompany you, not only until you leave these places, but also for a very long time afterwards. Every Orthodox Christian I must visit these HOLY PLACES at least once in my life!!!
Kolesnikova Nadezhda Yurievna
Assistant to the head of the Pilgrimage Center of the Chuvash Metropolis
Israel- the cradle of three great religions of the world. For the believing population, Israel is a holy land, because it is here that buildings, monuments and entire areas are concentrated, considered by supporters of world religions as places not ordinary, but holy. This land became holy for Christians, Muslims, and Jews, for all the most significant historical events of these peoples took place here.
The sacred places of Israel are known to people both believers and non-believers. These places are associated primarily with the earthly life of Christ. The Annunciation and Nativity of Christ, the Baptism of Jesus Christ, the Presentation of the Lord, His appearance in Tabor and the Transfiguration - everything happened here. The Savior’s path ran through this land, it was here that he preached sermons and performed great miracles. The Last Supper took place here and Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Here he endured great suffering, walked the Way of the Cross to Golgotha and was crucified on the Cross. The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ took place on this same earth.
Each major Christian shrine is a monument to one of the periods of the life of Jesus Christ. Churches, monasteries and other religious buildings have been built in almost every city in the country, where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and tourists constantly flock.
Pilgrimage to the holy places of Israel
A pilgrimage to the holy places of Israel involves visiting holy places, various temples and monasteries. This concept arose in Orthodoxy when travel to places associated with the name of Christ began.
On the eve of the most important holidays for Christians - Christmas and Easter - Israel becomes especially attractive for pilgrims, believers, as well as people who are generally interested in history.
The most popular option for pilgrimage tours is 8 days. Often the pilgrimage is complemented by treatment or relaxation in the Dead or Red Seas. A visit to the Holy Land is also often combined with Egypt and Jordan, which are also interesting as places of pilgrimage.
A pilgrimage tour to holy places includes visits to the most important Christian shrines. Programs may vary depending on the church calendar or group composition, but they always retain their basic elements.
For Russian pilgrims, the pilgrimage begins with the Russian Spiritual Mission - this is the official representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Israel. Pilgrims receive blessings here to complete their pilgrimage, and from here the journey begins in the footsteps of Jesus.
The pilgrimage tour includes visits to holy places in Jerusalem, Tiberias, Nazareth, Netanya, Haifa, Jaffa and Lydda.
A trip to the holy sites in Jerusalem includes places that are associated with last days life of Jesus on earth. First of all, this is, of course, the Mount of Olives. On it are located the Place of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, the Temple of the Ascension, the Gethsemane Convent, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, the Olivet Convent, the tomb of the Mother of God, Mount Zion, the Temple of the Assumption of the Mother of God, the tomb of King David.
To holy places Tiberias include the ancient city of Jericho and the monastery of St. George the Chozevit, the Forty Days Monastery and the Mount of Temptations. According to legend, Jesus fasted for 40 days after baptism in the desert near Jericho, in a cave on the top of a mountain, and Satan tempted him. In memory of this event, the Greek Forty Days Monastery was built.
In Tiberias, pilgrims will also definitely visit Mount Tabor, the monastery of St. Zacchaeus, the Jordan River, in which Jesus was baptized, and the monastery in Magdala - here pilgrims bathe in the spring. It was here that Christ healed Mary Magdalene and cast out demons from her.
Within Sea of Galilee Almost the entire Gospel story unfolded. Here are the Church of the Twelve Apostles, Capernaum, the Church of the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, Tabgha, the Mount of Beatitudes and the Church of the Sermon on the Mount. From the shore of the Sea of Galilee Jesus preached about peace and love; on these mountains he had conversations with the Father, in these places he healed the sick and performed miracles. 
IN Nazareth The Virgin Mary learned from Archangel Gabriel that she would give birth to the Savior of the world. Christ lived here until his youth. At the top of Mount Carmel there is a cave where the Holy Prophet Elijah lived, and according to legend, Mary and her baby visited this cave. Church of the Archangel Gabriel, Church of the Annunciation, Cave of St. Prophet Elijah, Russian Church of St. The Prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel is a memory of the above events.
According to legend, the city Jaffa- the oldest city in the world: Noah built his ark here on the seashore, and his son, Japheth, founded the city. The Apostle Peter lived in Jaffa for a long time and it was here that, according to legend, he resurrected the righteous Tabitha. In Jaffa, pilgrims visit the Russian Church of St. Apostle Peter and the Chapel of the Holy Righteous Tabitha.
