The wonders of the world

by John Loraine Abbott

The village of Nazareth is situated in a long valley, surrounded by lofty hills, between which a road leads to the neighboring plain of Esdraelon, and to Jerusalem. The convent is situated in the lower part of the village; and the church belonging to it, a very handsome edifice, is erected over the grotto, or cave, in which (tradition says) the Virgin Mary took up her residence. The other objects of interest in Nazareth are, the synagogue, where Christ is said to have read the Scriptures to the Jews, at present a church; a precipice without the town, where, they say, the Jews endeavored to cast Christ down after his speech in the synagogue; and a church called “the church of the Annunciation,” erected, as they say, on the spot where Mary, the mother of our Lord, received the divine message. It is the most magnificent church in the land except that of the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem.

THE HOLY SEPULCHER AT JERUSALEM.

The church of the Holy Sepulcher, a view of which is given on the next page, is very irregular, owing to the nature and situation of the places which it was designed to comprehend. It is nearly in the form of a cross, being one hundred and twenty paces in length, exclusive of the descent to what is called the place of the discovery of the Holy Cross, and seventy in breadth. It has three domes, of which that covering the Holy Sepulcher serves for the nave of the church. It is thirty feet in diameter, and is covered at the top like the rotunda at Rome. There is not any cupola, the roof being supported by large rafters, brought from Mount Lebanon. On entering the church, you come to the “stone of unction,” on which tradition says the body of our Lord was anointed with myrrh and aloes, before it was laid in the sepulcher. Some say, that it is of the same rock as Mount Calvary; and others assert, that it was brought to this place by Joseph and Nicodemus, secret disciples of Jesus Christ, who performed this pious office, and that it is of a greenish color. Be that as it may, on account of the indiscretion of certain pilgrims, who broke off pieces, it was found necessary to cover it with white marble, and to surround it with an iron railing, lest people should walk over it. This stone is eight feet, wanting three inches, in length, and two feet, wanting one inch, in breadth: and above it, eight lamps are kept continually burning.

CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER.

The Holy Sepulcher, as it is called, is thirty paces from this stone, exactly in the center of the great dome: it resembles a small closet, hewn out of the solid rock. The entrance, which faces the east, is only four feet high, and two feet and a quarter broad. The interior of the sepulcher is nearly square. It is six feet, wanting an inch, in length, and six feet, wanting two inches, in breadth, and from the floor to the roof, eight feet and one inch. There is a solid block of the same stone, which was left in excavating the other part: this is two feet, four inches and a half high, and occupies half of the sepulcher, for it is six feet, wanting one inch, in length, and two feet and five-sixths wide. On this table, tradition says, the body of our Lord was laid, with the head toward the west, and the feet to the east; but, on account of the superstitious devotion of the Orientals, who imagine that, if they leave their hair upon this stone, God will never forsake them, and also, because the pilgrims broke off pieces, it has received a covering of white marble, on which mass is now celebrated. Forty-four lamps are constantly burning in this sacred place, and three holes have been made in the roof for the emission of the smoke. The exterior of the sepulcher is also faced with slabs of marble, and adorned with several columns, having a dome above.

The Holy Sepulcher is composed of three churches: that of the Holy Sepulcher, properly so called; that of Calvary; and the church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross. The first is built in the valley at the foot of Calvary, on the spot where tradition reports that the body of Christ was deposited. This church was in the form of a cross, the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher constituting, in fact, the nave of the edifice. It is circular, like the Pantheon at Rome, and is lighted only by a dome, beneath which is the sepulcher. Sixteen marble columns adorn the circumference of this rotunda: they are connected by seventeen arches, and support an upper gallery, likewise composed of sixteen columns and seventeen arches, of smaller dimensions than those of the lower range. Niches, corresponding with the arches, appear above the frieze of the second gallery, and the dome springs from the arch of these niches.

The origin of the church of the Holy Sepulcher is of high antiquity. The author of the “Epitome of the Holy War” asserts, that forty-six years after the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian and Titus, the Christians obtained permission of Adrian to build, or rather rebuild, a church over the tomb of their Lord, and to inclose, in the new city, the other places venerated by the Christians. This church, he adds, was greatly enlarged and repaired by Helena, the mother of Constantine.

MOUNT TABOR.

This remarkable mountain, a view of which is given in the cut on the next page, is on the confines of Zebulon and Naphthali, on the north-east border of the plain of Esdraelon, about six miles south of Nazareth. It is graceful and picturesque in its outlines, presenting different appearances as viewed from different points, which accounts for the diversities in the pictorial representations we have of it. From the north it has the appearance of the segment of a sphere, and appears beautifully wooded on the summit, affording retreats to the animals for whom “the net was spread on Tabor.” (Hosea v. 1.) From the west it is like a truncated cone, appearing much steeper and higher, with the southern side almost destitute of trees. But on all sides it is a marked and prominent object, as the prophet intimates when he says, “as Tabor is among the mountains.” (Jeremiah xlvi. 18.) The view from the summit is truly beautiful. The foundations of ancient buildings, and the remains of water-tanks, in which cool water is still collected from the drippings of the rocks, are still to be seen on the top of Tabor. On this mountain was the encampment of Barak’s army on the eve of its battle with the hosts of Sisera. (Judges iv. 6, 14.) Tradition indicates this as the scene of Christ’s transfiguration. This may well be doubted, owing to the distance of this mountain from Cæsarea Philippi, near which place our Lord left the nine disciples the day before. Besides, this mountain was at the time occupied by a fortified town, and thus did not, as well as some other hights, answer the description of “a high mountain apart,” or solitary. (Matthew xvii. 1.) No doubt the name of the mountain was concealed by design, to avoid giving occasion to the superstitious observances of place, which our Lord foresaw would be practiced, in after ages, by many calling themselves after his name. The Arab name of Tabor is Jebel-Tur. There was a Levitical city on Tabor of the same name. (1 Chronicles vi. 77.) The Tabor mentioned in 1 Samuel x. 3, was not Mount Tabor, but a place in the vicinity of the territory of Benjamin.