27 May 2014

So a Pope Walks Into a Church

What I don’t know about Christianity could fill a new testament. I am not about to pretend that I understand everything there is to know about the various conflicts and divisions amongst the various sects. But I do know that the current pope went to Jerusalem to heal the wounds of the past. Good luck with that. If Jerusalem has seen one thing it is people holding ancient grudges.

Christians from my point of view are all the same religion. Different groups have different ways of doing things but so do Jews. I see all Jews as Jews, not orthodox, traditional, heredi.

Many Christians would obviously disagree with me. And I am in no position to counter whatever their argument is. Be one religion, be one hundred religions. Whatever works for you.

Whatever you think of the pope, his mission to Jerusalem seems like a decent enough idea to me. He will likely never reach his goal but Jerusalem welcomes all anyway. It is a democratic city in a democratic country. Even a pope is free to visit.

I cannot say where the pope went exactly or anything about his itinerary but I know that he went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Say what you will about all that murdering in the name of Jesus but that is one impressive looking church.

Was Jesus really executed there? Was he buried there? Is that where he came back to life? Each question seems less likely than the last but who cares. It is a really good looking church. Anybody visiting Jerusalem, whether Christian, Jewish or miscellaneous, should have a look.


Church of the Holy Sepulchre


That ladder they are not supposed to move


The sepulchre


Entrance to the main church


Ceiling over the main church


The smaller of the two domes


A few mosaics


Greek Orthodox choir


A mosaic near the “Stone of Anointing”
This shot is an unusual angle because it was taken from above the stone on Calvary


Chapel of St Helena


From one dome to the other


Under the larger of the two domes




3 comments:

esbboston said...

What flag is flying on the building?

esbboston said...

An immovable ladder is technically a stairway.

That reminds me of a note I saw on the door in a convenience store in Spearfish SD in the year 2007, May. It said something like "This Door Is To Be Closed At All Times!!!" A door that is never opened is just a wall with untapped potential.

Mia said...

The immovable ladder can be and is moved quite often. It is supposed to stay where it is because the various Christian groups cannot agree on so much as where to put a ladder, symbolically.

The flag is the Greek Orthodox church laying claim to the site over the Vatican's claim.

When I was younger I saw doors with signs that read "no entry" and wondered why those doors were even there.