The first days of Easter week

5 April, 2010

The week after Easter is known as Bright week or Renewal Week in the Orthodox tradition.  It is an important part of Easter, as the resurrection is not just a one-day wonder, but the pivotal event in human history, for which God is to be continually worshipped and praised.

We started the week by going to the Romanian Orthodox Church for their Easter Monday liturgy. The chapel was very intimate - there was only room for about 50 standing up, so I did not impose on that by taking photos.  But I took some photos beforehand.

Two young scholars in training for ministry acted as cantors. They sang beautifully, along with the resident Priests. A number of the course participants thought that this liturgy was one of the highlights of the whole course.  I wouldn't have gone quite as far as to say that, but the singing was lovely, and the people were friendly and welcoming.  I liked the harmonies, and the fact that I could pick up the meaning of a few words as they were said/sung.  For me perhaps the highlight was the way that families were treated by the clergy, nuns and acolytes.  When a young family came, they were given communion straight away, and not kept waiting.  There was evident delight in the children's presence and this positively affected the atmosphere of the church.

After this liturgy we had free time for the rest of the day.  Four of us went on to some of the sites on Mt Moriah (now called Mt Zion) outside the old city wall - the coenaculum, which is said to be the site of Jesus' Last Supper, and two of the churches nearby, the Roman Catholic Benedictine Dormition Abbey and the Assumptionist Church of St Peter in Gallicantu (St Peter of the cock crow), where Caiaphas' house is said to have been.  This last church commemorates both the sufferings of Jesus at human hands, and Peter's denial of Jesus.  Of the three sites that we visited, I found it that it affected me most deeply.

The Church is built in a modern style and has three main levels - the church proper, the crypt, and the basement (caves under the floor).  In the church, scenes from the life of Peter are highlighted, amongst other things.  The panel on the right has the inscription in Latin, 'I do not know the man' from Luke 22.

In the crypt and the basement level bits of the ancient site were laid bare.

The church is said to be on the site of Caiaphas' house, and some archaeological evidence supports that claim. There are pits or caves at the bottom of the site that could have been used as cells at an earlier time, and right next to the church are the ancient steps that Jesus would have gone down with the disciples, when they had finished the Last Supper in the Upper Room. They may well be the same steps he went up again when he was arrested and taken to Caiaphas.

Just next to the steps, in a courtyard outside the church is the sculpture above.  Again the inscription is "I do not know the man.'  Note the cock on the top of the pillar, in the act of crowing.

As an architectural masterpiece, of course, you would have to see the whole building.  But I hope that this gives some indication of its quality and spiritual depth.  The lovely modern architecture, the moving focus on Jesus' arrest and Peter's failure of nerve, and the sense of closeness to Jesus that this site has, made a significant impression on me.



6 April, 2010

On Tuesday we went on a bus trip to the ancient site of Nikopolis - one of the sites that has been identified with Emmaus (Luke 24).  We shared a Eucharist outside - in the ruins of a Byzantine church there.  It was a meaningful time of fellowship and remembrance.  In the photo below our Course Director, Andrew Mays, and our Chaplain, Lois Symes, are setting up for the Eucharist.

7 April, 2010

On Wednesday our outing was to visit sites on the Mount of Olives associated with the Ascension of Jesus.  The first site was an ancient chapel that is also a Muslim holy place commemorating the Ascension, and is administered by Muslims. 

The other two sites had Russian churches built on them. The first one we visited was the Ascension Church on the Mount of Olives. This was beautifully designed and decorated, and the whole area was lovingly tended by the Russian nuns who live there.

In Eastern Orthodox churches the only time they leave the iconostasis open is during Bright Week.

The second Russian church we visited was the Church of St Mary Magdalene.  The two churches are separated by history somewhat as the Church of the Ascension is governed by the Church that worked under the Communist regime while the Church of St Mary Magdalene is run by those who would not make any accommodation with the atheistic Communist regime and operated outside the Soviet Union until the democratic reforms of the 1980s.

This church was also very beautiful, and we sat in silence praying for quite a while. I lit a candle to remember all my Russian ancestors (my grandmother was Russian), and my father as well. He would have loved to have been there.

Once again, the grounds were kept beautifully by the nuns.  I even noticed a little pohutukawa in a pot - blooming in April.

In the evening we had a special farewell dinner, and after that we reflected on our time together over Holy Week and Easter.  It had been a most memorable time, and it had been such a great privilege to spend it in Jerusalem.  I feel hugely enriched by having had this time with the Lord (and with others) in the city he so loved, and in the places that were dear to him, agonising for him, and where he experienced the joy of his resurrection and ascension.