IN Lydda Saint George the Victorious was born, and there is a church named after him here. Stored in the city miraculous icon Mother of God, who appeared (according to legend) during her lifetime.
Holy places of Jerusalem
Ancient maps of the world show Jerusalem at the very center, and today it is also a common shrine for Christians, Jews and Muslims. For centuries, the city has been the reason for endless long-term disputes and brutal, bloody wars. And yet, every year hundreds of thousands of people of various religions come here.
Jerusalem can truly be called a city of peace, because you will not find such an amazing mixture of peoples, historical monuments, traditions and cultures, where churches, mosques and synagogues reign equally, anywhere else.
Biblical sites of Israel in Jerusalem:
1. Temple Mount. It is located on the territory of the Old Town, in its southeastern part. She represents rectangular area with high stone walls. It is no coincidence that the Temple Mount occupies a central place in Jerusalem; it is sacred to Judaism - Jews turn their faces to it during prayer. This is explained by the fact that there used to be a Temple on the site of the mountain, which was destroyed twice. Today, only part of the Western Wall, or Western Wall, remains of the Temple - a symbol of faith of the Jewish people, as well as a traditional place of prayer.
In Judaism and Christianity there are prophecies about the coming of the Messiah for the deliverance of all mankind. At the same time, the Third Temple will be built - the spiritual center for all the peoples of the world. 
The Temple Mount is also a sacred place for Muslims. The most important shrines after Medina and Mecca are located on Temple Square. In the very center, where the Jewish Temple stood, the Qubbat al-Sakhra mosque (otherwise known as the Dome of the Rock) was erected. In the southern part is the al-Aqsa Mosque. Mosques were also destroyed and were even converted into Christian churches during the Crusaders.
The Temple formerly housed the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy of Holies of the Jews. It was here that God appeared to proclaim his will, and in the ark itself the Tablets of the Covenant were kept for the Jewish people. The Ark mysteriously disappeared before the destruction of the First Temple; famous archaeologists are still searching for it.
2. Wall of Tears. As I said above, only the western part of the wall has survived today. The Western Wall is an incredibly revered holy site. Since the end of the sixteenth century, it acquired exceptional religious significance for Jewish believers.
Believers all over the world are confident that sincere prayer at the Western Wall can be truly miraculous. And there is a lot of evidence that people who prayed at the Western Wall were healed of terrible ailments, and women were freed from infertility. 
One of the traditions is writing notes asking for help. Believers from all over the world come to the Wall with big amount such notes sent from friends and acquaintances who cannot come. It is believed that if you insert these messages into the cracks of the Western Wall, God will read them and help those suffering.
3. Calvary. This is a mountain famous for the fact that Jesus was crucified here.
According to biblical legends, under this mountain there was a deep hole where, after execution, the bodies of criminals and the crosses on which they were crucified were thrown. The Cross of Christ was also thrown into this hole and covered up. And only centuries later, the cross was found during excavations by Queen Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine I. According to legend, even the nails with which Christ was crucified were preserved.
6. City Capernaum on Lake Kinneret - the city where Christ preached. It is extremely unusual to see the Orthodox Temple of the 12 Apostles among Arab settlements.
7. Not far from Capernaum there is a fishing village Tabha, where Jesus fed two fish and five loaves of bread to everyone present, walked behind a boat on the water, miraculously calmed the storm, and appeared before the disciples here after his resurrection. The Monastery of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes was built as a memory of these miracles.
Excursions to the holy places of Israel
Traveling to Israel is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world. The overwhelming majority of tourists go to Jerusalem, but many of them travel to Christian shrines. You can go on a tour of the holy places of Jerusalem from almost any city in Israel; you just need to book a trip in advance at the country’s excursion bureau. There are also organized trips from Egypt to Jerusalem and vice versa - tourists holidaying in Israel can visit the sights of neighboring countries such as Egypt and Jordan.
Traveling to Israel at Christmas or Easter is very popular. You need to book such a trip to holy places in advance: you should take into account the popularity of holidays among Christians and the congestion of flights. It is also worth remembering the number of tourists and pilgrims visiting the country on such major Christian holidays.
Israel is a country that everyone should visit. I really hope that the information I collected will be useful to you, your loved ones and family. Do not be ill!
Your Olga Hallway.
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