Bethphage, Mt. of Olives and St. Peter Gallicantu

We started our morning with a group photograph taken outside of St George's Cathedral. From the cathedral we took our bus to the top of the Mount of Olives -- the area east of Jerusalem where it is thought Jesus was staying at the time he asked his disciples to go and find a donkey for his ride into Jerusalem on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday. We started by visiting the French Benedictine convent at the top of the mount. We then proceeded down the Mount of Olives, on roads far too narrow for a bus to negotiate.

Next we come to the Dominus Flevit chapel, the name being Latin for "God weeps." It's altar faces east with a huge window behind it, giving a panoramic view of the Old City, with the Islamic Dome of the Rock Mosque centered over the altar and the cross. It is easy to envision Jesus weeping over the fate of the beautiful city of Jerusalem -- both in his own day and in ours. While Fr. Kamal is used to running into all sorts of people he knows, it was highly unusual for me; however, I did see Fr. James Koester, of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, of which I am a Fellow, leading a group of about 30 while we were at this site. It was good to chat for a few moments.

Moving further down the Mount of Olives (our now distressed knees and quads forced to their limits down this steep incline), we pass the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene with its beautiful gold onion domes and mosaics, which was closed today. We then went into the grotto which Fr. Kamal tells us is generally agreed to be the site where Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Fr. Kamal pointed out to us the striking differences in the way the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) treat this event and the way in which the Gospel of John deals with it. In the former three, Jesus appears to fear death or at least hoping this event will go away. In the Gospel of John, he appears to take it head-on, asking the band that comes to arrest him not once, but twice, "Whom are you looking for?" In this case, it is the soldiers and those with them who fall backwards. It's an interesting perspective.

Next door to the grotto of Gethsemane is the locally-accepted place of burial of the Virgin Mary. There is another site in Turkey that claims to be that burial place, but Fr. Kamal says a combination of local custom and archaeological research tend to support the legitimacy of this site as the probably resting place of Mary.

Our next and final stop of the morning is across the street to the Church of All Nations, a collaborative effort of 12 nations to build this church in 1924. This church is also known as the Church of the Agony because it is built over the rock where it is believed Jesus would have prayed his prayer to God recounted in the Synoptics. There are twelve domes within the church, each one decorated by one of the twelve countries providing the majority of the funding for the project, which is built over the ruins of prior Byzantine and Crusader churches. Outside is what remains of the original "garden" of Gethsemane, with olive trees that are centuries old.

After returning from lunch back at St. George's, a group of us joined Fr. Kamal in visiting the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, which commemorates Jesus' prediction that Peter would deny him and Peter's fulfillment of that prediction. The church is actually quite modern, having been built in 1931 and renovated since that time. It is to me, however, one of the most beautiful churches in and around Jerusalem (like the Mount of Olives, St. Peter's is located outside of the Old City). The historical interest comes in the widespread belief that this was the site of the High Priest's House and that Jesus spent his last night in the prison/grotto underneath. Fr. Kamal gave us a wonderful tour of these undergrounds tunnels along with a history and archaeological lesson as well.

This is our last night at St. George's. Tomorrow we begin our day at 5:30 by walking and praying the Stations of the Cross in the Old City. Debbie and I also did this on Good Friday when we were here two years ago. We will then travel to Emmaus to retrace the path of the disciples who dejectedly returned home from Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection, only to discover that he has been their traveling companion along the way home.

I am having some problems with connectivity to the internet at this point, and not sure when I will have an opportunity to write tomorrow given that we will be in transit a good deal of the day. We leave at 7 p.m. for the airport with a 12 midnight departure scheduled. If I don't connect tomorrow, will do so on Saturday morning. Grace and peace to all! don