Bad News and Good News from the Holy Land

It was one year ago this week that 32 pilgrims, along with our expert guide Mrs. Helene Paharik and me, visited the holy shrines of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and the Galilee.  My memories are still fresh for these very special eight days of travel, prayer, common meals and fellowship.  When these sites come up in the lectionary's gospel readings--such as yesterday for the Beatitudes, or this past Sunday, for the cute story of Zaccheus in Jericho--my imagination and memory go wild in having these stories, and places, burst into view in my brain.

Two of the holy shrines we visited, and most Christian pilgrims visit, have been in the news lately.  One good, one bad.  Let's start with the sad one.

Sometime in the night of October 24, vandals and burglars broke into the Church of the Transfiguration atop Mt. Tabor.  They destroyed the tabernacle, desecrated the Sacred Hosts, and stole the ciborium after throwing the Hosts on the floor.  Icons were damaged, chalices were stolen, and the donation box was robbed.  

The tabernacle at the Church of the Transfiguration in Israel, desecrated by burglars.

There have been other Christian churches in the Holy Land which have been vandalized by Jewish extremists.  Last year we saw some of their anti-Catholic graffiti and their arson attempt at the shrine of Tabgha, on the Sea of Galilee.  But church officials said they believe only robbery was the motive in this instance, since there was not graffiti painted on the church.

This act of robbery strikes me as odd, since the church sits atop 1,500 foot high mountain.  The way most people get there is by taxi or tour bus.  Almost nobody walks up the steep slopes, where Jesus and three of his closest friends went to pray, and his appearance was physically changed.  According the gospels, Jesus conversed with the prophets Elijah and Moses.  This location is next to a Franciscan monastery, whose friars guard the church and grounds.   So how did the robbers get there?  And how did they get down the mountain? 

I remember this site vividly, as the simple lines of the late 19th century church moved me to prayer.  I must have sat in the cool of the church for 30 minutes or more, admiring the icons on the walls and taking in the presence of Christ.

On a blessed more positive note, in Jerusalem archaeologists have been deconstructing the facade of the Edicule, the  shrine which houses what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  The Edicule has been held up by scaffolding for a long time, as water has damaged the shrine.  This act of conservation in itself is a minor miracle, as the five Christian denominations which control parts of the Holy Sepulchre Church have not been able to agree on anything for decades.

But news broke the other day that after the marble cladding was removed, the researchers found first a layer of fill material, and then another marble slab with a cross carved into its surface.  It is believed that the original limestone burial bed where the crucified body of Jesus was laid was revealed intact.

National Geographic's archaeologist-in-residence, Fredrik Hiebert, said, "I'm absolutely amazed.  My knees are shaking a little bit because I wasn't expecting this.  We can't say 100 percent, but it appears to be visible proof that the location of the tomb has not shifted through time, something that scientists and historians have wondered for decades."  

Chief scientific supervisor Professor Antonia Moropoulou of the National Technical University of Athens, who is directing the conservation and restoration of the Edicule, said, "This is the Holy Rock that has been revered for centuries, but only now can actually be seen."

In addition, researchers confirmed the existence of the original limestone cave walls within the 18th century Edicule, which encloses the tomb.  A window has been cut into the southern interior wall of the shrine to expose one of the cave walls.

According to a story on the National Geographic website, when Constantine's representatives arrived in Jerusalem around 325 to locate the tomb of Christ, they were allegedly pointed to a temple build by the Roman emperor Hadrian some 200 years earlier.  Historical sources suggest that Hadrian had the temple built over the tomb to assert the dominance of Roman state religion at the site venerated by Christians.  But his action actually seemed to have preserved the site.

According the church historian Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, the Roman temple was razed and excavations beneath it revealed a rock-cut tomb, just as the gospels stated.  The top of the cave was sheared off to expose the interior, and a church was built around it to enclose the tomb.  This church was destroyed in 1009, and rebuilt a century later.  

This restoration has been going on for months, but the burial bed was only left exposed for 60 hours.  It was extensively photographed and all work recorded by video.  The burial bed has been resealed in its original marble cladding dating to 1555, and may not be exposed again for centuries or even millennia.  

Last year Helene and I were able to visit the Holy Sepulchre three times, and twice we entered the Edicule to pray.  I also celebrated Mass in a side chapel of the Holy Sepulchre Church for our group.  Only feet away from the tomb is the actual hill of Golgotha. Once can hardly describe the feelings you have to get down on your hands and knees, reach down under a marble altar, and touch the actual stone of the site where Jesus was crucified. 

Both of these sites I hope to visit again one year from now.  I have begun preparations, with Unitours of New York, which guided our tour last year, to spiritually lead another pilgrimage to the Holy Land from October 31--November 7, 2017.  Let me know if you are interested in joining us.