We ascended a flight of steps leading to an apartment or small chapel which is said to cover the Hill of Calvary. Here was shown a rent or hole in the rock, as that in which stood the cross while the Savior hung upon it. Many other places were shown, which it is needless to mention. After leaving this building, we went to the House of Pilate, which is said to occupy the same locality as that of the Roman governor; we saw but little, however, to satisfy us of the identity of the Judgment Hall. We came to a building said to cover the place where Jesus came forth wearing the purple robe and crown of thorns, when Pilate exclaimed to the people. "Behold the man!" The place was pointed out where the Savior sank under the weight of the cross, when Simon the Cyrenian was compelled to take it up, and bear it after Him; also the spot where Veronica appeared with a napkin to wipe the sweat off the Savior's brow, when His portrait was miraculously impressed upon it. This pretended relic is preserved as one of the chief in the Basilica of St. Peter's at Rome.
Religious enthusiasts of opposite sects vied with each other in searching out relics, and places to be reverenced and adored by people of their respective persuasions, performing pilgrimages to the Holy Land, their zeal, in some instances, carrying them beyond the bounds of honesty, to practising deceit and imposition. Many of these places had been remaining for centuries beneath the gradual accumulations of debris, and could not be identified, either by history or tradition; consequently, divine intimations were sought, miraculous tests applied, and other methods resorted to in order to establish their claims to genuineness.
Helena, the mother of Constantine, when about eighty years old, in the fourth century, is said to have been divinely impressed to proceed to Jerusalem and make sacred discoveries—to search out the true cross, the holy sepulchre, and other relics and localities connected with the crucifixion of the Savior. Accordingly she went to Jerusalem and, enlisting the services of the inhabitants, instituted a search for the cross of the Savior. Digging through the debris, some twenty feet or more, at length three crosses were discovered, together with the tablet, the nails and crown of thorns. The tablet or inscription, "This is Jesus the King of the Jews," being separated from the crosses, therefore the true cross could not be identified. At last a remedy was discovered. A lady of quality was confined upon her bed in Jerusalem, of a fatal disease. The three crosses were successively presented to her; the two first without effect, but on the approach of the third, she sprang from her dying couch perfectly restored. Thus the identity of the true cross was established. The pillar to which Christ is said to have been bound when He was scourged, is carefully secured, that it may not be stolen by pilgrims, who are only permitted to touch it with a small, round stick, some four feet long or more, kept for this purpose. The stick, after having one end put in contact with the sacred relic, is then kissed by the pilgrims with great fervor and vehemence. While present we witnessed many instances of this fervent and striking devotion.
We visited the reputed Garden of Gethsemane, which belongs to the Latin Church. An opposition one has recently been established by the Greek Church. As soon as the trees have sufficiently grown, and other fixtures remained long enough to impart an ancient and venerable appearance, it will then be exhibited to devout pilgrims as the real, genuine Garden of Gethsemane.
The low, sunken condition of Christianity in Jerusalem is pretty clearly illustrated in the following description of scenes enacted in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. On Easter eve, each successive year, it is pretended that holy fire descends from heaven, lighting up all the lamps in the Holy Sepulchre. On this occasion multitudes of enthusiastic pilgrims are assembled from every quarter of the globe, awaiting with burning anxiety to participate in its benefits, and to receive its holy influences. Just before the prescribed moment for this miraculous descent, the Greek Patriarch enters the tomb, alone, and presently gives out, through a hole in the wall, the holy fire, to the eager and excited multitude.
In former years all the churches participated in the performance of these rites, but latterly have desisted, one after another, till, at present, this practice is continued only by the Greek Church. At these extraordinary scenes, very serious accidents frequently occur—old men and women crushed and trampled to pieces, or perhaps quarrels arise between rival sects, resulting in shooting and stabbing one another. In 1834, deplorable and fearful scenes were enacted in that sacred building. While the church was crowded with Christian pilgrims, a contention arose, in which the Turkish guards engaged; the confusion soon became general, and directly grew into a terrible battle. The scene of horror cannot be described. Numbers were bayoneted or knocked down with the butt ends of muskets, and their blood and brains scattered upon the wall and pavement, each seeming intent to destroy his fellow, or save himself from immediate destruction. Many were pulled down and trampled to death while endeavoring to escape from the building. When order was restored, the dead were lying in heaps around, and even upon the Stone of Unction the bodies of the dead were piled up, and in some places the wounded and dead were thrown together promiscuously, one upon another, five feet high or more.
The Turkish government is obliged to keep a guard constantly watching at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to prevent these contentions and fightings between the rival Christian churches.
These contradictions, contentions and impositions by the rival Christian sects, in Jerusalem, render the Christian religion a subject of scorn and contempt, both to the Jews and Mohammedans, and it is certainly a matter of serious regret that, in this enlightened age of Christianity, such things should exist in this sacred locality where our holy religion was established, and our Savior martyred.
Syria, March 11th, 1873.
Leaving Jerusalem, we ascend by a steep, rocky, winding path to the commanding heights of Mount Scopus, where, turning backward, we take a long, lingering look at the "Holy City"—its noble domes, its high, tapering minarets, and its surrounding mountains. We descend the mountain into a naked, desolate region, our path lying over rocky plateaus, through deep ravines, and over barren hills covered with loose stones and sharp rocks. A small village is seen away to our left on a lofty hill, flags and streamers flying, guns firing, and groups of men and women gaily attired, in open air, rejoicing in the dance. We pass several towns perched among the gray rocks, on the mountain slopes, or crowning the summits of high hills, also several sites of ancient towns overspread with ruins. Sterility and barrenness form the general features of the country. The trees are few, gnarled and stunted, here and there sticking out from rents and holes in the rocks, and broken, decayed terraces, and still clinging to the cliffs.